Reviewed by Bil Howard for Readers' Favorite

A binging rampage of alcohol, women, and drugs in Hong Kong seems like the only answer to the deep psychological trauma and addiction of two brothers, Zak and Daniel. Their story and the horrible events that caused their pain are graphically displayed in a dark and foreboding manner in Dutch by Jamie Christian Desplaces. Flashing in and out of memories and therapeutic sessions, the two boys attempt to undo the damage that was done when they were both critically injured as children and then subsequently lost their parents. Zak's dark remembrances continue to jump around in the scattered disarray of someone who is attempting to sort things out through a drug induced fog. Coming to grips with the death of his parents, his brother’s severe injuries for which he carries the guilt, and the memory of a dedicated childhood friend Katie all come flooding in as he is pressed to deal with his past by a therapist. Will he ever be able to break free of the fog which has engulfed him?

The dark and disorganized thoughts of one who has drowned his entire past in drugs and alcohol is clearly depicted in this book. It is a brilliant and poetic method that is used to bring reality to a story that mostly takes place inside Zak’s mind. By dipping the reader into his thought processes and using short, broken dialogue, the author draws the reader into the trauma and pain which haunts him and the personal prison in which he is hopelessly lost. Honest, dark, revealing, intense, and brilliantly written ... the reader will feel the pain.