The novel, “Pocket Notebook” is the debut work of Mike Thomas, which has been adapted from Mike’s prior experiences in the police force. This creates a piece of work that is mimetic in its execution and portrays a somewhat unstable police officer’s decline. This decline is precipitated by his jaded outlook; the downfall of his character is because of a dysfunctional upbringing.  The novel is told in a first person account by the police constable Jacob Smith, in which the plot in unravelled by the day to day actives delivered in the form of note taking. This style gives us an informal look into the introspective view of Jacob himself.

The introduction of the book starts off in medias res without any establishment or explanation of what the story is about or what previously took place.  This scene instead displays the interior monologue of the main character Jacob Smith which portrays his feelings towards a car crash. The incident requires his composure, despite the victim being close to death.  In the first scene, Jacob deconstructs the formalities of police work; he is obliged to placate the victim by removing any sense of doubt or worry she might have.  The reader is aware however, in axiom; this girl is going to die.  This one scene represents a realistic account of how a police officer has to maintain a quasi- dignified professional veneer when dealing with situations as drastic as these; Any normal human being would realise that the situation is hopeless; Jacob however must not reveal these feelings to the victim project himself as a authoritative, reassuring figure: “but I still tell her, ‘it’s going to be ok everything’s going to be fine, these people are here to help you now’. I’m lying.”(1)

The scene continues on with medics arriving to assist Jacob, however he is also met with a drunk who causes an altercation by disparaging the police force with comments such as “all Coppers are bastards”(2). Jacob then proceeds to arrest the inebriate however due to his taunting and resistance, whilst mid-arrest, he provokes Jacob to beat him into submission:  “ I don’t know how long I’ve been here or how I even got inside, but I’m in the back of the van with him, in the cage, pummelling the fucker, watching in a detached kind of way  as my fists… land on his scalp” (3)

From this first chapter alone, we gain a good summary of Jacob as a Policeman and his character. He maintains a professional Veneer yet in reality has politically incorrect feelings towards certain things, and when provoked he can be quick to temper reacting with violence. This leads to the conclusion that a lot of his anger is very repressed. In places the book is written in a style that feels very realistic which is reinforced with the use of police jargon and modern day colloquialism due to the fact that the author’s original occupation was a full time police officer.

Mike’s real life experiences as a police officer resonate very strongly in this, and he uses this knowledge to create a believable setting.  He uses procedures as a police officer to create a very convincing and somewhat palpable universe in the book even if elements are exaggerated. However there are only a few instances that may cause scepticism, and generally the prose grounds itself by setting the story in reality, that is exacted by how the main character keeps account on every small detail of his day to day life despite how seemingly irrelevant these details are to the main plot. Because of this, the more ridiculous segments of the book cause a convincing suspension of disbelief.  Mike seems to understand the subscription of a modern day reader, and respects the reader‘s intelligence.

Mike also displays a cultured background in media and fiction, which is apparent from how he references this culture. For example on occasions Jacob quoting memorable films such as ‘Apocalypse Now’. It is obvious that these luminaries of art, literature and film have also influenced Mike’s style of writing. The most noticeable influence is shown to the reader before the story has begun, on front cover of the main copy of the book; a police officer with an iconic painted eyelash around one eye. This is an allusion to the novel and film, “A Clockwork Orange” in which the main character, Alex DeLarge has drawn an enlarged black eyelash on his eye. While “never judge a book by its cover” is usually the most prominent adage most critics of prose adhere to, the cover gives a pretty accurate tableau of the main character’s exploits and themes presented in the book.

What is noted when reading the novel however is how Mike integrates real life work elements, such as the judicial system, and in a sense parodies the dreary obligatory processes of this system through Jacob’s caustic opinions. These observations seem so implicit of an esoteric outlook inside the system that they are convincingly delivered as if they were real opinions of a police officer, “The crown prosecution service. The CPS. Crap Police solicitors. Can’t Prosecute, Sorry. Criminal Protection Service.” (4).  These seemingly invented acronyms  adopted from official real life aspects of the criminal justice system, display acerbic reservations in how certain procedures inside of police work are ineffectual.  The way some of these opinions almost seem tacit to how a real clique of police officers feel towards elements of the criminal justice system , at times makes the reader wonder if the text itself  displays a satirical tongue in cheek commentary of the way the system really works. The reader may also contemplate on whether the comments made in this work, in places, mirrors the writer’s personal feelings towards his work and the inner mechanic of the police service. Henry Sutton of the Ticket argues:

“in many ways he’s come up with a cracker of a read. It’s just that you can’t help feeling there’s almost too much truth in the tale, which either attests to his great imagination and literary skills, or his worryingly acute observational powers”(5)

While there are many evident strengths in the writing, there are some weaker elements to the plot. The police jargon and acronyms used are generally quite understandable with a basic knowledge of the terms used. However there are some usages that seem overly esoteric, and at times  feel heavily laden.

In addition to this there is a significant scene in the beginning of the novel, where Jacob and his wife Karen have a big altercation in Frankie’s party. We learn that he has said something untoward to his wife which leads to Karen’s silence towards Jacob. This obviously indicates that what he said was very insulting.  Despite Karen’s unremitting stubbornness, the impression on the reader is that this is a build up to a climactic scene, indicating that Karen might reveal what he said, which would shock the reader greatly. However this never comes to pass, and we never learn what he has said.

In addition to this, the end scenes are meant, in a sense, to be a form of catharsis for Jacob. This becomes the only somewhat unconvincing element of the book, mainly because of how little build up there is towards these climaxes. There are very few, if nonexistent previous hints or call-back scenes in the previous chapters of the novel which leave breadcrumbs to hint to the ending. This leaves the end result of the novel to feel rushed and somewhat shoehorned.

There is also a scene where Jacob is lent six thousand pounds by his best friend, Frankie, in order to pay a debt to a drug dealer. However in light of the fact that Mel, Frankie’s wife, has previous confrontations with Jacob, it is hard to believe that Mel would condone Frankie lending Jacob the said amount. Even with Frankie persuading Mel the money for something else, Jacob’s history or near malfeasance in the force would give logical mind the impression that the money is not being used by Jacob for legitimate practises.

To conclude while the ending of the book may skim over some explanations, the overall prose itself is very well written, entertaining and engaging in a way that displays great promise for Mike Thomas. As his first piece of work, this shows potential and ability that is very scarce in the majority of contemporary literature of this recent decade, and “Pocket Notebook” presents itself as a good foundation for Mike to develop his writing style further.

Follow