The Clepsydra Stopped

Time stood still. 2009-08-09

Reviewer: J. M. Sutton

As I read 'The Clepsydra Stopped' by Ashley Prowse, time stood still.

I was blown away: to the sights and odours of Zanzibar which infuse the story; to the sounds of Sam's bar where the narrator, a development worker with French and Canadian roots, hangs out with the expats, when she's not visiting friends in the bush; to watch her seduction of Anton, an older academic on a visit from Madagascar; he's attractive, and he's willing, but there's a ring on his finger.

The author refers to their ensuing affair as 'a love story in disguise' or 'a love story with a twist.' At times, as I read, I might have said -'love denied,' but I could never be quite sure: this is such a tantalising read. At times I may have been perplexed by the narrator's behaviour, I may even have hated her, but I was never indifferent. The intense power of the writing hypnotises me into her life and holds me there, while the flow of the narrator's consciousness weaves a poignant story, threaded throughout with Anton's conversation and emails.

In it's intimacy which is also curiously distancing, I was reminded of 'The Lover' of Marguerite Duras. This narrator, however, is far from fatalistic, and this reader finds herself bewitched by the narrator's struggles to fend off a seemingly cruel destiny, thus ensuring that she will inevitably give shape to the blueprint from her childhood, while confirming her deepest fears.

Read this work and discover a new and compelling literary voice. Definitely a five star read.