Dragon Book Review: The Truth Has Arms And Legs by Local Author, Alice Fowler

Published on: 26 Jun, 2023
Updated on: 8 Jul, 2023

By Hugh Coakley

This is a delightful and beautifully written book of short stories of yearning and discovering and of defiance and independence.

The Truth Has Arms And Legs by local author and Dragon contributor Alice Fowler moved, entertained and inspired me. From the shortest story of just two pages long, the 12 tales have believable and memorable individuals cutting through to the heart of their lives with fantastic brevity and clarity.

All the main characters are female, from 10-year-old Maggie opening up her world by winning a school race, to Jenny realising her strength after years of quiet acceptance, to Cate finding love again after loss.

From Auschwitz to discovered love in a cafe in rural England, and from robbery on a train to Alzheimers, these are profound themes told with a realism and a positive, inspirational slant, captured in a tiny amount of words. Amazing imagination and a remarkable talent.

Local author Alice Fowler.

Fowler worked as a journalist for a national newspaper and her reporter’s eye is there throughout the book in the details and observations of the school fair, orchids on the downs and the anxious wait on a station platform for a lover to turn up.

The reporter’s instinct, I suspect, also helps to see the possibilities of a story within a situation and then, rigorously sticking to the plan, every sentence balanced and complete.

Her short stories have been listed or won a number of competitions including the Historical Writers’ Association Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition in 2020 for The Race, the opening story in her book where a Gypsy girl, Maggie, sees the possibilities of her life opening up.

You can buy The Truth Has Arms and Legs as a paperback or a Kindle ebook from the Fly on the Wall Press and from Waterstones and Amazon.