Nalda Said

Keeping secrets from the world is Stuart David's theme in Nalda Said. The Belle and Sebastian bassist and Looper front man's literary debut weaves together dreamlike fantasy and harsh reality in a tale of unsettling charm. Brought up on the fringes of society by story-telling Aunt Nalda, David's nameless narrator is an isolated figure, burdened by the belief, instilled in him by Nalda and interpreted with innocent literalness, that he carries something special inside--something to conceal and protect from the world beyond. With fantasy and reality confused, he occupies a middle ground, waiting to emerge from isolation but unable to interact: "That's the reason for why I've most always fled from a place the moment I've let just anything at all slip to anyone. Because of how I know about people, and about how all but the very few would rip up anything to get to the part which will bring them a profit or gain." Working as a hospital gardener allows him to function in mere solitude, but when love enters this innocent world, and with it the opportunity to establish the true nature of his secret, his dual desire both to conceal and connect forces the ultimate choice. Nalda Said is an uneasy but sensitive story of emotional awakening. A study of the lives we lead and the lives we want to believe. --Shona Robertson


Genre: Literary Fiction