Chapter One

The book I am reading right now is Darkmans by Nicola Barker. I've just finished chapter one. I would like to examine a quote to learn more about Kane and a certain situation with a two men on one horse.

"Outside the horse was still vaguely audible as it moved around in the car park. While Beede continued to search through his bag, Kane strolled over to the window, pulled the curtain back and peered out. The horse was still visible, but way off to his left. It had come to a halt in the children's play area, where it stood, breathing heavily and defecating. The man was now struggling to climb off its back. But it was an entirely different man.
Kane blinked.
Entirely different. Tall. Nordic. Smartly dressed in some kind of uniform --

Imposter " (27).

It's strange enough that there was a random man bareback on a horse outside the restaurant window in the first place, but now the man has mysteriously disappeared and been replaced by a new, different, man. The first clue that the man was not the same was that he was struggling to get off the horse's back. The original had ridden the horse with grace and confidence, this one seems less comfortable on the creature's back. Next Kane realizes his obvious appearance is different as well and for some reason this greatly shocks and disturbs him. Why is he seeing this man on the horse in the first place, when no one else notices it and only the little boy seems to entertain the idea, or even listen to what he's saying about it? The little boy certainly does seem to know more than an average five year old would. Almost as if he is a part of this realm where the men on the horse are an every day sight, and Kane is just becoming able to experience it. Sort of like in Harry Potter when Harry can suddenly see the dragon horses that pull the chariots to Hogwarts, because he saw Cedric die. Which doesn't even make sense because he saw Sirius die, and if that doesn't count then Sirius isn't really dead. But the series is over. But this isn't the point. Back to Darkmans. I wonder if there is some mysterious aspects of life that Kane is suddenly becoming aware of. He says he feels differently, and he doesn't seem to be enjoying this change.
I think his comment of 'Imposter' is interesting. Imposter has connotative associations such as liar, fake, a bad thing, a cruel trick, being deceived, betrayed by something or someone you trusted. He feels so strongly about this horse and these men that this is the word that comes to mind when the second man is on the horse, the first absent. Would the second even be the imposter? Maybe the first was the imposter, and he doesn't realize it. Or maybe, like the boy suggests, there really were two horses, so neither is an imposter. Either way the whole scenario is rather curious and I hope more light is shed upon this, both for my sake, as well as Kane's.