City on the Edge by David Swinson

Set in a Lebanon about to explode at the beginning of 1970s, City on the Edge by David Swinson is a special coming-of-age book, of growing up as a family member of a diplomatic family on the move.

Graham´s father is possibly working as a CIA-agent, covered by the diplomatic service. His inquisitive curiosity and taste for adventure that may get him into big trouble. His mother is Jewish, but his presbyterian father allows him not to disclose this identity, and before relocating, takes away his Star of David necklace. His sister previously died in a car accident, that he survived, while his mother was away, and his mother who is slowly sinking into alcohol around the clock and domestic fights.

Constant fights at home, new friendships and enemies on the street, mysteriuos encounters and his father´s unusual friends. He has his first sexual awakening while he is trying to decipher the complicated language of adults. His only comfort may be his dog.

City on the Edge can be read as an old spy story - it has the pace of it, for sure - but it has a nostalgic tone which is unique. The story is told in the voice of a teenager - although we are given some hints about what will happen next, so we know it is not a kind of child diary - but it keeps the external details at a minimum - Munich massacre against Israeli athletes, the growing regional instability. 

I may say that I got instantly caught by this book, and there is a beauty in the clear child´s voice. It sounds authentic and relatable to any child having once been dislocated due to their parents´ special jobs. Swinson himself is the son of a foreign serviceman and grew up in Beirut as well, hence some feelings and memories about people and places which are more described as places of memory than as researched topics. In my opinion, this is another strength of the book: the ways in which Graham assigns subjective memories for places, connecting them to events and encounters he experienced. Thus, the feeling of following a real time journey of a real human being, a growing up teenager.

I felt in love with the book instantly, and couldn´t stop reading it. There is a beauty in the raw and sometimes cruel adventures shared and this comes from the writing itself. A recommended read if looking for a good written book with a main child character with a voice to remember.

I will definitely check out other books by Swinson as well.

Rating: 5 stars

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