Page 45 Review by Stephen
“For A Better Future.”
Previously on MORNING GLORIES: six new students have been selected to attend a prestigious boarding academy which will not let them go. There literally is no escape and whilst a semblance of regular routine is maintained in the corridors and curriculum, the overt threats from teachers and fellow classmates alike are almost as sinister as what's not being said. P.S. There is a lot that's not being said.
Now: so much so suddenly comes tumbling out, for it’s not just the school but the students too who have secrets. Some are genuine naïfs while others have been on a mission, but a worrying proportion of those secrets involve death. Which of these are the psycho killers, which are the secret lovers or sacrificial lambs? And which are of the teachers is privately fighting their own rearguard action?
Not since 100 BULLETS can I think of a long-form series constructed from such a ridiculously large number of sub-plots both miraculously weaved and meticulously played. The revelations will take your breath away, while the cliff-hanger will leave you gasping. It’s deliberately disorientating like the school itself, whose teachers are experts in insouciance and obfuscation.
Here they send their charges out on a marathon run, an orienteering exercise through the sylvan school grounds, in perfectly mismatched teams. Some seize it as the opportunity they’ve been waiting for – but not necessarily for the opportunity you’ll expect – and you will discover a whole new dimension to being “lost in the woods”.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention the dialogue. Fab.
“The devil goes to God and says, “You think Job is your faithful servant, but if you took away all the gifts you’ve given him, he’ll abandon you.” So God does it – he takes away all of Job’s blessings, his family dies, he gets sick, everything just starts to suck for him… But he never turns his back on God.”
“Everyone knows this story. But I’ve always had a problem with it, myself.”
“You mean like, why does God let him suffer?”
“No, I assume God couldn’t care less about the poor fuck. No, what I wonder is… What is God doing entertaining an audience with the devil?”
Will any of these children ever be free? Oh, I think so. It’s only a question of Time.
