Davies spent most of his writing career riffing on themes of identity confusion and amnesia. He wrote in all genres often blending and hybridizing well known tropes of detective fiction (amnesia victims) and science fiction (mind altering drugs) into a kind of new subgenre of his own invention. Psychogeist (1966) tells of a young man who cannot remember who he is and alternates with his hallucinatory dreams of an alien world that parallel the story of his recovery from amnesia. Or is he actually an alien who crash landed on Earth? Probably his best known crime novel treatment of identity loss is his second novel Who Is Lewis Pinder? (1965), originally titled Man Out of Nowhere in the UK. Give Me Back Myself (1971) belongs with Davies' crime fiction novels. It presents the story of Stephen's search for his true identity as a tale of an unbelievable conspiracy with no introduction of either supernatural or science fiction elements.
In these amnesia novels we are always hoping for the hapless protagonist to find at least one ally who will believe his story, help him uncover the truth and bring the villainy to light. Stephen finds his allies quite by accident when he asks for directions of his next door neighbor Ambrose Kenny. Later Kenny's daughter Fran will stop by for her weekly visit and she will turn out to be both confidante and detective cohort. The manner in which Stephen and his two allies slowly uncover the plot is done with ingenuity and a few startling surprises. You have to credit Davies with a fertile imagination in continually finding new methods to essentially tell the same story repeatedly.
Though his books are out of print copies of nearly every one of Davies' fascinating books are easily found in the used book market at very affordable prices. I'm sure many of his books, not just Give Me Back Myself, can be find both in US and UK libraries as well.
I read this book for both Bev Hankins' Silver Age Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge and Rich Westwood's 1971 Mystery Reading Challenge. For more on L. P. Davies breathtaking displays of variation on the theme of amnesia and identity confusion see Sergio Angelini's reviews of Man Out of Nowhere and The Alien.
Now there is a term with which I am unfamiliar: Silver Age.
ReplyDeleteSo, being new to this crime fiction blogging business, I need to do some research so that I can get up to speed on terminology. In the meantime, I hope you are right about the book being in libraries. I will be checking on that in a moment. Thanks for adding yet another book to my growing "bucket list" of books TBR.
I think we just use "Silver Age" amongst ourselves on the vintage mystery book blogs, RT. It's not a widley used term. Bev uses it, sort of borrowing from the comic book world where they do distinguish between Golden and Silver Ages, in order to keep her reading challenges separate.
DeleteIf your local library fails, you can find a copy of GIVE ME BACK MYSELF for as little as one buck at abebooks.com.
Great review John - Davies here was pretty much coming to the end of that incredible spurt of concentrated writing - as you say, extraordinary how he managed to keep ringing the changes, but he undeniably did. Right, off to get my copy off the shelf!
ReplyDeleteI liked this one more than I thought I would. Sergio. By no means as imaginative or weird as say Psychogeist, but each time the conflict seems to resolve itself Davies adds another level to keep Stephen searching for the full truth. The conspiracy plot seems very 70s to me. So much paranoia coming out in pop fiction during that decade.
DeleteJohn, I have not read any of the novels of L.P. Davies and I don't recall reading any books with identity crisis or amnesia as a theme. Davies must really like the subject that he should have written so much about it. The theme has a certain intensity about it. Perhaps, Davies liked playing mind games with his characters and his readers. I have seen it in the movies, though.
ReplyDeleteI needed a reminder about L.P. Davies. I see that Sergio reviewed one of his sci fi books earlier this year, but I had forgotten. This one sounds very interesting too.
ReplyDeleteNow this sounds VERY intriguing, John. I'm currently at the end of my reading fixation for the year, just taking a breather and waiting for a couple of new books to come into the library.
ReplyDeleteI want to wish you and your family a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, John. Very much looking forward to 2015.
I have not read this. However, I have just started reading The White Room by the same author.
ReplyDeleteI have just finished The White Room. Superb. Outstanding ! It hooks you right from the beginning and becomes unputdownable.
ReplyDeleteThe reader will be perplexed by the surreal events, but finally there is a rational ingenious solution.
I wish you would review this. There would be no need for your conspiracy here.(smiley)
I have obtained another book by the same author The Paper Dolls.
Have you read any of these 2 books ?
Coincidentally, I recently ordered a copy of THE PAPER DOLLS and it should arrive sometime next month. Have not read THE WHITE ROOM, but if I come across a copy you can bet I will definitely read/review it. Davies is seriously underrated and has quite an imagination. I admire all his books in one way or another. I'm impressed how many different twists he wrangled out of the confused identity theme.
DeleteI've read PSYCHOGEIST (unique among his sci-fi/mysteries), WHO IS LEWIS PINDER? (aka MAN OUT OF NOWHERE ) and THE LAND OF LEYS which has a strong supernatural/occult content.
I have read The Paper Dolls. I have also seen the TV episode (1968) based on it.(It was one of the episodes of the TV series Journey To The Unknown).
DeleteI'll give my comments when you review it.