The Devil's Toenail

‘When you’ve given up your life to a fossilized mollusc it really does things to your personality.’ This is the slightly rueful conclusion arrived at by Stephen Geoffrey Saunders, Prue’s young teenage hero, towards the end of his adventures with his particular ‘fossilized mollusc’, the ‘devil’s toenail’ of the title. Here is an extremely powerful story which, in essence, is about power itself, its uses and abuses. The theme is given impressive treatment in a narrative which takes a refreshingly different view of the world of boyhood gangs, their apparent attractions, their potential to corrupt and, at least in cases such as this, their ultimate role as a transitional stage to growth and independence. Told in a sequence of 49 short chapters, as if in Stephen’s own edgy, staccato voice, Prue’s novel probes various corners of young male darkness in a manner which, while always highly convincing (and often very entertaining), is also occasionally disturbing and challenging – but only because we recognize its truth. Highly recommended.