Take a Lief through Larne author’s novel

Author Leif Bodnarchuk with his newly-published nove, "The Olympias." INLT-07-700-con

Local resident Lief Bodnarchuk, originally from Montreal, released self-published multi-genre tale “The Olympias” on Amazon on January 28.

The fictional work tells the story of two young boys over the course of twenty years, from their youth to their experiences as soldiers fighting in World War 1.

Lief explained: “The tale begins in 1893 in late Victorian England. It’s set in Burnley in Lancashire.

The main character is Henry who is middle-class and befriends a street urchin called William from Kells.

They grow up together and experience life’s problems.

“Henry becomes embroiled in the fate of mankind and has visions of the future after he’s visited by the ghost of a soldier who knows what’s going to happen.

“Then World War 1 erupts and he goes off to fight knowing how it’s going to end and William follows him.

“While Henry knows the fate of mankind he doesn’t know if he can change it.

“On a secret mission into German territory, Henry has to challenge Fate, and decide what his special gift is worth.”

Lief says that he began the book with the supernatural part of the story before working backwards to the characters’ childhoods.

He continued: “I had always wanted to write about World War 1 but I thought everybody would be doing that, especially with the centenary celerbations. The novel started as a supernatural tale where Henry woke up in a dream world after an injury and had a conversation with the ghost of a former soldier who invites him into the Nether World. It’s a mix of genres.”

The book’s title is related to Lief’s favourite painting, Manet’s Olympia.

Main character Henry discovers a love of art late in life, an experience which Lief says mirrors his own.

The novel, which contains adult language and themes, is Lief’s second book after he published “No ideas,” a fictionalised account of his real-life job working as a roadie on Leonard Cohen’s Old Ideas tour.

The Olympias is available to purchase at amazon.co.uk now.

To order the paperback, visit www.lulu.com.