Up Front 01/07

The distances covered by new technology never cease to amaze. A new book to be published in January, with a storyline based on mobile phone texting, kept me awake long into the night recently. After the Death of Alice Bennett, a first novel by Rowland Molony from Devon, though recommended for children from 9 upwards should appeal to many adults also. It tells the story of a young boy named Sam whose mother had explained before she died that she would still be alive but in the Next World. On the day of his Mum’s cremation, his sister Becky receives a text from a friend: ‘Lots of love, darling. Thinking of you.’ Sam decides the message is from his Mum and when he finds her mobile phone and a ‘contact number’ in her handwriting, he sends a message. ‘Mum, please can u fone me or txt, its urgent I want 2 spk 2 u. say where can we meet. I love u xxx sam.’ It is received by a kind but lonely lorry driver, Tony, who innocently responds. Before he knows it, the boy is texting daily and has decided to come and find his Mum. To me this story struck a chord as my late brother’s wife still uses his mobile and I regularly receive texts from what appears to be him. Originally it was disconcerting but now it is somehow comforting. I like the thought that somewhere in a parallel world ghost like fingers could be trying to press telephone numbers.