Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan

 Thanks to the Publisher and Net Gallery for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting read. This was really two books in one. From the first half its 1986 and boys from not the best homes collude to wreak havoc on a punk rock music festival weekend. We get the back story on a number of characters who will make brief appearances in the second half of the book. This first half of the book seriously dragged for me. I've been to music festivals and remember getting drunk and rowdy but these guys took it to an extreme. I believe it was necessary to understand two characters, Jimmy, the narrator, and Tully, his best friend. This could have been reduced to a quarter of the pages utilised.

The second half of the book redeemed itself. I enjoyed reading about these two characters as adults more then as teenagers, just graduating high school. By 2017 Tully never really grew up, he got a job and a girlfriend but he remained self-centered without true caring for others. He clearly had a unique relationship with Jimmy, who became a writer. The relationship between the boys was more important to Tully than his girlfriend, who would be his wife for the duration of his illness.

Jimmy promised to assist Tully in his desire to skip the end of life stuff. The plan is to go to Switzerland for one last hurrah and take the dose that will put him out of his misery. Step one is to get married. Drinking and eating and doing all things that will bring on his end of life, Tully has one wish, to go out in style. Selfish? more than a bit.

He doesn't discuss his plans with his wife that he just married. Jimmy is still the ear for his confidences as they plan the final ending. These fellows wives are just background extras, the only females in the story with names, other than Jimmy's favorite teacher and Tully's mom. We aren't introduced to the wives until very late in the story and the teacher and mom are just old women, dying or having dementia. We do not get any kind of a well rounded character development from them.

The interesting part of the book for me was the struggle between these two men as they face death and dying, the choice to let medicine takes its course or put the old dog out of its misery. A very real debate that plays out in society today. I almost cried as Tully went into the final treatment to end his life, almost but not quite.