"A very articulate American"
Every year thousands of the world's youth pass through New Zealand as either backpackers, or as temporary workers. Of
those adventurous thousand there are bound to be some who go on to acclaim or honours. William Dewey, author of the
soon-to-be-released Without a Soul to Move, may be that vaunted visitor.
Set in an impending winter in Denver, Colorado, Without a Soul to Move follows three men trying to extract meaning from
their wilting lives. Their efforts are marked by varying degrees of sanity, from morbid social experimentation to
vicarious relationship counselling and the late-night excursions of a costumed vigilante. The novel converges themes of
suffering, love and absence into a graceful, but humourous narrative.
Dewey describes the book as an attempt to find some useful outlet for the surge of emotions wreaked by the turbulence of
his own life in the years leading up to its composition. Faced with the death of loved ones and self-imposed isolation
in distant lands, writing a novel was the most constructive possible response he could come up with.
'In 2008 the story of the traveler is often the story of the voyeur', Richard Meros, production assistant at Lawrence
and Gibson publishing collective asserts. 'But William has moved a step beyond, refracting back to the reader the
brittleness of the everyday.'
Unity Books and Lawrence and Gibson are proud to launch Without a Soul to Move on July the 5th at 5pm at Unity Books on
Willis Street in Wellington. This launch will mark the fifth release of Lawrence and Gibson, and the third primary
author to their stables. Mr Dewey will be present to offer sagely advice and Richard Meros will also be on hand to
pontificate wildly on the book's underlying themes.
William Dewey was born in Colorado and has roamed the globe aimlessly ever since. Without a Soul to Move, his second
novel (and first with Lawrence and Gibson) was written in Montana, New York, California, and Wellington, where he now
lives.
ENDS