I am delighted to welcome my lovely friend and fellow Darkstroke author, Miriam Drori to my Thursday Themes blog to discuss her latest novel, Style and The Solitary…

Thank you, Jo, for inviting me to talk about the themes in my latest novel, Style and the Solitary. Here they are.

Belief in Another Person

The story of Beauty and the Beast was first written in 1740 by a woman called Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. It wasn’t intended as a children’s fairy tale, but rather as a tale with a moral. It is Beauty’s belief and love for the Beast that turns him back into a prince. Similarly, Nathalie’s belief in Asaf will help him in his attempt to become the person he was meant to be.

The similarity of my novel to Beauty and the Beast is, of course, the reason for its similar title.

This theme spawned the current series of guest posts on my blog: The Power of Belief. Guests have taken this theme in different directions, and everyone is welcome to take part by contacting me at one of the links below.

Loners

People who shun society are considered strange by the rest of society. Sometimes, they might even be thought dangerous, owing to rare reports of loners who have turned violent. This gives vulnerable people, who probably only chose to live their lives alone because of bad experiences, less of a chance of ever returning to society.

Friendships

We all need the help of friends. Nathalie gets her two flatmates on board to help her solve the mystery. Other friendships crop up in the story. Even Asaf, the “loner”, acquires some friends, eventually.

Immigration

The process of fitting into a new place can be long and difficult, especially when it involves a new language and culture. Nathalie has some advantages. She’s young, sociable and good at languages. Still, she struggles sometimes, and also misses her family and her home town of Strasbourg.

The Law and its Failures

I was affected by a documentary I heard once, in which a woman wanted to testify against her rapist, but found herself struck dumb when in the witness box. Asaf is similarly worried about being tried in a court of law. He thinks he’ll find himself incapable of answering questions in such a setting. He’s probably right.

I do think laws fail to protect those who can’t speak or who freeze in certain situations.

Jerusalem

Why is the setting a theme? When I wrote my first novel set in Jerusalem (Neither Here Nor There, currently unavailable), I was worried people wouldn’t be interested in it because they’d expect a story set in Israel to include war and conflict. I was glad to be disproved; the book sold well and was appreciated. Yet, with this current novel, perhaps due to the timing, I’ve had questions like, “I wondered if you were deliberately setting out to show Jerusalem as a modern ‘Western’ city compared to the views we normally see on TV, or just reflecting life as you live it.” My response is that it absolutely reflects life as I live it and as most of the residents live it. People go about doing normal activities and talking about normal things. On the TV, they like to show everything in a different light. They seek out extremists and do all they can to exacerbate conflict. But even those extremists do and say normal, mundane things most of the time. And the rest of us go about our normal lives as much as we’re allowed to, which is most of the time.

I’m not saying murder is normal. But this murder is not the sort of abnormal you might expect from Jerusalem.

Secrets

Many stories thrive on secrets and Style and the Solitary is no exception. But I won’t reveal any secrets here. You’ll discover them when you read the novel.

Style and the Solitary

An unexpected murder. A suspect with a reason. The power of unwavering belief.

A murder has been committed in an office in Jerusalem. That’s for sure. The rest is not as clear-cut as it might seem.

Asaf languishes in his cell, unable to tell his story even to himself. How can he tell it to someone who elicits such fear within him?

His colleague, Nathalie, has studied Beauty and the Beast. She understands its moral. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one who believes in Asaf, the suspect. But she’s new in the company – and in the country. Would anyone take her opinion seriously?

She coerces her flatmates, Yarden and Tehila, into helping her investigate. As they uncover new trails, will they be able to reverse popular opinion?

In the end, will Beauty’s belief be strong enough to waken the Beast? Or, in this case, can Style waken the Solitary?

Style and the Solitary is available from Amazon.

 

About the Author

Miriam Drori was born and brought up in London and now lives with her husband and one of three grown up children in Jerusalem.

With a degree in Maths and following careers in computer programming and technical writing, Miriam has been writing novels and short stories since 2004. Her published works span several genres.

Miriam is passionate about raising awareness of social anxiety and enjoys giving presentations on this and other topics. She’s not so keen on participating in live interviews.

Miriam can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Instagram, Wattpad and on her website/blog. Amazon page: Author.to/MiriamDroriAtAmazon.