The Unrivalled Transcendence of Willem J. Gyle

This is a story of our times, a modern tale set in the aftermath of a depression hit Scotland through the eyes of Willem J Gyle.
Willem is a large hulk of a man, a gentle giant who has a fundamental learning difficulty that isn't so obvious to the general populace. He relies on his Mam, she has found him a job labouring and encouraged him to save. Her wisdom and the stories shared with him are his boundaries and insight into the world. He has learned to live within his understanding and has a distrust of outsiders. Willem is a simple soul who enjoys his life even though he knows he doesn't want to spend it in the fast lane.
Unfortunately his Mam cannot protect and shield him from the harsher realities that a new day can bring. So when he turns up to work only to be locked out due to the recession hit building trade his life is irreversably changed for the worse. He spends days sitting outside the locked gates wishing they'd re-open and wondering about who would oil the padlock.
Shortly after this, his mother suffers a seizure and his point of reference is lost. Following her death he will lose his home, his money and access to benefits. Very quickly he is reduced to homelessness and all the struggles this entails to stay safe and survive on the streets.
In my opinion this is the strongest part of the book as the story stresses the gradual decline for Willem from personal attacks while rough sleeping, the attempts to beg to be able to buy food and the loss of his dog. Much of Willem's actions can be seen to be animalistic in their simplicity and the inner drive to survive. He is a great observer of the natural world and he is facinated by the phases in the season from bird migration to leaf changes on the trees. He sees things others fail to see and has an infinity for birds like owls and robins.
Soon he is robbed by a 'friend' and quickly descends from his own petty thieving to more violent assaults. While others appear to be on the look out for him he becomes known to and wanted by the police.
You can't fail to warm to his simple, trusting character with the attributes of a child but the physicality of a professional bouncer.
The reader has to re-evaluate their affinity for Willem as his life choices err and we feel our own sense of right and wrong is being challenged and we make judgements on this character we previously embraced without reservation.
Willem's transcendence is a path to self awareness and an informed choice to be his own person. He is increasingly feral as he leaves the city and flees to the wilderness of the highlands.
his salvation is short-lived when those who initially value him treat him less than their own animals who he would gladly have watched and farmed with them for free lodging and board.
I liked the time taken and his listening of others that Willems displays in a simple "Mm". It is also one of the best accounts of homelessness issues and especially seen in the life of people with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour that I have read.
It is a journey we share with Willem; engage with his hopes and dreams and dispair at his setbacks; where we welcome those who aid him and quickly harden our views when he oversteps our moral compass. We rarely see into Willem's world or grasps his difficulties but we remain quick to judge such people. We can not walk in his steel capped boots but this novel helps us toughen up and get our spiritual fitness into shape. The narrative is a blend of socitey's ills that is warming beverage to challenge our human superiority and ethical code. Drink deep of this book and allow the author to challenge and enable you to holdback on those judgemental platitudes. How would you respond to Willem there are others like him in all our towns and cities.

A gritty and somewhat dark story about Willem, a man who lives in a world limited by his intellectual capabilities. His mam is his lifeline and shelter from the rest of the world who doesn't always see that the large man isn't able to fully function socially on his own. Willem goes to his job every day, the routine of it and making a living his main focus in life. Willem longs for companionship, but often is taken advantage of, except for his mam and his canine friend, Jap.
One day Willem goes to the construction yard like every other day, only to be told that the entire site is shut down, and there is no work. Although he has been told his job is gone, Willem goes to the yard each morning, sitting and waiting for the padlock to be removed from the gate. Within a few days, Willem's mam dies, and besides the emotional upheaval he finds himself without a home.
The story chronicles the actions that lead Willem to live out on the streets, and even further on the outskirts of society than before. Willem only has limited resources and abilities to survive with, and violent behavior and crime are part of his arsenal. He has no one and nowhere to turn for support, and though his progression into a dark place is somewhat understandable, you want the redemption and succor to arrive for him.
Willem takes to the rural mountain area to escape, and finds temporary sanctuary on a remote farm. His past comes to light, and once again he can't stop his pain and fear turning into blind rage.
This book was certainly a sad and hard look into how society views and treats those who don't "fit" into the parameters of what is considered normal, and how individuals tend to reveal the worst of humanity when it benefits them - no matter the harm to someone who can't fully defend themselves. It left a very melancholy and depressing feeling when I finished it, but had many insightful truths that are around us every day.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for sharing my honest opinions.

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a delightful, stimulating, multi-ethnic city, which draws workers and visitors from all corners of the planet. It is the second largest financial centre in the UK, and from its ancient castle overlooking the bustling streets to the wonderful architecture of its Old and New Town, one can see why it was chosen as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

However, for those who care to look a little closer, Edinburgh, like so many beautiful old cities, is notorious for its homelessness.

