Is it possible to ever truly know someone? That’s the question at the heart of Justin Myers’ thoughtful and unpredictable novel The Glorious Dead, which explores themes of grief and loss with dark humour and dollops of panache.
Laurie Blount was a wit, a dilettante and a superstar writer for the West End – and now he’s dead. He leaves behind his husband Jo, best friend Vivi and goddaughter Rosy, as well as an extended circle of friends and admirers who knew him well. Or did they? In the wake of Laurie’s sudden death, secrets are unearthed and everyone who loved him must think again about the man they thought they knew.
This is the fifth novel from Justin Myers, who is known for writing gay dating blog The Guyliner and a newsletter called The Truth About Everything that has been running since 2017. He’s also a prolific journalist whose work has appeared in GQ, The Guardian and The Times. No surprise, then, that he knows how to weave a pacy yarn – drawing readers in with his compelling characters, and keeping them reading with his twisty, “what’s around the next corner?” plotting.
The Glorious Dead starts out as a thoughtful and often beautifully written meditation on grief. There are gorgeous lines – “Life without Laurie would be like never hearing her favourite song again” – as well as cutting ones: “Grief is smiling beatifically while a congregation crane their necks to see if you look sad enough.” By switching perspectives, we get inside the heads of Jo and Vivi and see how they each experience their loss differently, and how they adjust to each other now that the glue that once held them together has gone. This was my favourite part of the book – the gentle and not-so-gentle negotiations between grieving people, who you genuinely hope will find a way through.
The final third of the novel turns away from character study and leans heavily into the plot, when Laurie’s memoir is discovered and explodes into our characters’ lives like a bomb. If you like twists and turns, there are plenty to be had here. Myers makes you question the truth of everything you’ve read so far, and then question it again. Just like the characters, you the reader will have to rethink your understanding of Laurie (and everyone else) several times before you reach the end.
The Glorious Dead is an entertaining and ambitious book that packs a lot into its 350 pages, including allusions to James Baldwin’s landmark gay novel Giovanni’s Room, and explorations of the #MeToo movement in the theatre industry. You’ll grow to love the characters, laugh with them, shed tears for them and yell at the page when they get messy (and, oh, they will get messy!). As for what Laurie was really like – that’s for you to decide.
Review by Clare Diston
