Eden’s Wake
The debut novel from K R O’Hara, Eden’s Wake, explores one man’s journey in a post-pandemic world.
Three Narratives come together to make one story, as we follow Jason Davies’ life, leading him to his own desert island where he has been abandoned, too important to be set free. Back home, his surviving family and friends, are trying to live normal lives in a world devastated by a global pandemic, in the shadow of shortages, and under an ever increasingly authoritarian regime, all the time fearful for what has become of the man that was taken away from them over five years before.
With a soundtrack at its heart, Eden’s Wake is the story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.
Three narratives interwoven as one story.
Three narratives, one story
Jason’s tale
From the day he arrived, already complete and fully functioning, at the Brigadier’s office in Whitehall, to his time as a young man scraping a living working part-time in a record shop, we track Jason’s journey as a father and a friend. We follow his extraordinary success, and his evolving celebrity status as it all comes crashing in on him when the pandemic strikes and the world is changed irrevocably.
In a new post-pandemic world, where nothing will ever be the same again, on the day that Jason turns 43 and a bit, he is taken, and nothing will be heard of him in over five years.
The Island
It is May 2020 and Jason has been alone on the island for almost a year. In just over a week his daughter Mia will turn 18, and he is beginning to realise that there is no plan for him, he has been discarded, and nothing will change unless he changes it.
It is a little over five years since that fateful night on his almost 43rd birthday, when he was taken from his family and friends. 1,935 days since he walked out, compliantly, without even saying goodbye. For just over four years he was kept in the place they called Eden, until he was no longer needed, only to be taken away once again.
So here he is alone, apart from his unseen carers, filling his time with purposeful nothings to while away the days. In his family home for one, overlooking the constant sea, to a soundtrack devoid of music. In the empty silence, the realisation that he needs to make the change finally dawns.
Back home
It is the Spring of 2020, more than 8 years since the pandemic struck, turning the world upside down, and it is over 5 years since Jason was taken away, turning a smaller world inside out.
After so many deaths, a devastated global economy, and a society ripped apart from the inside, the world has got smaller, and darker. To a plaintive soundtrack of classic soul, Jason’s family are trying to live their lives as normally as possible. Jason’s daughter Mia, his father Terry, and his closest surviving friends Mark, Nidhi, and Ben, all go on doing the best they can, trying to be normal, under the shadow of the pandemic, and the suppressed fears for their lost friend.
The Opening Chapters
Prologue - January 1972, Waterloo Sunset
The Prologue, the introduction to Jason’s narrative, is the only chapter in Jason’s story where he doesn’t take centre stage, instead, it is all focussed around his Dad, Terry, on the day he discovers that he has a son.
It’s 1972 and Terry, an office equipment salesman, is in Whitehall, waiting to meet the Brigadier for what he hopes will be a lucrative sales opportunity.
Forty-five minutes, half a dozen cigarettes, and a couple of glasses of scotch later, Terry is heading off towards Waterloo Station with far more than he ever bargained for.
Chapter 1 - Friday 1st May 2020
Jason is alone on a Greek Island, with no one to share his beautiful family villa for one. At night, whilst he sleeps, he gets the nocturnal visit of his unseen helpers, leaving him food for his lonely rise in the morning. Awaiting the day that he will get to return to his family, he focuses on keeping busy, patiently compliant, amidst the constant silence that surrounds him.
After a year without a single shared conversation, and the weight of his daughter’s impending 18th birthday hanging over him, Jason turns to a clean set of pages to share his story with his children, his many children, not just his daughter Mia.
Chapter 2 - Spring 2020, To Love Somebody
Mia is in the kitchen, cooking with her Granddad, awaiting the return of Mark. A nuclear family recreated from the remnants of the devastating pandemic. Mia’s mother died, as did her Grandma, and Doug, and so many more. And nothing has been heard of her father, Jason, in over five years.
They do what they can in a world torn apart. Mia goes to school, and Terry volunteers at the City farm and food bank, and Mark tries to continue as if everything is normal. And they cook what they can get and try to be grateful for what they have.
And they never give up hope for the missing Jason, a father, a son, and a dear friend.
Hear all 22 tracks that provide the soundtrack to Eden’s Wake
The characters
Jason
Jason is the son of Terry and Julie, his birth mother Alice died when he was born. He was married to Danni and had one daughter, Mia. He also has numerous other children who he has never met (like their mothers).
Mia
Mia, (Minnie), is the daughter of Jason and Danni. At the time that Jason is writing his story on the island, Mia is heading towards her 18th birthday and living with her Granddad and Mark.
Terry
Terry is Jason’s father. His first wife was Alice, Jason’s birth mother. He was married to Julie and is Mia’s Granddad. Following the pandemic, Julie’s death, and Jason’s disappearance, he has shared a house with Mark, caring for Mia.
Julie
Julie is Terry’s wife, Jason’s mother and Mia’s Grandma. Unable to have children herself, she brought up Jason as her own. She was killed in the pandemic of 2013.
Mark
Mark, along with Doug, shared a house with Jason and Danni when they were in their twenties. A software developer, he was the joint creator and founder of Zig. When Doug died and Jason went missing, he brought in Terry and Mia to share his house with him.
Doug
Doug was one of Jason’s oldest friends, flat-mate, co-business owner and Mark’s partner. He was one of millions who died in the global pandemic of 2013.
Danni
Danni was Jason’s wife, and Mia’s mum. She lived with Jason, Mark and Doug when they were in their twenties. She went on to become a much-celebrated artist. She separated from Jason when Mia was still young, remaining close friends until her death in the pandemic.
Kate
Kate met Jason in Eden, where she was a Personal Trainer seconded from the Defence Forces of Ireland. They soon fell in love and were inseparable, right up until the point when he was no longer needed and was removed to the Island.
Nidhi
Nidhi worked alongside Jason as his Finance Director and Accountant. During the period of upheaval, following the Pandemic of 2013, she married Ben. She is extremely close to Mia, forming a strong sisterly bond.
Ben
Ben first met Jason on a business trip to the States, where his unusual demeanour and sense of humour instantly drew him in as a lifelong friend. Married to Nidhi, Ben is also the company’s lawyer.
Jens
Jens was Jason’s closest friend in Eden. A multilingual logistics officer in the German Army, he is an open, honest, and fiercely loyal friend.
Dave, Steve & Graham
Dave, Steve & Graham are the unseen helpers on the Island. Nicknamed by Jason after Crosby, Stills, & Nash. Dave and Steve are Jason’s builder mates, whilst Graham is the uncommunicative cleaner and provider of foodstuffs.