Review
Exit Through the Wound is the debut novel by London-based novelist and successful blogger (London Preppy), North Morgan, a dark yet surprisingly humorous affair that depicts the lives of some rather dysfunctional characters. The story is told through the scathing eyes of 24 year old Maine Hudson, the youngest son of an affluent Greek family, who moved to London to escape familial influence and deal with absolutely anything life throws at him, regardless how serious, through copious drug use. Exit Through the Wound charts the impact of this lifestyle on himself and the relationships with those closest to him.
The author delivers the book’s content through an enjoyable combination of the diary of Maine Hudson and listening to his internal thoughts as lead character. With its fairly brief chapters, and running commentary by Maine, it can almost feel like you are reading a screenplay. Indeed, Exit Through the Wound would likely translate easily and very effectively to the big screen. To use a fairly crude comparison, it would probably come off as a less grim version of Trainspotting crossed with the BBC TV series This Life, with a narration track running throughout Maine’s inner monologue.
It’s quite impressive how Morgan has somehow managed to make Maine not entirely unlikeable, considering the character’s general disaffected and apathetic demeanour, in conjunction with his verging-on misanthropic view on the world. This is mainly due most likely to his very funny observations on the events and people around him, as well as some highly amusing e-mail conversations with his work colleagues, which feel very realistic and affectionate, revealing that perhaps Maine isn’t quite so devoid of emotion as he appears on the outside.
The novel doesn’t contain many sections where the setting is described at length, mainly because the reader is effectively positioned inside Maine’s mind. In some ways this is a shame, as when Morgan does use his descriptive powers through Maine’s eyes, such as when observing some of the people he interacts with, the depictions are very vivid. Within the context of this book however, it is understandable that Morgan hasn’t shoe-horned in verbose, descriptive passages as it would jar with the reader, interrupting the engaging flow of the story.
It may seem picky but one of the weaker things about this unexpectedly enjoyable book is the rather laboured blurb on the back, which paints it as quite a negative and depressing read; after reading it, one could be forgiven for putting it back on the shelf in favour of something else. It may not technically be part of the story (and in this case wasn’t even written by the author), however, a blurb is quite critical to a book’s success, as its function is to appeal to any potential readers who may pick it up, interested to see what it’s about.
In terms of the actual book, however, Exit Through the Wound is a superb debut novel that North Morgan should be very proud of and is hopefully the first of many more to come. Just ignore the blurb and you’ll find yourself with a highly enjoyable read.
You can follow North Morgan on Twitter @NorthMorgan. Exit Through the Wound is available to buy on Amazon UK.
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