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thebobsphere's review
3.0
Now and then I come across a novel which leaves me confused, by this I do not mean whether I understood it or not but rather there will be conflicted feelings. The Sunken Land begins to Rise Again is such a book.
As for some background knowledge, I tried reading this book exactly a year ago but I abandoned it. I picked it up again for two reasons. M. John Harrison was a judge on this year's excellent Booker prize and this is the only Goldsmiths prize winner I have not read (well that's solved now)
The book focuses on two characters. one is Shaw who has trouble with relationships, and has a mother who does not recognise him. The other person is Victoria, who is sort of dating Shaw and decides to renovate and sell her recently deceased mother's house in Shropshire.
Both characters then go on an inner journeys of discoveries. Shaw decides to take on a new job on a barge as a sort distributor. Mainly his boss' book, which people do not want. One day he is assigned to meet a medium and film her for his boss' blog, which leads to certain personal revelations. For Victoria, the eccentric characters in her mother's village help her open her eyes.
All events have roots in Charles Kingsley's political tale, The Water Babies.
Did I like the book? there were moments where I just had a lot of fun reading but with every joyous moment, a dull passage or two would crop up and I kept yo-yoing like this throughout the novel. I am also not sure about the main message. Is this a commentary on the state of England. Is the book insinuating that post Brexit Britain will be recover? or is it stating that the past is a different place? I'm not sure.
Generally I love all the Goldsmith prize winners but this one did leave me muddled in places. What did you think?
As for some background knowledge, I tried reading this book exactly a year ago but I abandoned it. I picked it up again for two reasons. M. John Harrison was a judge on this year's excellent Booker prize and this is the only Goldsmiths prize winner I have not read (well that's solved now)
The book focuses on two characters. one is Shaw who has trouble with relationships, and has a mother who does not recognise him. The other person is Victoria, who is sort of dating Shaw and decides to renovate and sell her recently deceased mother's house in Shropshire.
Both characters then go on an inner journeys of discoveries. Shaw decides to take on a new job on a barge as a sort distributor. Mainly his boss' book, which people do not want. One day he is assigned to meet a medium and film her for his boss' blog, which leads to certain personal revelations. For Victoria, the eccentric characters in her mother's village help her open her eyes.
All events have roots in Charles Kingsley's political tale, The Water Babies.
Did I like the book? there were moments where I just had a lot of fun reading but with every joyous moment, a dull passage or two would crop up and I kept yo-yoing like this throughout the novel. I am also not sure about the main message. Is this a commentary on the state of England. Is the book insinuating that post Brexit Britain will be recover? or is it stating that the past is a different place? I'm not sure.
Generally I love all the Goldsmith prize winners but this one did leave me muddled in places. What did you think?
malenfant's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jw101's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
txshap_'s review against another edition
This was all a little bit of nothing so maybe I just was not the audience - DNF
pallavi_sharma87's review against another edition
1.0
1 star
The book is a blend of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This follows the intertwined lives of two protagonists, Shawna and Harrison, who are both struggling to find their place in the world.
I seldom find a literary award nominee or winner that I enjoy. And this was one of them which I just could not grasp.
Not my cup of tea. DNF@30%
Happy Reading!!
The book is a blend of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This follows the intertwined lives of two protagonists, Shawna and Harrison, who are both struggling to find their place in the world.
I seldom find a literary award nominee or winner that I enjoy. And this was one of them which I just could not grasp.
Not my cup of tea. DNF@30%
Happy Reading!!
muddy_gardener's review against another edition
3.0
Unrelentingly grim and moody, with smashingly gruesomely excellent descriptive prose, mostly exercising its excellence on depictions of surpassingly strange happenings and despairing, disconnected people. Splashes, eddys, and ripples of Alasdair Grey and HP Lovecraft. This is a highly skilled and accomplished work. If this description appeals to you, check it out.
So... why not more stars? Well, however well described it is, I'm just not sure I want to sit and wallow in sucking cold mud, be it physical, spiritual, surreal, or all of the above.
The book jacket and many reviews see the work as containing brilliant moralising over the failure of Brexit. Brexit was mentioned explicitly once, that I noticed, but even as a subtext, I just can't see it as a theme for the whole work. Unless you automatically hold Brexit to blame it for all our ills, much as Thatcherism was the demonic force in Alasdair Grey's Lanark. But no matter. I don't think I would like it more if I could see it as a condemnation of Brexit.
This is a work I respect greatly for its skill. But I wish I liked it more.
So... why not more stars? Well, however well described it is, I'm just not sure I want to sit and wallow in sucking cold mud, be it physical, spiritual, surreal, or all of the above.
The book jacket and many reviews see the work as containing brilliant moralising over the failure of Brexit. Brexit was mentioned explicitly once, that I noticed, but even as a subtext, I just can't see it as a theme for the whole work. Unless you automatically hold Brexit to blame it for all our ills, much as Thatcherism was the demonic force in Alasdair Grey's Lanark. But no matter. I don't think I would like it more if I could see it as a condemnation of Brexit.
This is a work I respect greatly for its skill. But I wish I liked it more.
kyledhebert's review against another edition
4.0
An eerie, unsettling book with an ending that creeps up slowly and then pounces for a startling finish.
dllman05's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
william1349's review against another edition
3.0
A little too much and also too little structure ruins it but enjoyable in that creepy wet english way.