The Opal Causeway

It's a sad moment when you come to the end of a novel and have to say goodbye to an engaging set of characters. David Yeats has written a novel (The Opal Causeway) with a cracking plot and characters who stepped off the pages and 'lived' with me for the last few weeks. This opalescent causeway is broader and much more universal than the crossing between Dover and Calais. It takes Pete from swinging London in the sixties to the West Coast of the United States, taking in its stride the burgeoning gay liberation movement of that epoch, race relations and the tenuous threads of human relationships. It is a significant novel for these reasons but I hasten to add that all the above themes were handled with a light touch and with a good dose of good old humour.

This is a compelling tale about a group of people and the things that happen to them as they go about their daily lives. The reader follows Pete and his friends and family through times of love and loss, adventure and self-discovery and also through shocking moments when they are confronted by some of the more brutal realities of life in early seventies America. The author is a skilled story-teller and I was drawn in to their world so that I cared what happened to these characters. It is indeed a page turner and I very much hope that there will be a follow up novel.

The young Pete is enjoying life during momentous times in early 70's London just as the fledgling Gay Rights movement is challenging old prejudices and change is a foot. Falling for a bold and confident American named Brad he travels to San Francisco to find love and liberation. With Brad's aloofness he seeks excitement and adventure with like minded freedom loving Californians and joins in the fight for rights, leading him to face the brutal oppression of a corrupt police force. The writers attention to detail and time is exquisite with an ever so 70's Pan Am bag playing an unexpected pivotal role as the plot twists on his return to London and he finds the truth behind Brad's distance. His compassion for his beloved Grandparents is touching and the love they instilled in him from his childhood leads him back to find happiness in France across The Opal Causeway. Can't wait for more from this accomplished new writer.

A fascinating coming of age story of Peter a young gay photographer who faces a world at odds with his upbringing. This tension helps drive the narrative forward across continents with serious, unexpected setbacks en route. As well as being a terrific tale of love and betrayal, the book also raises universal issues such as sexuality, racism, the environment and society. Highly recommended good read

This is an astonishing first novel from D H Yeats. It is a page turning tale that moves across London, East Kent, San Francisco and ends up in Paris, and has at its heart a rather messy love story. The characters and places are skilfully drawn and the book has at times an almost visual quality. It would make a great film! As well as being a good tale, the book perfectly captures the zeitgeist of early 1970s London and California. The language, the references to shops, fashion and rock groups perfectly builds the ambiance. Yeats’s book is also a chronicle of both individual and collective gay blossoming as the gay community begins to embrace the new freedoms and rights afforded by changes in the law. It highlights the impact of growing women’s liberation and assertiveness on the day to day lives of women. There are nods to the birth of the environmental movement, which make one realise how little we have moved in fifty years! This is an important and readable novel. You might want to read it.