27/05/2025
I might be slightly late to the party, but ‘All the Colours of the Dark’ immediately takes place in my list of all-favourite books and I strongly recommend everyone go out and read it!
A book that defies genre, part crime, part love story, the book is an epic ode to the power of friendship.
Beginning in 1975 Missouri, Patch, a one-eyed boy with a hard upbringing but the strength of a pirate, meets Saint, a strong-willed beekeeper intent on watching out for him.
But their childhood friendship is torn apart when Patch notices a mysterious man attack a girl from his school and reluctantly intervenes. Awakening in a dark room, a girl takes Patch’s hand, and promises to keep him safe when all hope is gone. But is she real, or something Patch conjures to survive?
On the outside, Saint will never give up on her best friend, doing everything in her power and risking her life to find Patch and set him free.
What follows is a twenty-six year odyssey of obsession, love and friendship.
In a sprawling narrative of subplots, Patch and Saint develop into two of the most compelling characters that will stay with me for a long time. This book questions the mistakes we make, and if those mistakes sometimes lead us exactly where we need to be.
I had the privilege of meeting Chris Whittaker at the Sydney Writers Festival, who said that
the book came from a place of trauma where writing saved his life.
A sentiment you can feel in every word.
10/10
(Also features one of the best sentences with a c-bomb)
