What Will Happen
to You?
A dark comedy about a reluctant accountant who wishes he was someone else, doing something else, being somewhere else, but who, what and where?
We track Robbie Carton’s descent from his mind-numbing accounting job into...well, something else probably. But before that, he has to escape his life, the tarantula, Paris, an office full of absurdity, the outback, wheelie bins and of course, Bentley, Robbie’s boss and natural enemy, according to Robbie. Even if Robbie manages to escape all that, will he ever find a way to tell Sophie he loves her?
Or will be discover ...Wherever you go, there you are.
ANGST
UNRELIABLE NARRATORS
DARK HUMOUR
a Novel
TRAUMA'S RIPPLE EFFECT
EXISTENTIAL PRISON
PARADISE LOST?
A surreal voyeuristic journey into the minds and lies of larger than life characters, each trapped in their own psychological struggle for survival and redemption.
Doing Life in Paradise explores the impact and ripple effect of trauma on a group of strangers inextricably linked by, and witness to, a tragic accident. Shrouded in survivor's guilt, family secrets, and a tangled web of deceit, the characters must uncover the truth buried within their own stories to break free from their psychological prisons. Ruby hopes for love, but her destiny is controlled by a malicious spider. Peter laments the loss of love, but prefers to discuss it with Mr Dishwasher. Madeleine discovers rapture while counting down her periods. Hawkey knows if you lie to your psychologist, you are still telling the truth. And Tommy? Tommy is a killer.
But how can life in Paradise feel anything but cruelly ironic? How can it not be anything but a life sentence?
Doing Life in
A Paradise
BOOKS
Gary N. Lines
at his Best
Your mind will be bent, your assumptions shattered, your funny bone provoked. Gary N. Lines' novels are a literary rollercoaster ride through the absurdity of existence, where the profound and the ridiculous collide...and make a mess.
— Angela My Crazy Reading Obsession Blog. Read full interview:
“This was definitely a very interesting and unique book to read. Honestly, after I finished reading this book, I needed some time afterwards to sit down and think about what just happened. Not because I didn't understand what exactly happened, but to process it timeline-wise...I actually really liked the concept of this book. It was really philosophical at times, and I had to put the book down several times when the statements got big and deep in order to process my thoughts on them. Another unique thing about the theme is that it talked quite a bit about coincidences and synchronicity. Especially after finishing the book, it does make one think about coincidences that can't be explained in real life.”
— Angela My Crazy Reading Obsession Blog. Read full interview:
“This was definitely a very interesting and unique book to read. Honestly, after I finished reading this book, I needed some time afterwards to sit down and think about what just happened. Not because I didn't understand what exactly happened, but to process it timeline-wise...I actually really liked the concept of this book. It was really philosophical at times, and I had to put the book down several times when the statements got big and deep in order to process my thoughts on them. Another unique thing about the theme is that it talked quite a bit about coincidences and synchronicity. Especially after finishing the book, it does make one think about coincidences that can't be explained in real life.”
— Angela My Crazy Reading Obsession Blog. Read full interview:
“This was definitely a very interesting and unique book to read. Honestly, after I finished reading this book, I needed some time afterwards to sit down and think about what just happened. Not because I didn't understand what exactly happened, but to process it timeline-wise...I actually really liked the concept of this book. It was really philosophical at times, and I had to put the book down several times when the statements got big and deep in order to process my thoughts on them. Another unique thing about the theme is that it talked quite a bit about coincidences and synchronicity. Especially after finishing the book, it does make one think about coincidences that can't be explained in real life.”
A Novel
doing life in paradise
CRITICAL Acclaim FOR
— Sarah Sutherland - Actor, Producer. Melbourne, Australia.
Post modernism, the self and the otherself, no empirical truth just context, meta fiction, the unreliable narrators … the unreliable author. None of which I knew much about. I really enjoyed this. And I was fascinated by the way it folds in on itself, unrelenting in the parallel streams of conscious and unconscious thoughts, and the way you explore longing and unrequited desire. Bleak, certainly, but also adroit. It is complex and layered and I found reading it was a bit like a hall of distorted mirrors. Intriguing and destabilising. It's an epic read and dare I say a demanding read.
I especially loved the part with Robbie in the mines. And Sophie in Paris. And the different cities with their very different energies but which sort of melded as well. And the city heat and the ominous darkened spaces like cells. And the brooding feeling of it all. I’m in awe of your intelligence and the black humour that shines through it.”
“ I’m sure I could have been quicker but I found I needed to read it slowly, and bit by bit. I think I usually skim read but I couldn’t with this.
— Sarah Sutherland - Actor, Producer. Melbourne, Australia.
Post modernism, the self and the otherself, no empirical truth just context, meta fiction, the unreliable narrators … the unreliable author. None of which I knew much about. I really enjoyed this. And I was fascinated by the way it folds in on itself, unrelenting in the parallel streams of conscious and unconscious thoughts, and the way you explore longing and unrequited desire. Bleak, certainly, but also adroit. It is complex and layered and I found reading it was a bit like a hall of distorted mirrors. Intriguing and destabilising. It's an epic read and dare I say a demanding read.
I especially loved the part with Robbie in the mines. And Sophie in Paris. And the different cities with their very different energies but which sort of melded as well. And the city heat and the ominous darkened spaces like cells. And the brooding feeling of it all. I’m in awe of your intelligence and the black humour that shines through it.”
“ I’m sure I could have been quicker but I found I needed to read it slowly, and bit by bit. I think I usually skim read but I couldn’t with this.
— Sarah Sutherland - Actor, Producer. Melbourne, Australia.
Post modernism, the self and the otherself, no empirical truth just context, meta fiction, the unreliable narrators … the unreliable author. None of which I knew much about. I really enjoyed this. And I was fascinated by the way it folds in on itself, unrelenting in the parallel streams of conscious and unconscious thoughts, and the way you explore longing and unrequited desire. Bleak, certainly, but also adroit. It is complex and layered and I found reading it was a bit like a hall of distorted mirrors. Intriguing and destabilising. It's an epic read and dare I say a demanding read.
I especially loved the part with Robbie in the mines. And Sophie in Paris. And the different cities with their very different energies but which sort of melded as well. And the city heat and the ominous darkened spaces like cells. And the brooding feeling of it all. I’m in awe of your intelligence and the black humour that shines through it.”
“ I’m sure I could have been quicker but I found I needed to read it slowly, and bit by bit. I think I usually skim read but I couldn’t with this.