Marshmallows
by Colin O'Sullivan
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Pub Date 9 Nov 2020 | Archive Date 1 Sep 2021
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Description
It is Christmas Eve in London.
Ben Morrigan is in his boyfriend David’s kitchen making Christmas crackers. The pair is invited to dinner at David’s childhood home, the stylish abode of theatre – and sometimes TV – star Charles Cunningham. For David, that should be the perfect occasion to introduce Ben to the family for the first time.
The couple set out on a car journey, and all is clearly not well. They bicker and argue, and something is preoccupying the dark mind of swarthy Ben, this young man who makes his living from making film/theatre props and constructing sets. The scene he has on his mind on this day is one of vengeance for wrongs inflicted a long time ago.
Charles Cunningham and his wife Lydia wait nervously for the arrival of the guests and are ensconced in their own squabbling. Lydia worries about the state of mind of her aging husband – he has begun to forget things and, when pushed on certain topics, it becomes evident that they have escaped him altogether. But how much of his past will he be allowed to evade?
The Christmas tree Charles gazes upon looks lopsided as if it hasn’t been set up properly and will tumble down at any minute: this central metaphor becomes an apt appraisal for the life he has lived and the truths he will be made face, as apt a metaphor as that of the marshmallows he sometimes indulges in: things that are soft, sweet, delicate and effortlessly consumed, but are now back to haunt like spectres from Christmases past.
The scene is set for a fraught encounter as hunter and hunted face off on a dark winter night. Memories are summoned or are practically wrenched back into play, many of which would perhaps be better off left locked away in a dusty old prop chest with the other Waiting for Godot accoutrements, the bowler hats, the stinging whip; and on a bare theatre stage an intense interrogation and crippling castigation is about to take place, which will frazzle nerves, break relationships and go as far as to upend the very notion of family.
Will anyone come out of it unscathed, or is it just that, as Ben’s favourite Christmas song has it, “the Christmas you get… you deserve”?
Advance Praise
"Is it a crime novel, for a few crimes do take place? A Christmas story, as the events happen on Christmas Eve? A tale of the theater, for major scenes do take place there? A revenge novel decades in the planning? Colin O'Sullivan's brilliantly realized, and totally absorbing new novel, Marshmallows is all of these things and more
Ben Morrigan and David Cunningham live together in London. Ben is always at work in the apartment. Quiet and secretive. Making things. Props for plays. Christmas crackers. Writing in small print messages that David is not allowed to see, and inserting them in the crackers. What do they say? What to they portend? Twisting the cracker ends while imagining they were actual necks.
David is the more social of the two and often spends his nights in the clubs, drinking and flirting, while Ben works silently in the apartment, on secret things. On this Christmas morning Ben shakes his head at David's efforts to make instant coffee to sooth his hangover, in order to recover some from the night before, all the while Ben is plotting, and planning the raising of the curtain, the snapping of the crackers.
They both will be leaving later in the day, as David is bringing Ben home to meet his parents, who live in a grand gated property in suburban London. There they all will celebrate Christmas Eve with a turkey that his mother Lydia is cooking between glasses of Sherry and wine, while nagging at her husband. David's father, Charles Cunningham, was a famous stage actor, who now is faced with a fading memory, and not sure if he is in his perfect mind. The thespian still longs to play that one last great role - King Lear while pondering his leaning Christmas tree and eating marshmallows. Unaware that his most profound and life altering role will soon take place.
The night before two huge, powerfully built twin brothers, Brick and Brac Herbert in a white van were driving around, digging the pounding sounds and profane lyrics of the Sleford Mods, smashing security cameras outside a petro station, and moving a plastic Christmas tree, and camera onto the stage of an old vacant theater for what will finally take place there. They go about their work with agility and power.
Slowly the author gathers the pieces together. Like the slow snapping of a leather whip the crimes of the past resurface and retribution shall take place. The stage is set. The audience of three anticipating. The curtain raised. The lead actor bowed, and confused, standing in the spotlight before his jury. The play begins.
Colin O'Sullivan is quite simply one of the best authors writing today. Marshmallows is constantly surprising. Rich in character, and masterfully plotted. Nothing is obvious, nothing is easy, but in the end the final secret is revealed. No one will remain unscathed on Christmas Day, but will revenge be as sweet as it was long dreamed of?
Marshmallows is one of those novels that you ought to experience for yourself, and I promise you will not soon forget it. I have not. It remains a vivid and deeply satisfying experience." - Marvin Minkler
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781916156548 |
| PRICE | US$4.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 823951
Giving this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It is Christmas Eve in London.
Ben Morrigan is in his boyfriend David’s kitchen making Christmas crackers. The pair is invited to dinner at David’s childhood home, the stylish abode of theatre – and sometimes TV – star Charles Cunningham. For David, that should be the perfect occasion to introduce Ben to the family for the first time.
The couple set out on a car journey, and all is clearly not well. They bicker and argue, and something is preoccupying the dark mind of swarthy Ben, this young man who makes his living from making film/theatre props and constructing sets. The scene he has on his mind on this day is one of vengeance for wrongs inflicted a long time ago.
Charles Cunningham and his wife Lydia wait nervously for the arrival of the guests and are ensconced in their own squabbling. Lydia worries about the state of mind of her aging husband – he has begun to forget things and, when pushed on certain topics, it becomes evident that they have escaped him altogether. But how much of his past will he be allowed to evade?
The Christmas tree Charles gazes upon looks lopsided as if it hasn’t been set up properly and will tumble down at any minute: this central metaphor becomes an apt appraisal for the life he has lived and the truths he will be made face, as apt a metaphor as that of the marshmallows he sometimes indulges in: things that are soft, sweet, delicate and effortlessly consumed, but are now back to haunt like spectres from Christmases past.
The scene is set for a fraught encounter as hunter and hunted face off on a dark winter night. Memories are summoned or are practically wrenched back into play, many of which would perhaps be better off left locked away in a dusty old prop chest with the other Waiting for Godot accoutrements, the bowler hats, the stinging whip; and on a bare theatre stage an intense interrogation and crippling castigation is about to take place, which will frazzle nerves, break relationships and go as far as to upend the very notion of family.
Will anyone come out of it unscathed, or is it just that, as Ben’s favourite Christmas song has it, “the Christmas you get… you deserve
Jill B, Reviewer
Ben and David are partners getting ready to do the meet the parents thing. It’s Christmas Eve, full of good cheer, yet something is off. A very different novel from what I was expecting and I’m better off for it, I think.
Bridget E, Reviewer
At the beginning of Marshmallows the reader meets a pair of brawny identical twins disabling security cameras; also Ben, who is sitting at the kitchen table making Christmas crackers. His partner, David has just got up; he has a hangover and is making coffee. It’s Xmas eve and they will soon be travelling to David’s parents, Charles and Lydia Cunningham's house. Ben makes sets props for a living and is creative. David, a bit of a party animal, and Ben have been together for a year. They are having the turkey, cranberry sauce and Brussels sprouts on Christmas Eve as Charles and Lydia are heading off to Greece as a late birthday present for Lydia...
A family drama/ crime read, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Nothing is predictible, including the ending.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Betimes Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.
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