Review: Driving Jarvis Ham by Jim Bob

Literature

Driving Jarvis Ham by Jim Bob

Driving Jarvis Ham is Jim Bob’s second novel, published by The Friday Project. It’s a novel that sucks the reader into a vortex which refuses to eject you until the very last lines and the slamming of the covers shut. This is a dizzying read in which our narrator paints an all too clear portrait of a friendship; one that is one-sided, warped and questionable.

Jarvis Ham is a complicated fellow. No, that’s not true, he’s an interesting character; an awful diarist, an alcoholic, a tea-room assistant, a Princess Diana fanatic and a failing actor. Our narrator, who shares with us the life of his friend Mr Ham, is his driver and nothing more, so why is it that our narrator can not shake off this person who he’s known from childhood and considers his best friend. It’s safe to say that our narrator may have some marbles missing himself mixed with some form of nostalgia. There’s simply no other explanation. After all, does a real friend go through your diary and personal belongings? Our narrator does and finds out more than he bargained for.

This is a rather hilarious and cringe –worthy read with a fantastically disturbing dark side thrown in to keep the reader on their literary toes. A strong sense of claustrophobia follows you all the way through the book; it’s not just the tight confines of the car but the very lives that are played out within the pages. Phrases such as ‘waste of life’ scream at the reader as they sift through the darkness and putrid elements of Jarvis Ham’s life, but there must be more to it all, and there is.