Writer, James Dixon, a south Londoner by birth, lives in Edinburgh with his wife, the psychologist Dr Lauren Hadley. In this, his latest novel, he has created an offbeat protagonist in Willem Gyle: a slow thinking, hard working labourer who loses everything – his job, his mother, his home, his dog – in a short space of time, and is henceforth divested of his dignity by sneering bureaucrats and pettifogging officials until he winds up living on the streets.

What happens to Willem doesn't make pretty reading. He is pitched into a filthy, vicious, desperate world where every proffered lifeline is a deceit, and self-respect becomes an absurd impedimenta – until eventually he is brutalised beyond salvation.

If you demand redemption for your fictional characters then this book is definitely not for you, but if you have a taste for gritty, unrelenting realism, this twenty-first-century allegory is well worth your time.

‘He has never seen anything accurately.’

Willem J. Gyle is a labourer in Edinburgh. He’s big, fit and strong, but his thought processes are slow because of oxygen deprivation during birth. His life has its patterns and routines, and Willem is comfortable. Willem lives in a flat with his Mam and his little dog Jap.

But then Willem is laid off. The building trade is hit by a recession, and the site where Willem works is locked and abandoned. Willem turns up for a few days: he can’t find his Mam, and isn’t sure what to do. He’s worried, too, that the lock will rust if no-one oils it. Willem and Jap are together, though, so part of his routine remains the same. Sadly, fate isn’t finished with Willem. His Mam dies, and he ends up homeless. Jap is taken from him. What will Willem do?

The balance of the novel (over four parts) takes us through Willem’s increasingly bleak future. Without an address, he can’t get benefits, or medical assistance. With his savings spent (and stolen from him) he resorts to begging and theft. He sleeps where he can.

‘A few people look at him, they see his face and his clothes. He is unwashed, unclean.’

Gradually, Willem realizes that no-one will help him. His life is full of indignities, he’s tried to follow the rules as he understood them but somehow, he’s become invisible. He needs to find and take what he needs for himself. Sometimes, other people get hurt.

Willem leaves Edinburgh, and heads for the Highlands. And, for a brief period, I allow myself to hope that he’ll find a safe place. That somehow, he’ll be able to escape his past and frame a new future. Willem is a keen observer of nature, fascinated by the changing seasons and the activity of birds. But the past won’t allow him to escape, and he’s judged for what he’s done. There’s no chance, and probably no words to explain why.

The ending is inevitable. The only uncertainty is the where and when. One of the strengths of this story is how it requires the reader to think about how we treat those who are disadvantaged and homeless, how we expect them to observe rules which suit us without being flexible in trying to meet their needs. How far can a person be pushed before they transcend the usual accepted limits? Is Willem’s behaviour understandable? Is it possible to read this story without feeling some sympathy for Willem and some empathy for the situation he finds himself in?

I’m torn.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This is a book that does not fit easily into the usual defined categories indeed my initial perception of it would change as this increasingly desperate and horrific story became darker and darker. Set in Edinburgh (ostensibly a wealthy city but with a hidden underbelly) this unflinching tale tells the story of Willem who clearly has learning difficulties but has maintained a labouring job. However such is the precariousness of modern day existences that in a short time he losses his job, his mother dies, he is evicted from his flat and his beloved dog Jap is taken away. Finding himself alone on the streets and without assistance he begins a grim struggle to survive. But Willem is certainly not someone you should upset or confront and as the body count increases you realises that there will be horrific consequences caused by society neglecting and abandoning such a man like Willem.

Edinburgh is a renowned as a city of literature and I was reminded of elements of James Hogg's "the Private Memoirs of a Justified Sinner" also set in Edinburgh which also has an anti hero and deals with the Calvinst concept of predestination. What options were really available to Willem once he fell through the non existing safety net.

The writing style and vocabulary reflects the brutal realities of life in the underclass but there are also Greek fables and scenes from nature that show and help to explain the complexity of Willem as he escapes the torments of the city to what he believes will be a purer and peaceful existence in the wilds of the Scottish highlands. But can he really escape?

As someone who knows Edinburgh (having also taken in the past the walk like Willem did along the canal form Ratho) I believe that the writer has accurately reflected the geography and essence of the City. The cover of the book also symbolises the content inside. Certainly a gripping if uncomfortable read which I would have no hesitation in recommending.

Gritty. dark, vivid - this was a one sitting read. A wonderful but difficult tale of depression hit Scotland.