Staggering

 

Last Night of Freedom is the debut novel from Dan Howarth whose short story collection Dark Missives and novella Territory both impressed me hugely. It’s set in a fictionalised version (for obvious reasons, as will become clear) of the Lake District and tells of a stag party gone horribly wrong as the men find themselves being hunted by the locals.

The party consists of four friends who, for a variety of reasons, have chosen the remote location for the do. They’re old friends from university who have to some extent drifted apart of the intervening years. It’s a scenario that of course will bring to mind Adam Nevill’s novel Ritual, which featured a similar set of protagonists in a remote, rural location. Indeed, one of the group of four friends in both novels share the name Luke.

Ritual was a novel of folk horror (with touches of the Cosmic) and Last Night of Freedom shares some of those trappings too but it’s fair to say that this aspect plays a background role in things; is there really to provide context. To call it a MacGuffin is probably too strong but the novel is really a character study, an examination of what friendship is. Which is not to say that it isn’t a horror novel – it most certainly is – but the horrors here are of the psychological rather than supernatural variety (with the occasional spot of wince-inducing violence along the way).

This dissection of the relationships between the four men is made possible by the bold move to present the narrative as first person, present tense chapters, moving between the characters in turn. It’s a conceit that pays huge dividends, with the readers exposed, literally, to the innermost thoughts of the men which can then be contrasted with what they say to, and how they interact with, the others. (Two chapters are given over to third person descriptions of two of the local men who are hunting them, something which put me in mind of Hitchcock’s Rear Window in which all but three scenes are from the point of view of L B Jefferies as portrayed by James Stewart).

The stress of the situation the four find themselves in brings to the fore all the resentments and jealousies which until then had been compartmentalised and hidden away. The novel seems to posit the theory that the strength of any friendship relies on how well these negative emotions can be held in check. The four men are fighting their pursuers of course but the tension and mistrust between themselves causes just as many problems.

Last Night of Freedom is incredibly tense. It’s an uncomfortable read and I have to admit to some sense of relief when I’d finished it; not because I wasn’t enjoying it – far from it – but simply because I could allow myself to finally relax. Horrible things happen in this book and the way in which it’s written makes the reader almost complicit in what’s going on. Opinions about the characters will change as the book progresses as the top-notch writing draws you into making your own allegiances. This so done so skilfully that I even found myself rooting for one of the characters after he’d done something devastatingly awful earlier in the book – I’d effectively compartmentalised those negative feelings about him I guess.

It's a novel which works on many levels. It can be “enjoyed” simply as an action adventure but there’s much more depth to it than that. The author’s disdain of the whole ritual of stag parties is evident (even from the book’s “dedication”), a view shared by many, myself included, I’m sure. The opening chapter, told from the viewpoint of Connor, the Best Man, even echoes these sentiments; reflecting the fact that many of those who find themselves participating in these types of functions aren’t actually enjoying it either. “Ritual” is the right word; whilst the book can be read as an attack on toxic masculinity, I think the use of the hunt is inspired, providing as it does plenty of commentary on things being done simply because that’s the way it’s always been. Both protagonists and antagonists here are doing what they’re doing because that’s what tradition dictates.

Not that that’s any excuse of course, but…

I really enjoyed Last Night of Freedom, it’s further evidence that Mr Howarth is a writer to keep an eye on. It’s thrilling, unsettling and food for thought – a combination that’s tricky to get right but which is achieved here brilliantly.