Sottopassaggio is the second volume in Alexander's "50 Reasons" trilogy.

I don’t know how I ended up in Brighton. I’m in a permanent state of surprise about it. Of course I know the events that took place, I remember the accident or rather I remember the last time Steve ever looked into my eyes before the grinding screeching wiped it all out. It all seems so unexpected, so far from how things were supposed to be…

Following the loss of his partner in a car crash, Mark, the hero from the bestselling 50 Reasons to Say "Goodbye”, tries to pick up the pieces and build a new life for himself in gay friendly Brighton.

Haunted by the death of his lover and a fading sense of self, Mark struggles to put the past behind him, exploring Brighton's high and low-life, falling in love with charming, but unavailable Tom, and hooking up with Jenny, a long lost girlfriend from a time when such a thing seemed possible. But Jenny has her own problems, and as all around are inexorably sucked into the violence of her life, destiny intervenes, weaving the past to the present, and the present to the future in ways no one could have imagined.



Selected Press Reviews:

Books To Watch Out For - Oct 2005 - Richard Labonte

It’s a sequel of sorts to Alexander’s debut novel, 50 Reasons To Say Goodbye, but this
quirkily-titled sophomore novel stands sturdily on its own – though anyone charmed
by the author’s understated wit and engaging central character will surely want to pick
up the first book.
As novels go, 50 Reasons was an eccentric treat – in the main, it consisted of 50 short
chapters, caroming between darkly caustic and energetically comic, about eternally
optimistic Mark’s quest for the perfect lover.
Sottopassaggio (“an underground tunnel or passage enabling pedestrians to cross a
road or railway,” according to Webster’s: the metaphor becomes clear as the novel is
read) is a more traditional work. Mark is picking up the emotional pieces after the
sudden, shocking death of the lover he’d finally found. He returns to Brighton, the
slumbering seaside resort town where his brother owns a home – and where, bit by
bit, he opens up to life: old friendships are rekindled and new ones are forged, and
love lost in a heartbreaking heartbeat is found again.
Alexander writes about these essentials for a good life with an easygoing style
that’s often effervescent – and downright hilarious in some sexual sections. But
there’s a darker side that adds heft and dimension to the story: part of what draws
Mark out of his shell is the violence enmeshing a troubled female friennicely balances the erotic and the profound with saucy good cheer.


Joe Galliano - Gay Times - Sept 2005

This novel stands as either a sequel to Alexander’s hugely entertaining 50 Reasons to
say Goodbye, or as a piece in its own right. After the death of his boyfriend in a car
crash, Mark tries to rebuild his life by making the move to Brighton, Britain’s Gay
second city.
Here he meets figures from his past and future, falls in and out of trouble and battles
with his own despair. Though Alexander has a beautifully turned ear for a witty
phrase, the story is shot through with a dark seam, which pulls you in several
directions at once. I think we can all recognise the lives that live within these pages,
and we share their triumphs and tragedies, hopes and lost dreams.



Paul Burston – Time Out (London) – Nov 9th, 2005

Nick Alexander’s first novel, the critically acclaimed “50 Reasons to Say Goodbye,”
told the story of Mark and his fumbled attempts to find love in the wrong places. At
the start of this sequel, Mark is happily paired up with a saxophone player named
Steve. But not for long. We don’t learn very much about Steve. We know he’s a
saxophone player because at the moment his car fatally collides head-on with another
vehicle on a motorway in France, his beloved sax is catapulted to safety. It’s almost as
an afterthought that we’re told that passenger Mark also survived the accident. It’s
typical of Alexander to reintroduce his hero in this way. In the first book much is
made of Mark’s endless self-doubting. Now here he is again, playing second fiddle to
a brass wind instrument.
“Sottopassaggio” finds Mark mourning the loss of his lover and trying to build a new
life for himself in Brighton. One night he’s chatted up by a couple of clones, Jean and
John, and invited back for a threesome. Arriving at their house, Mark is put off by
their appalling peach sofa and deep-pile nylon carpet. Downstairs it’s a different story
altogether. Trussed up in their dungeon, Mark watches helplessly while his hosts have
sex. “Live porn,” he thinks. “Never has my frustration felt more complete.”
Shortly afterwards Mark is reintroduced to Jenny with her Smeg fridge and smug
outlook on life. A former girlfriend from a time when such things seemed possible,
Jenny’s perfect domestic setup hides a dark secret. And then there’s Tom – cute,
friendly, and attached, so naturally Mark falls madly in love. Sottopassaggio has all
the qualities that made 50 Reasons... such a delight. Buy it today. And if you
haven’t read the first book, buy that too.



Sottopassaggio was published by BIGfib in 2005. Buy it <here>.

Read Nick Alexander's Author Profile <here>


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