
Twice Melvin is a comedic, slightly off-the-wall view of relationships, friendship and human interaction. James Pumpelly’s characters are uniquely drawn so as to emphasise their quirkiness, their eccentricities and, of course, their biases and prejudices. It was a really pleasant surprise for me, as a reader, to depart from the common language of genre fiction and return again to the eloquent, more refined use of the English language, as one might expect from a nineteenth-century novel. This book is contemporary literature and Pumpelly displays both his artistic ability as a wordsmith and a poet. The story is at times, very humourous, but very much in that shy, British style of self-deprecating humour. That it was set in and around New England amongst the stuffy, ‘old money’ society just gave the story a richness and depth that I haven’t read for some considerable time. The premise and the exploration of morality, choices and self-awareness were intricate and well-handled by the author. This is the type of work that demands a reader explore more of this author’s portfolio. It was a pleasant change to my usual reading fare and one to be recommended, from time to time.
