Review
Two Blue Wolves synopsis:
A young American couple have retreated to Paris in an attempt to save their unraveling love. Their relationship lives at the centre of a delicate web—linking the failing mind of an old woman, a people on the brink of disaster, and a world bracing itself against a faceless terror.
Nightwork synopsis:
In the industrial outskirts of Munich, a young American backpacker attempts to cure his loneliness by forcing himself to go dancing with a group of new friends. As the night roars on, our narrator realises it’ll take far more than the perfect song to lift his spirits.
There is an emotional charge that permeates every transmedia pore of Sparrow Hall’s creation.
It is an experience.
In every sense.
The ‘book’ is an ingenious amalgam of short story writing, audio and visuals. This is not a clichéd tapestry of self-indulgence; Two Blue Wolves is both intimate and moving in its honesty.
Its vulnerability creates the illusion of accidentally stumbling upon the secreted diary of a loved one. Of sifting through a dusty collection of vinyl. One can almost touch the photographic memories between sentences.
It’s as important, to me, as Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood. It’s poetic. There’s an undeniable synergy in style and execution. It’s pioneering. Bold, yet gentle. Sensitive yet challenging.
The combined edition comes with 16 original MP3 tracks. All are very well-produced. This isn’t a self-indulgent, badly-produced labour of love. It isn’t a project steeped in vanity. The whole production is professional.
The reader/listener is able to freestyle their imagination and senses in order to create their own video, film or soundtrack pick ‘n’ mix. You can then project this imagined film, in your head – cutting and editing as you go along. It’s storytelling for the 21st century.
I personally enjoyed not being told how to fit it together. Indeed, part of the enjoyment of immersing myself in the experience was being able to swap the visuals depending on my own mood. The words and music were catalysts. The story remained the same but my imagined combinations, the pictures in my head, were constantly changing.
This style of storytelling requires somewhat of a leap of faith. My own – albeit slight – cynicism as to the possible enhancement of multimedia to the reading experience was quickly dispelled after immersing myself in Hall’s work.
And then there’s the writing.
It’s bloody good.
Reminding me, once again, of Thomas.
It gripped me from the first sentence.
Authenticity resonated throughout the piece.
The European descriptions are particularly good. American authors have a tendency to gush when it comes to writing about the iconic European cities. Hall doesn’t do this. He’s refreshingly honest and the slight understatement gives Paris, for example, a better representation.
It gets a ‘Must Experience’ from me.
The Special Combined Edition includes:
– Combined Edition Paperback
– Two Blue Wolves & Nightwork E-Books (PDF format)
– Two Blue Wolves Audio Book
– Printable Artwork
– Music Video
– 16 original songs
Benefiting Alzheimer’s:
$5 of every book purchase will be contributed to the Alzheimer’s Association to support Alzheimer’s Disease research and caregiver initiatives.
