Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
“His deep footsteps led from the edge of the copse and we followed them back exactly so as not to disturb more of the snow.”
I initially marked this quotation because it was fitting for the picture that I took of Elmet lying in the snow. Reading it now, I realize that it is laden with symbolic significance. Mozley’s whole novel can be summarized in these words. Elmet is atmospheric, centering on the copse in which the narrator lives with his sister and father. They live on the land and with the land. The children lead a reclusive life, a life built by their father; the reader is led to ask, to what extent will they follow his figurative footsteps? As they follow him back into the copse, so do they follow him back to his past conflicts and sins.
As profound as I find this quotation to be, I also suspect that this one sentence is not particularly notable. That is, gravitas imbues Mozley’s prose, a prose that at once flows seamlessly while also demanding constant re-reading. I feel confident that I could find many such sentences that capture the novel in this way.
I initially became interested in this book after hearing about the splash it had made by being short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. My favorite surprising fact about about this novel is that it was the “first ever acquisition of assistant editor Becky Walsh.”¹
My interest in reading this book grew from learning more about its author, Fiona Mozley. She is currently a PhD student in Medieval Studies (the fact that she had time to write such amazing fiction while working on her dissertation amazes me). I was curious to read a work of fiction written by a medievalist and set in contemporary England, and I wondered how her experience with medieval material would influence her writing. It does so in the best way possible. She succeeds, beyond what I even thought possible, in maintaining a sense and feel of timelessness throughout the work.
What a great first read of 2018! I thought that I would love the book for its atmosphere alone. While reading, I did not feel particularly compelled by the plot nor was I wondering what would happen next. I kept reading because the prose was so compelling, and Mozely had constructed a world I did not want to leave. So the ending of the novel completely surprised me with its intensity and rage, and alerted me to the subtle way that she had built the central conflict throughout the book, almost imperceptibly. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.
I highly recommend!
https://lilreadsbigbooks.wordpress.com/2018/01/04/elmet-by-fiona-mozley/
I initially marked this quotation because it was fitting for the picture that I took of Elmet lying in the snow. Reading it now, I realize that it is laden with symbolic significance. Mozley’s whole novel can be summarized in these words. Elmet is atmospheric, centering on the copse in which the narrator lives with his sister and father. They live on the land and with the land. The children lead a reclusive life, a life built by their father; the reader is led to ask, to what extent will they follow his figurative footsteps? As they follow him back into the copse, so do they follow him back to his past conflicts and sins.
As profound as I find this quotation to be, I also suspect that this one sentence is not particularly notable. That is, gravitas imbues Mozley’s prose, a prose that at once flows seamlessly while also demanding constant re-reading. I feel confident that I could find many such sentences that capture the novel in this way.
I initially became interested in this book after hearing about the splash it had made by being short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. My favorite surprising fact about about this novel is that it was the “first ever acquisition of assistant editor Becky Walsh.”¹
My interest in reading this book grew from learning more about its author, Fiona Mozley. She is currently a PhD student in Medieval Studies (the fact that she had time to write such amazing fiction while working on her dissertation amazes me). I was curious to read a work of fiction written by a medievalist and set in contemporary England, and I wondered how her experience with medieval material would influence her writing. It does so in the best way possible. She succeeds, beyond what I even thought possible, in maintaining a sense and feel of timelessness throughout the work.
What a great first read of 2018! I thought that I would love the book for its atmosphere alone. While reading, I did not feel particularly compelled by the plot nor was I wondering what would happen next. I kept reading because the prose was so compelling, and Mozely had constructed a world I did not want to leave. So the ending of the novel completely surprised me with its intensity and rage, and alerted me to the subtle way that she had built the central conflict throughout the book, almost imperceptibly. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.
I highly recommend!
https://lilreadsbigbooks.wordpress.com/2018/01/04/elmet-by-fiona-mozley/
Some really lovely descriptions and the story went somewhere (eventually), I have tonnes of unanswered questions though. Overall, the story itself wasn't 4 star worthy but the writing and concept were
This was a melancholy story - one of those where you can just tell nothing good will last, and the bad times will be bad. Brutal and beautifully written.
This is an incredible book. With some of the most carefully crafted sentences I’ve read in a long time. But it’s very gritty and I wouldn’t recommend it to many. It’s immersive. And strangely gentle to the reader in its violence to the characters.
I found this book quite challenging to read. It's beautifully written, especially in description, some of the passages were wonderful and I found myself lingering over them and trying to absorb every word. This makes for quite a slow moving narrative and I did struggle to decide when this book was taking place, which meant it took me a while to read it and to actually decide if I liked the book.
