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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I picked this up because it was a Man Booker finalist, but I wasn't blown away like I've been with other choices. I wasn't really invested in any of the characters, and could never get into the world fully (despite having grown up in a small town myself and picturing faces I'd known in place of the characters). I made a mad push through the second half simply because I was ready to be done. Eh, disappointing for me.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed that much more than I expected to. I didn't really know what sort of style it was going to be, but it has that sort of vibe (for want of a better word) that always appeals to me. If I'm honest, my only complaint is that it wasn't quite as uplifting as what I'd like at the moment, but I really have no criticisms of its quality.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Elmet is a wonderful debut novel! I loved it. The story opens with a piece of a Ted Hughes poem, Remains of Elmet:
'Elmet was the last independent Celtic kingdom in England and originally stretched out over the vale of York...But even in the seventeenth century this narrow cleft and its side-gunnels, under the glaciated moors, were still a 'badlands', a sanctuary for refugees from the law'
Elmet is the contemporary story of Daddy, Cathy, and Daniel living in the badlands of York in a house that Daddy built in a copse of land. Daddy no longer works for anyone but himself. He makes his way in life, providing for his young children by both working the land, and by fighting and winning prize money in arranged bare-knuckled fights, where it's a fight until one's surrender or one's death. But Daddy is a kind-hearted person, while he is also fearful of others, as he maintains he and his family's privacy. Life turns ugly when one of the wealthy area landowners, Mr. Price, pays Daddy a visit at home to tell him he's squatting on his land. In this part of York, there are no police and no laws but what rules the locals enforce on their own which make this story dark and suspenseful. It reminded me of an old 1970s movie with Dustin Hoffman called "Straw Dogs."
'Elmet was the last independent Celtic kingdom in England and originally stretched out over the vale of York...But even in the seventeenth century this narrow cleft and its side-gunnels, under the glaciated moors, were still a 'badlands', a sanctuary for refugees from the law'
Elmet is the contemporary story of Daddy, Cathy, and Daniel living in the badlands of York in a house that Daddy built in a copse of land. Daddy no longer works for anyone but himself. He makes his way in life, providing for his young children by both working the land, and by fighting and winning prize money in arranged bare-knuckled fights, where it's a fight until one's surrender or one's death. But Daddy is a kind-hearted person, while he is also fearful of others, as he maintains he and his family's privacy. Life turns ugly when one of the wealthy area landowners, Mr. Price, pays Daddy a visit at home to tell him he's squatting on his land. In this part of York, there are no police and no laws but what rules the locals enforce on their own which make this story dark and suspenseful. It reminded me of an old 1970s movie with Dustin Hoffman called "Straw Dogs."
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Elmet is an unusual and captivating novel about family and place and the boundaries of society. Daniel is trying to get north, having left the home in the woods he lived in with his Daddy and sister Cathy. Once, Daniel and Cathy went to school and lived with their Granny, but then they left for the woods, free to be their own people. Their sanctuary has turned hostile, with the house built for them by their Daddy’s own hands under threat from local landowners.
Mozley’s novel is embedded in the Yorkshire countryside, a place that is Daniel and his family’s home, sustenance, and friend. The descriptions of it are raw and breathing, presenting the land as something not romanticised or boring, but a place of hard life and toughly-fought reward. The majority of the characters are poor and often transient or avoiding the system, and the landscape is shown as a place that can offer if not neutral then less established ground. Though it is a novel about family and countryside, it is also highly political in a way and steeped in class issues, with unscrupulous landowners ripping off ordinary people, and it shows one family’s attempt to live outside the usual political and social system.
Elmet is a raw and exciting book that should be read even by those who don’t think they like novels set in the countryside. It is also an important reminder that books set in the England beyond London need to be written, ones that show rural issues whilst telling stories of varied characters and lives.
Mozley’s novel is embedded in the Yorkshire countryside, a place that is Daniel and his family’s home, sustenance, and friend. The descriptions of it are raw and breathing, presenting the land as something not romanticised or boring, but a place of hard life and toughly-fought reward. The majority of the characters are poor and often transient or avoiding the system, and the landscape is shown as a place that can offer if not neutral then less established ground. Though it is a novel about family and countryside, it is also highly political in a way and steeped in class issues, with unscrupulous landowners ripping off ordinary people, and it shows one family’s attempt to live outside the usual political and social system.
Elmet is a raw and exciting book that should be read even by those who don’t think they like novels set in the countryside. It is also an important reminder that books set in the England beyond London need to be written, ones that show rural issues whilst telling stories of varied characters and lives.
Was a bit confused at the beginning, but it ended up having captivating text and a sprinkling of humorous descriptions
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes