A review by ibegyourpardon
Touch by Claire North

4.5

This goes to show that a talented writer can put a unique and engrossing spin on a less than unique idea. I have come across the concept of a parasitic life form that can jump from person to person before (one of the perspectives of David Mitchell’s ghostwritten, for example) but North still captured my imagination by thinking every little part of the fabula out to its logical conclusion. Not just the practical considerations of how the so-called ghosts can procure money, or how you can prevent yourself from being possessed, but the emotional and spiritual ramifications of being such a parasite and of having one take over your life. At its heart, it’s a modern vampire story; the same dynamics are at play. The relentless quest for survival at the expense of other human beings, the beguiling fantasy of becoming this powerful, quasi immortal being that can do whatever it wants whenever it wants, the connection between the creatures and Demons of old and the religious fervour that their enemies pursue them with, the time spanning narrative, the quest to produce children and to be understood by another being a few of the only things that these creatures cannot accomplish – All of this would be right at home in a vampire: the masquerade campaign.

We’re north set self apart from lesser contributors to the vampire meth is in her pros style and characterisation. For some, the scattershot, constantly shifting perspectives was a drawback, it took them out of the narrative. For me it works perfectly, each jump or switch feeling natural and smooth (except for those moments that are deliberately disconcerting – the twin hosting in the Miami docks being a particular highlight). North writing is wonderfully vivid, and she describes all of the different locations with such a confidence that I genuinely don’t understand how someone who was so young when they wrote this book could have travelled and experienced so many places. She has either spent most of her life as a tourist or she has a bravery and shamelessness to make a vicarious judgements through films and photographs that I could never imagine. Whatever the truth is, it really works.

Kepler, our somewhat nameless protagonist (the name Kepler is not one they choose for themselves) is a wonderfully beguiling protagonist. What they are doing so clearly crosses ethical boundaries and ruins peoples lives from a utilitarian perspective, let alone their autonomy and sense of self that the victims lose even if they are completely unaware of their possession. And yet you cannot help but admire this creatures tenacity and staying alive, even if it has to lie to itself that it loves its hosts to do so. 

The plot is riveting for the most part. I’ve read that some people found the middle to be a bit flabby, but I didn’t think so. If I have one big criticism, it’s that the climax did not really pay off. For one, I thought the revelation of who is behind (or at least partially bank rolling) The Aquarius organisation didn’t make a whole lot of sense, as I can’t see how this person could have set up this organisation in the timeframe presented. Secondly, and more frustratingly, I didn’t find the mind games at the possession equivalent of a Mexican stand-off believable at all. So the ending is a little disappointing, but the journey is more than worth it. I need to reread the first 15 lives of Harry August and read Claire North’s other fiction at some point in the future.