An intriguing work of literary fiction

Nov. 13, 2015 by Kayti Nika Raet for Readers’ Favorite | 5 stars out of 5

Wayne Clark’s he & She is an intriguing work of literary fiction. It opens with a man on the cusp of death before going back to reveal his journey before that moment. It’s almost a reverse coming of age story of the main character, Kit Cayman, who has spent the last fifty years mostly ambling through life, buffeted along by the tides of time that no longer match the idealized version that he had hoped for himself. Numb and lonely, he happens upon an image online that piques his interest and brings up half formed fantasies that had gathered dust since adolescence. It’s a picture of a regal woman who happens to be a dominatrix. Determined to learn more about her and through her himself, he contacts her and thus begins a journey of self-discovery, hope, and maybe even love.

This book is far from erotica, despite the sexual nature of the subject matter, but is a character study interested more in peeling back the layers of a man in malaise than titillating voyeuristic readers. I liked how he & She got deep into K’s head. So much so that it was easy to forget where one chapter began and another ended as you were swept up in the highs and lows of his journey. Sometimes that made for a difficult read as my first instinct is to distance myself from characters who dwell in funks as their thought process is stifling. But Clark’s writing kept me curious and I wanted to see where the path between K and his “Egyptian Princess” would lead. An intriguing character study and a unique read.