Afraid Of The Light, Douglas Kennedy

Afraid Of The Light opening line: ‘Where we goin’?’ The voice belonged to my first fare of the afternoon. I’d picked him up at one of those big nothing office buildings on Wilshire, just on the edge of Westwood.

Afraid Of The Light

My blurb:

Brendan is doing all that he can to stay afloat. Even if that means driving his car into trouble. But somehow, one simple act redirects his life and he finds himself embroiled in the controversy that surrounds abortion.

Afraid Of The Light
Brendan has always lived a careful, constrained life. A salesman who never liked the work, he’s a man who has stayed in his marriage and his faith because it was what was expected of him. But now, having lost his job after corporate downsizing and on the cusp of sixty, he finds himself scrambling to somehow stay afloat in the only Los Angeles work on offer to a man his age – driving for Uber.
When one of his rides, a retired professor named Elise, asks to be dropped off outside an abortion clinic where she now volunteers, Brendan finds himself literally driving right into the virulent epicentre of one of the major issues of our time, engulfing his life in the process.
My verdict:

I am all for the freedom of choice and am saddened by the overturning of Roe v Wade in Texas. The issues surrounding abortion are very contentious and this novel explores them in an insightful way.

A novel of high suspense and considerable moral complexity, Afraid of the Light is a tough, affecting social thriller that speaks volumes about the corrosive divisions of our troubled times.

Publishing information:
ISBN 9780091953751
Format Trade Paperback
Published July 2021

Disclosure: I was sent the book to review by Penguin Random House South Africa. I was not required to write a positive review. This post is in line with my blogging policy.

Inspiration published on Lavender and Lime December 12:

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5 thoughts on “Afraid Of The Light, Douglas Kennedy

  1. Hi Tandy, it is an interesting controversy raging right now in the US about abortion. I am a strong believer in not bringing unwanted children into this world where they will be neglected and unloved and frequently perpetuate the same cycle in their own behaviour. On the other hand, I don’t believe that abortion should be used as a contraceptive and if people are repeatedly irresponsible their freedom of choice with regards to parenthood should be taken away.

    1. I agree abortion should not be used as contraception. But after hearing awful stories of neglected children, they don’t deserve the horrors they endure.

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