Review: By All Means Must We Fly by W and W Sawday

Published: January 2017

Pages: 278

Synopsis: “One evening after rehearsals, Jimmy Caldwell, a young actor in a struggling theatre company, discovers someone hanging upside-down from the rafters above the stage. That someone is Gabriel Stover, and after Jimmy frees him, the two become friends. As opening night approaches, Jimmy struggles against mounting evidence that the play he is a part of is terrible. Worse yet, he is forced to watch as the girl of his dreams falls for Gabe. Misguided and desperate, Jimmy turns to mysterious man of many faces, a former actor who promises to guide him upon the path to super-stardom and into the arms of the girl he loves.

There’s just one catch: Jimmy must don a mask.

Set in the sordid underbelly of Hollywood, BY ALL MEANS MUST WE FLY follows three young people as they search for love and purpose in a world that seems hell-bent on hate and misdirection. As they find themselves drifting away from that which they hold most dear, they are forced to confront what happens when the mask—not the person beneath it—becomes beloved.”

Rating: ***

I received a free copy of By All Means Must We Fly in exchange for an honest review.

By All Means Must We Fly was incredibly descriptive and was written in an intelligent and almost old fashioned tone but had a laid-back feel at the same time. The tone and very formal yet laid back way this was written (which I know is a completely contradiction!) reminded me of The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison. I would definitely recommend By All Means Must We Fly to fans of The Rosie Project, and vice versa.

I always imagine it must be difficult co-writing a novel, but By All Means Must We Fly was flawless. I was more taken with the way this was written and the characters than the plot, but I would definitely like to read more by the Sawday brothers.