Milo

I can give this story nothing less than 5 stars because for what it is, it's almost perfect. 

It's uniquely slow-paced and lazy like a hot summer afternoon, but from the start there's a feeling like there's a storm brewing in the distance. It pacifies you with eloquent narration but somehow manages to keep you on the edge with everything that happens beneath the surface. 

And of course, there is Milo. 

It's hard for me to write more without going into spoilers. My only regret is that I didn't read it earlier!

A beautifully written evocation of a summer holiday in France, first love and the misunderstandings that arise when family secrets begin to come to light. Reading it was like watching an understated French film, full of nuances and subtlety.

If you’re looking for excitement and instant gratification, you’ve come to the wrong place. Milo is a slow-burning tale of romance and long-buried secrets that takes place over a long summer in the rural quiet of southern France.

Bookish Milo is fifteen and is coming to terms with the feelings he has developed for Estevo, the handsome young man his parents have hired to fix up the decrepit villa in which they are staying. Milo’s parents seem set on helping Estevo’s family, but won’t let on why. The stage is set for a tale of many twists and turns that unearths family secrets that go back for generations.

This is apparently Talo Segura’s first long story and, with this in mind, he has done a great job. Many new writers rush straight to the exciting parts and leave themselves nowhere to go. Instead, Talo bides his time, painting an evocative picture of languid summer days, interweaving the beauty of Milo’s surroundings with the sense of decay that pervades the villa and its grounds. It’s as if the place is slightly lost in time, which neatly parallels the underlying story of misunderstandings and unspoken history.

The descriptive writing is skilful, using not just visuals but also hot and cold, sound, light and dark to immerse the reader in Milo’s world. In these vivid surroundings Talo develops his story slowly, creating many interesting characters along the way, and incorporating enough twists and red herrings that I was never sure exactly how the piece was going to end.

The first couple of chapters are written entirely from Milo’s point of view, so I did find it a little jarring when, at the start of chapter three, Talo suddenly introduces different viewpoints, a pattern which continues through later chapters. To some extent it serves the story, but we, the reader, end up knowing many of the secrets before the main character does. Conversely we experience a number of scenes from Estevo’s point of view before we find out for certain what his feelings are for Milo. In some ways I found myself wishing that we had seen the story from just one or two perspectives. This, however, may be more a matter of personal preference.

One last thing – it’s really worth reading Milo twice, because once you understand the truth behind the story you will see many of the scenes in an entirely new light, and you will see how intelligently written the story is.

I’ve given this four stars because there’s always room to do better. I very much look forward to seeing what Talo produces next.

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Favourite character: Milo, without a doubt. I really identified with his shyness and awkwardness. To begin with he hides in his books, focused entirely on his own feelings, but as the story develops he grows in empathy for the others around him and starts to appreciate the struggles that lie beneath their seemingly simple lives.

Favourite scene: Despite what I’ve said about multiple viewpoints, possibly the scene between Milo’s parents in chapter seven where we learn they suspect more about Milo than he realises. It’s full of hope.

This is a charming coming of age story about Milo: an adorable, introspective, book loving, 15 year old nearing his 16th birthday. Milo is on his holiday with his parents and cousin's family, in the south of France.

Enjoying this story, is like enjoying a good wine, you must first relax into the sedate pace of life that pervades the sweltering, Provincial French summer setting.

Once there, an incredible cast of characters awaits our protagonist that are certain to both attract and distract his attention.

The lines are captivating and redolent with drama and not a word passes by without enriching our experience. Each interaction peels back yet another layer of the deep and soulful characters within. Enmeshed it becomes an invasion of the senses: heat, brightness, shadows, a cacophony of crickets  everywhere, with great French cuisine that pervades our very scents and tastes.

And this, a mere prelude to the underlying, intellectual and emotional states of the incumbents as they slowly but inexorably, weave their part into this world.

Talo's style of sedate yet latent drama is a joy to read and one that I have not seen before. Definitely in my 'Not to be missed' category.

I hope that you don't pass on the opportunity to enjoy it too.

This is a wonderful story that takes place in rural France during a family summer holiday. For fifteen-year-old Milo it is a coming of age story where he discovers a fondness for eighteen-year-old Estevo who is hired by Milo’s father to do work around the villa. The writer has a way of luring his reader with descriptions of the characters and the scenes surrounding them. Milo”s sixteenth birthday is something special. I encourage people to read it and fall in love with it like I did.