Following on from the themes of love tackled his collection of short stories, Are You Ready For Love? Denn Killian Matthews, in his first novel, Wild Roses, addresses some of the wider themes of humanity, in all its sordidness as well as its sympathy and compassion.

The story follows the adolescent friendship of Joshua Haigh and Clarence Clarbourne, growing up in a small town in Oregon. This friendship is marked by an asymmetrical devotion, bordering on a sado-masochistic bond: Joshua lives in the shadow of Clarence and adores him, while Clarence is sustained by a dominance that, at times, descends into disdain. The two find wives and go their separate ways, until Clarence contacts his old friend, offering him a job as a journalist. Here the relationship continues as before, only now, fuelled by inner tumult and alcoholism, Clarences’s controlling nature takes a psychotic turn. After one incident, Joshua commits the unthinkable: in self-defence he kills his best friend.

Not knowing what to do, Joshua flees and embarks on a trip that takes him into Canada and brings him face to face with who he is and his conscience. En route he encounters a string of adventures and characters whose own flawed lives help him come to terms with his actions and give him the strength to surrender himself into the hands of justice - although he does not know what the outcome will be.

In Wild Roses the reader is introduced into a world where the superficial veneer of daily life is not all that it seems. The language used displays just enough variation from standard North American English to endow the speakers with a certain ‘apartness’. The people who Joshua meets and the situations that he has to deal with are intriguingly out of step with the ordinariness of daily life. This incongruity gives each event and occurrence an added, although unspecified significance to Josh’s journey, giving his story a meaning that outgrows mere events.

Wild Roses is an adventure story with humour and feeling, but more than this, it is an exploration of self-questioning.

WILD ROSES
EARLY REVIEWS and COMMENTS
www.wild-roses.info

" The novel starts in Oregon, where Clarence Clarbourne and Joshua Haigh meet at the beginning of their senior year at high school. They are building up a solid, sensuous and pure friendship throughout university. Kelly becomes Josh’s idol even though Kelly’s disrespect and digs hurt Josh, who tries to learn from them and grow strong. Kelly’s ascendency over Josh is obvious until Josh falls in love with Nicole at university, his wife to be. About the same time, Kelly encounters Trish and they become a married couple.

Kelly declines Josh’s invitation to attend his wedding but, unexpectedly, Tina, Kelly’s grandmother will honour Josh with her attendance and be the highlight of the party, as she would. Tina is one of the various characters in the novel, and what a character! ‘Terrible Tina’s longing to stand out and unpredictability are remarkable, as shown in the scene of the grocery in which Tina courts a young student. Meg, Kelly’s high school sweetheart, arranges a ravishing séance of spiritualism.

Denn Killian Matthews depicts his characters with humanity and creates vivid relations between them. Josh will choose to follow Nicole to Illinois, where she will be the director of a library. One day, Josh receives a message from Kelly. Josh is carried into the past and stronger for his influence, Kelly will convince Josh to return to Oregon to become a journalist -- Josh’s dream. As during the radio days at university, Josh proves a quick learner, to Kelly’s discontent. When a grimy embezzlement case tarnishes Kelly’s image, it is thanks to Josh that he will avoid being dismissed. Kelly and Josh’s ‘faux pas’ as well as Kelly’s growing alcohol problem will cause Josh to do something which cannot be undone -- Josh will kill Kelly in self-defence. Panic-stricken, Josh becomes a man on the run, searching for relief in action. After a disappointing return to Illinois where Nicole has replaced him, Josh will scour the roads through Canada. Along his journey, he’ll meet danger, women, and will commence a quest for forgiveness in a series of adventures. Faced with deception, Josh also has to face his conscience. His adventures will take him to Vancouver, where he gives himself up to the police, at the end of his tether. But what will the outcome of his trial be? The narrative spreads with the characters in unison and suspense and passion walk hand in hand. Josh, in his numerous experiences, acquires the power of differentiation and judgment while praising uniqueness. "

-Gareth Russell

" In Denn Killian Matthews’s debut novel Wild Roses, an adolescent friendship takes on a sinister intensity as two young men become consumed by tragedy and despair.

Joshua Haigh is poised to kill his best friend, the man who has meant more to him in life than anyone else. But what has brought Joshua to this appalling conclusion, and what aftermath will he have to endure if he goes through with it? What can it mean to take the life of someone so close that they have almost fused with your own identity? Joshua Haigh will have to battle feelings of intense guilt, loss and a desperate need for atonement in Denn Killian Matthews’s first novel Wild Roses.

Matthews skillfully analyses the long term development of the extremes of a twisted relationship and what happens when that relationship comes to a violent end. Joshua Haigh is the submissive devotee and Clarence Clarbourne the arrogant, selfish, god-like figure controlling their partnership, a partnership skewered by fear, anger and the ego. The intensity of the men’s adolescent union continues into adulthood, but it is quickly threatened by Haigh’s growing desire for independence, something he cannot achieve whilst remaining in Clarence’s shadow. But Clarence is not about to relinquish his absolute control over this all-consuming friendship. Haigh’s journey is an effort to break free from the shackles of this sado-masochistic union and Matthews’s exploration of the corruption of a platonic relationship is both shocking and familiar.

Wild Roses reveals the secret turmoil that lies beneath the seeming serenity of life in Middle America and examines the destructive power of obsessive friendship. A disconcerting and unforgettable read, Wild Roses highlights the limits of pain and suffering a man can bear before he dramatically implodes with far reaching consequences. "

-Hayley Radford