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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Wow. The first 1/3 was a bit slow, but stick with it. This is probably the best thing I've read in months. I actually was hoping for the subway to be delayed so I could finish it!
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm feeling like I read a literary version of a Liam Neeson movie.
Elmet by Fiona Mozley, has been shortlisted for 2017 Man Booker Prize.
The story takes place in Elmet, which was the last Celtic Kingdom.
14 year old Daniel and 15 year old Cathy are siblings and they live with their ‘Daddy’ in a house that he literally built himself. Life is relatively simple for these people. They keep to themselves and eat what they hunt. Daniel enjoys household chores and Cathy is the one for adventures. Their father’s name is John and he has been described as a man of gargantuan built who earns money by fighting. To Daniel and Cathy, John is nothing more than ‘Daddy’ even though he is very well known as a formidable fighter in his own circles. This points to one central theme in the story that a parent is always gentle and loving towards his own children no matter what his conduct might be otherwise.
Read my complete review : http://preciselysaumyas.com/elmet-by-fiona-mozley/
The story takes place in Elmet, which was the last Celtic Kingdom.
14 year old Daniel and 15 year old Cathy are siblings and they live with their ‘Daddy’ in a house that he literally built himself. Life is relatively simple for these people. They keep to themselves and eat what they hunt. Daniel enjoys household chores and Cathy is the one for adventures. Their father’s name is John and he has been described as a man of gargantuan built who earns money by fighting. To Daniel and Cathy, John is nothing more than ‘Daddy’ even though he is very well known as a formidable fighter in his own circles. This points to one central theme in the story that a parent is always gentle and loving towards his own children no matter what his conduct might be otherwise.
Read my complete review : http://preciselysaumyas.com/elmet-by-fiona-mozley/
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape
Elmet is an endearing novel about family, resistance, and survival. A father who wants his kids, Cathy and Danny to learn how to live and see for themselves in a house he built with his bare hands. His kids witness the strength of the father, but also the toughness of rural life. “He wanted to strengthen us against the dark things in the world. The more we knew of it, the better we would be prepared. And yet there was nothing of the world in our lives, only stories of it.”
Mozley creates a beautiful atmosphere and brings on a conversation about what lies under people's skins. Scenes of hunting, drinking tea, cooking potatoes in an oven, talking over fires under the starred night, bring a sense of nostalgia for the simplicity of life. Through her characters, Fiona Mozley mirrors today's big fat issues of lives and brings up questions about gender and class; she, again and again, reminds the reader that one's defeat is everyone's defeat.
Defeat.
Mozley creates a beautiful atmosphere and brings on a conversation about what lies under people's skins. Scenes of hunting, drinking tea, cooking potatoes in an oven, talking over fires under the starred night, bring a sense of nostalgia for the simplicity of life. Through her characters, Fiona Mozley mirrors today's big fat issues of lives and brings up questions about gender and class; she, again and again, reminds the reader that one's defeat is everyone's defeat.
Defeat.
I received this book as a birthday gift from a friend last year; she thought it was a thriller, based on the cover art and the first few pages that reference a missing person. I thought the same upon starting it, but we were both mistaken.
Elmet is a work of fiction about a young boy and his sister growing up with his father, who's a boxer, in a remote area in England. This read wasn't for me, unfortunately. It was well-written, but I didn't feel satisfied upon finishing the story, and it contained too much violence for my liking. (The violence seemed excessive, even though I read a lot of fantasy and thrillers that contain some pretty graphic scenes.)
I won't be recommending this read to friends, although that's just because it wasn't a book I would have picked up for myself, which is not the fault of the book, so I feel a bit bad saying so.
Elmet is a work of fiction about a young boy and his sister growing up with his father, who's a boxer, in a remote area in England. This read wasn't for me, unfortunately. It was well-written, but I didn't feel satisfied upon finishing the story, and it contained too much violence for my liking. (The violence seemed excessive, even though I read a lot of fantasy and thrillers that contain some pretty graphic scenes.)
I won't be recommending this read to friends, although that's just because it wasn't a book I would have picked up for myself, which is not the fault of the book, so I feel a bit bad saying so.
Beautifully written book which lulls you into a supposedly idealic world but the thread of darkness running through keeps you wondering where this family is going to end.
Well...that ending was a bit much. A bit over the top if you ask me. I think (?) I liked it up to that point, but perhaps need some time to mull it over...
I'm more disappointed with that ending the more I think about it. There was so much promise here, so much I loved; the brooding and lyrical prose, the atmospheric rural Yorkshire setting, the ominous tone, and the tight family unit living beyond the law. I loved the "timeless" feel to the story, as if it's a modern folktale, especially with the references to the old Kingdom of Elmet.
The 3 main characters in this family were all well drawn, but sadly I think all of the secondary characters were lacking. Mr Price, above all, was terribly two dimensional, like a villain from a Bond movie. I needed to know more about the children's mother (and their grandmother, for that matter) and was really surprised that strand of the story was left unexplained by the novel's end. Vivien was...odd; I couldn't make sense of her character or her apathy. The rest, who had been so supporting of the family, turned against them so suddenly that it all felt too convenient for the dark ending we knew was inevitably coming...
A lot of promise that I wish had come together better at the end.
I'm more disappointed with that ending the more I think about it. There was so much promise here, so much I loved; the brooding and lyrical prose, the atmospheric rural Yorkshire setting, the ominous tone, and the tight family unit living beyond the law. I loved the "timeless" feel to the story, as if it's a modern folktale, especially with the references to the old Kingdom of Elmet.
The 3 main characters in this family were all well drawn, but sadly I think all of the secondary characters were lacking. Mr Price, above all, was terribly two dimensional, like a villain from a Bond movie. I needed to know more about the children's mother (and their grandmother, for that matter) and was really surprised that strand of the story was left unexplained by the novel's end. Vivien was...odd; I couldn't make sense of her character or her apathy. The rest, who had been so supporting of the family, turned against them so suddenly that it all felt too convenient for the dark ending we knew was inevitably coming...
A lot of promise that I wish had come together better at the end.
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder