Gay Times
Sept 2005 - Joe Galliano

"We can all recognise the lives that live within these pages"

This novel stands as either a sequel to Alexander’s hugely entertaining 50 Reasons to say Goodbye, or as a piece in its own right. After the death of his boyfriend in a car crash, Mark tries to rebuild his life by making the move to Brighton, Britain’s Gay second city.

Here he meets figures from his past and future, falls in and out of trouble and battles with his own despair. Though Alexander has a beautifully turned ear for a witty phrase, the story is shot through with a dark seam, which pulls you in several directions at once. I think we can all recognise the lives that live within these pages, and we share their triumphs and tragedies, hopes and lost dreams.

Books To Watch Out For
Oct 2005 - Richard Labonte

"An easygoing style that’s often effervescent and downright hilarious"

It’s a sequel of sorts to Alexander’s debut novel, 50 Reasons To Say “Goodbye”, but this quirkily-titled sophomore novel stands sturdily on its own – though anyone charmed by the author’s understated wit and engaging central character will surely want to pick up the first book.

As novels go, 50 Ways was an eccentric treat – in the main, it consisted of 50 short chapters, caroming between darkly caustic and energetically comic, about eternally optimistic Mark’s quest for the perfect lover.

Sottopassaggio (“an underground tunnel or passage enabling pedestrians to cross a road or railway,” according to Webster’s: the metaphor becomes clear as the novel is read) is a more traditional work. Mark is picking up the emotional pieces after the sudden, shocking death of the lover he’d finally found. He returns to Brighton, the slumbering seaside resort town where his brother owns a home – and where, bit by bit, he opens up to life: old friendships are rekindled and new ones are forged, and love lost in a heartbreaking heartbeat is found again.

Alexander writes about these essentials for a good life with an easygoing style that’s often effervescent – and downright hilarious in some sexual sections. But there’s a darker side that adds heft and dimension to the story: part of what draws Mark out of his shell is the violence enmeshing a troubled female friend. Alexander nicely balances the erotic and the profound with saucy good cheer.

Attitude Magazine
October 2005 - Wayne Clews

"A tale of redemption and resilience; a tender, moving and deeply satisfying read"

You may not have been fortunate enough to have read Nick Alexander’s first novel, ‘50 Reasons to Say Goodbye’, but no matter, the sequel, ‘Sottopassagio’, stands on its own as a novel and can be read independently.

We pick up the story of Mark who winds up in Brighton, recovering from a horrific car crash. Fragile and lonely, Mark attempts to put the past behind him and build a new life for himself. The novel follows his first tentative steps back into the gay scene, developing a crush on unavailable men and renewing an old friendship with Jenny only to discover she has disturbing problems of her own. Ultimately, ‘Sottopassagio’ is a tale of redemption and resilience; a tender, moving and deeply satisfying read.