‘Tears of a Shadow’, Oliver Silver’s (Bd 08) Debut Novel

Largely inspired by his own life, Oliver Silver’s debut psychological thriller Tears of a Shadow asks how far you would go to get your life back on track. Born in the Middle East, Oliver attended Wellington from 2003-08, and then pursued a career as an actor.

Oliver explains: “this book is directly inspired by my own life. I have worked as a professional actor for ten years now, and much of my personal experience is channelled through Jonathan, the central protagonist. I began writing screenplays first and after a couple of years, I had the idea for Tears of a Shadow stuck in my head. It felt immediately that this was a very singular experience and a character that required a different medium. The story didn’t initially feel like a screenplay, it felt like a book. An intense and claustrophobic first-person narrative began to come through me, and after hours and hours of typing, that process resulted in the manuscript for my first novel. For much of my adult life, I have been deeply unhappy. Writing this book was a cathartic and necessary experience for me to release a lot of the pain and sadness I had been feeling. In a sense it became a form of therapy, a way for me to understand myself more.”

Tears of a Shadow will be released on 28th October 2023, and is available for pre-order via its publisher, The Book Guild.

With thanks to Oliver and The Book Guild.