As the story unfolded I initially felt sure that the book was set in a dystopian future but, this gradually switched to a realisation that the family are living now but they are off-grid, part of a particular subculture which means they keep away from the wider population and towns and cities. This was quite surprising and changed the way I thought about the book, it actually made it more thought provoking and more interesting to me.,
14 year old Daniel is our narrator and we see the events of the book through his eyes. At times I found myself questioning the authenticity of his voice. He seems to bounce around between a bit young for his age (which can be explained by the lifestyle they lead), and occasionally almost adult in his views. I actually think his Sister Kathy was the more interesting character and I would have liked to have seen through her experiences more.
As a debut novel this is a very accomplished book which really deserved the inclusion on the Booker shortlist, it is lyrical and atmospheric and I would read more by her.
As the story unfolded I initially felt sure that the book was set in a dystopian future but, this gradually switched to a realisation that the family are living now but they are off-grid, part of a particular subculture which means they keep away from the wider population and towns and cities. This was quite surprising and changed the way I thought about the book, it actually made it more thought provoking and more interesting to me.,
14 year old Daniel is our narrator and we see the events of the book through his eyes. At times I found myself questioning the authenticity of his voice. He seems to bounce around between a bit young for his age (which can be explained by the lifestyle they lead), and occasionally almost adult in his views. I actually think his Sister Kathy was the more interesting character and I would have liked to have seen through her experiences more.
As a debut novel this is a very accomplished book which really deserved the inclusion on the Booker shortlist, it is lyrical and atmospheric and I would read more by her.
This is the kind of book I just love. Spare, gorgeous writing, and a story that builds slowly and packs a big punch.
I went with a four even though my first was a 3. I’d settle for a 3.5 . The writing itself was lovely. Stark and rich in all the right places. Some of my frustration comes from character development which felt stilted in places and that ending. Oof.
Elmet is a promising debut novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Mozley can write some beautiful prose, some of the descriptions were resplendent.
The other parts of the novel though, such as the characterisations and the plot, weren't so well done.
The novel is narrated by the teenager Daniel, who lives with his older sister, Cathy, and their giant father, John Smythe. They are outsiders, mostly hunters and gatherers, building their own home on a plot somewhere in Yorkshire.
I never really got a strong grip on the characters, why they were the way they were. Too many gaps were left open. I kept reading wanting to fill in the details. Unfortunately, the drawing was never completed.
I struggled for a while to grasp the kids' ages and when the story took place.
Broadly, this could be penned as the fight between the haves and have-nots. Who doesn't like an underdog story, right? It just didn't feel real, I can't quite describe it ... I didn't have any feelings for any of the characters. They were drawn either too sketchy or they were two-dimensional.
I never quite understood who Vivien was, a neighbour, who occasionally tutored the adolescents. I kept expecting her to play a more important role, I expected some revelations. She was another wishy-washy character who slipped through my fingers.
The ending was over-the-top, unbelievable. It didn't even horrify me and I am easily scared and distressed.
Anyway, don't let my quickly penned review deter you. Plenty of people loved this novel. I'm just not one of them.
Mozley can write some beautiful prose, some of the descriptions were resplendent.
The other parts of the novel though, such as the characterisations and the plot, weren't so well done.
The novel is narrated by the teenager Daniel, who lives with his older sister, Cathy, and their giant father, John Smythe. They are outsiders, mostly hunters and gatherers, building their own home on a plot somewhere in Yorkshire.
I never really got a strong grip on the characters, why they were the way they were. Too many gaps were left open. I kept reading wanting to fill in the details. Unfortunately, the drawing was never completed.
I struggled for a while to grasp the kids' ages and when the story took place.
Broadly, this could be penned as the fight between the haves and have-nots. Who doesn't like an underdog story, right? It just didn't feel real, I can't quite describe it ... I didn't have any feelings for any of the characters. They were drawn either too sketchy or they were two-dimensional.
I never quite understood who Vivien was, a neighbour, who occasionally tutored the adolescents. I kept expecting her to play a more important role, I expected some revelations. She was another wishy-washy character who slipped through my fingers.
The ending was over-the-top, unbelievable. It didn't even horrify me and I am easily scared and distressed.
Anyway, don't let my quickly penned review deter you. Plenty of people loved this novel. I'm just not one of them.
I found the first 3/4 of the book very slow and hard to get into, but the last 1/4 was excellent, if very dark
One of the most phenomenal books I have ever read in my life. I want to send copies of it to so many people I know. It is truly remarkable, humbling experience reading it. What a salvation, BOOKS.