Tom Burne Has Left The Chat

Jamie is seventeen, his father died a few short months ago and his mother, seeking to escape the pain of the memories which saturate their home, has accepted a job in Canada where they will, after Jamie’s final exams, live with his grandparents until they have a place of their own. His future is mapped out – but he hasn’t chosen this new landscape and doesn’t want to leave. He feels there has already been far too much loss and he can’t bear the thought of more: his friends; their familiar stamping grounds and, most of all, his home.

‘The memories in our house were like an old blanket. For me they were only comforting.’

As he and his mother argue about the move in a local seaside café, Tom Burne, a 17-year-old micro-influencer, throws himself off nearby cliffs to his death. When Jamie’s mother goes to offer help in her capacity as a doctor Jamie finds Tom’s clothes, folded neatly with his phone, which he steals. Thus, out of Jamie’s loneliness and a longing for a distraction from his grief, begins a long attachment to the phone and a desire to find out what sort of person Tom really was. Jamie describes himself ‘picking through the digital carrion’ of Tom’s phone ‘like some sort of virtual vulture.’

Unlike previous generations, this one leaves a comprehensive archive of their lives, often in minute detail – and with the assistance of AI it can be manipulated and distorted at will to present different personas to a variety of audiences. Jamie becomes increasingly obsessive about the information he has gleaned, building up a character whose media posts were witty and original and whose digital presence is still strong. Jamie makes Tom what he needs him to be, constantly exploring every possible facet of his phone life, neglecting friends, exams and everything save the constant pursuit of Tom’s social media identity.

This is a cleverly written book with a great deal to say about the world in which so many young people find themselves caught up. The damage to Jamie’s mental health caused by his immersion in the life of a dead young man he comes to love is immeasurable and starkly portrayed. Jamie’s road back to health lay in the company of his friends, in his relationship with his mother, in his re-entry into the real world. When he finally begins to fight his way through the technological wall he has built around himself he understands he must let Tom go. As he finally feels able to rejoins his closest friends, they celebrate their exam results out in nature and he knows he is finally secure: ‘As the shower stopped and the barley swayed and my friends’ heartbeats thumped softly in my ears, that was where I wished to be.’