I am intrigued and impressed in equal measure by this book. It’s a literary hoax, purporting to be the autobiography of a non-existent book forger, a literary hoaxer himself, a serious wine buff, and, oh yes, someone who can see demons. That Gollancz have dressed it in a faux-antique jacket and presented it as an autobiography (complete with blog for the author) suggests they are going along with this conceit because it enhances the reader’s enjoyment, and to be fair I would say this is true. The author is Graham Joyce, in point of fact, and in the US it will be published under his own name, with the title How to Make Friends With Demons. All this frivolity must not distract from the fact that this is an excellent, literate, compelling novel which could easily pass for literary fiction in the mould of The Gargoyle or similar.

William Heaney, our narrator, works for an unspecified youth organisation, something which brings him in to contact with government and funds a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, including a passion for fine wines. As well as his day job, Heaney is writing deliberately bad poetry for a friend to pass off as his own to an arts establishment that can’t seem to get enough of it, and working on scamming substantial sums of money out of impressionable book collectors by faking up first editions of 19th century masterworks. The proceeds for this go not on special vino but on supporting a drop-in centre for the homeless. Yes, quite the enigma, Mr Heaney, even before we get to the business of the demons.

William Heaney says he can see demons – the embodiments of people’s weaknesses, their vices, their failings and their self-deceptions. It’s a lovely idea well realised, a constant thread throughout the book, but it’s not central to the plot – rather, it’s a way of making Heaney stand apart from the other characters. The arrival of an invite to the launch of a book by an old university acquaintance triggers a series of flashbacks that explain why Heaney is something of an emotional cripple and pinpoints the time when the ability to see demons manifested itself.

The story of Heaney facing (literally) his and other people’s demons is woven in with a burgeoning love affair, to which William is at first resistant; the unearthing of old memories triggered by the book launch invite; and the fate of an old Gulf War veteran with potent demons of his own. It’s a very well structured and compelling tale, which ties up all these strands very effectively, and I enjoyed it a great deal. At the close, the question of whether William Heaney really can see demons, is mentally ill or is just winding us up because he can is left hanging, another layer of deceit and artifice, maybe a hoax to go with Heaney’s many others – and possibly the most successful one of all, because I, for one, really want to believe him.

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