Review: All That's Left to Tell by Daniel Lowe

Marc’s life as a mid-level executive at an American corporation has taken a turn for the worse. Sent to the company’s offices in Pakistan after the death of his only daughter, Marc is kidnapped. Bound and blindfolded, he is visited daily by a mysterious woman called Josephine, who urges him to tell her about his daughter; her past and, painfully, the future she could never have. In turn, she fills Marc’s mind with her own versions of what may have been, had his daughter not been killed. While he is held captive, his daughter is given freedom, and the possibilities are painfully beautiful.

Lowe is an instigator of spine tingles and disbelief, penning a story which speaks to the very definition of ‘what if?’. His is a world which resides quietly between the real and the dreamlike, occasionally dipping into the surreal, but always with style and a deeply poetic prose. The sheer number of possibilities the narrative may take is enticing and consuming, egging the reader on. All That’s Left to Tell is fiction in its purest form – escapism for both reader and protagonist, with a myriad outcomes and unpredictable adventures.

I need to take a moment to discuss the author’s style, in particular. All That’s Left to Tell is singularly unusual in its saturation of nostalgia and its heart-tugging revelations. It is truly a difficult task to interrupt one’s reading, and Lowe has a true skill in keeping a reader engrossed and entranced. What could have deteriorated into political commentary or culture bashing is instead a liberating chance for a person to have a second chance, to rewrite not only the past, but (more importantly) the future. It is a brilliant book worthy of your time, and your tears.

All That’s Left to Tell by Daniel Lowe is published Pan Macmillan