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sophieroses's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
5.0
Every year the Ngaio Marsh Awards for New Zealand Crime Fiction include something that makes this reader marvel at the depth and quality of work coming out of that country. Dame Fiona Kidman came to THIS MORTAL BOY as (paraphrasing her own words) an accidental crime writer, but she has form in the central concept, where she has often recreated the past of characters, developing a fictional story based on true events or people. THIS MORTAL BOY is just such an undertaking.
Albert Black was the second last person executed in New Zealand, and I believe I saw somewhere that Kidman came across his story after talking to a witness to the events that lead to his conviction (this occurred in the mid 1950's). Black was Irish, born to a desperately poor family, an immigrant to New Zealand in search of prospects and a better life. Kidman takes readers back to Black's childhood in Ireland, and most tellingly gives us a glimpse into his families anguish at the conviction and the prospect of his execution. The novel concentrates on the story of Albert Black however, so we don't get the same sort of insight into the victim Alan Keith Jacques (aka Johnny McBride). Working backwards and forwards through the past and Black's life in New Zealand, Kidman seamlessly, tellingly, compellingly, draws a picture of a young man on the cusp of life who made the sorts of choices, and therefore mistakes, that many make.
Kidman has pulled off one of those forms of novel where a true story is woven into a fictional account that doesn't play fast and loose with the truth or the ultimate outcome. A fight over a girl, leading to Black's decision to arm himself with a knife, after which an encounter with the same man who beat him the night before, turned into a single knife blow that killed his rival in love and Albert Black was ultimately executed. The build up to this event provides real insight into a febrile society. Post war, social change had arrived in New Zealand, and young people, in particular are very different. The free love, drugs and rock and roll 1960's are on the horizon, whilst 1950's bodgies and widgies subculture was thriving. The tensions around the "generation gap" were starting to be felt and there was an overwhelming belief that the younger generation were out of control. Needless to say it's a heady mix for a young Irishman from a deprived background to land into. The opportunities that present themselves on his arrival in Auckland are almost too much for him to handle, and the smack in the head that is falling in love, sends him spiralling into some really bad decision making.
Somewhere in all of this, the line between fiction and fact becomes blurred in a manner that readers unaware of all the facts of Albert Black's crimes will be hard-pressed to pick. Kidman uses a series of letters from prison, accounts of final visits with friends and switching timelines and places to draw out a story of an immensely vulnerable young man in a time that's not best suited to understanding and forgiveness. In particularly heart-breaking fashion we also see the affects of his crime, trial and punishment on his mother. Back in Ireland, desperate to get to her son, to understand what has gone so horribly wrong, the portrayal of this woman is moving. You're left considering the ease with which young men do stupid things, a sneaking suspicion that murder was too harsh a decision, and the anguish of that mother and her belief in her son; in stark contrast to comments attributed to NZ Attorney General, John Marshall, "... we could do without these deplorable migrants". Readers have no option but to pause and consider if this is really what he said, what were the implications of that attitude on the trial and sentence?
THIS MORTAL BOY is sensitively written, beautifully constructed, considered and well balanced. It carefully delivers a number of points for the reader to contemplate - lack of compassion, lack of understanding of peer pressure, overt political interference in the judicial system, and the finality of capital punishment. It's not, however, a novel that shouts moral conclusions from the rafters. Rather it lays out the story of two young men who make stupid decisions, who lack self-control and wisdom and end up in an awful place. Whether or not they both deserved to die for this is left to the reader to consider, as is the role of the state and the judiciary when it comes to careful and cautious consideration of the facts, and the right to compassion and clear moral leadership. Needless to say, THIS MORTAL BOY, is a mighty undertaking and a very worthy Ngaio Marsh Award Winner.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/mortal-boy-dame-fiona-kidman
Albert Black was the second last person executed in New Zealand, and I believe I saw somewhere that Kidman came across his story after talking to a witness to the events that lead to his conviction (this occurred in the mid 1950's). Black was Irish, born to a desperately poor family, an immigrant to New Zealand in search of prospects and a better life. Kidman takes readers back to Black's childhood in Ireland, and most tellingly gives us a glimpse into his families anguish at the conviction and the prospect of his execution. The novel concentrates on the story of Albert Black however, so we don't get the same sort of insight into the victim Alan Keith Jacques (aka Johnny McBride). Working backwards and forwards through the past and Black's life in New Zealand, Kidman seamlessly, tellingly, compellingly, draws a picture of a young man on the cusp of life who made the sorts of choices, and therefore mistakes, that many make.
Kidman has pulled off one of those forms of novel where a true story is woven into a fictional account that doesn't play fast and loose with the truth or the ultimate outcome. A fight over a girl, leading to Black's decision to arm himself with a knife, after which an encounter with the same man who beat him the night before, turned into a single knife blow that killed his rival in love and Albert Black was ultimately executed. The build up to this event provides real insight into a febrile society. Post war, social change had arrived in New Zealand, and young people, in particular are very different. The free love, drugs and rock and roll 1960's are on the horizon, whilst 1950's bodgies and widgies subculture was thriving. The tensions around the "generation gap" were starting to be felt and there was an overwhelming belief that the younger generation were out of control. Needless to say it's a heady mix for a young Irishman from a deprived background to land into. The opportunities that present themselves on his arrival in Auckland are almost too much for him to handle, and the smack in the head that is falling in love, sends him spiralling into some really bad decision making.
Somewhere in all of this, the line between fiction and fact becomes blurred in a manner that readers unaware of all the facts of Albert Black's crimes will be hard-pressed to pick. Kidman uses a series of letters from prison, accounts of final visits with friends and switching timelines and places to draw out a story of an immensely vulnerable young man in a time that's not best suited to understanding and forgiveness. In particularly heart-breaking fashion we also see the affects of his crime, trial and punishment on his mother. Back in Ireland, desperate to get to her son, to understand what has gone so horribly wrong, the portrayal of this woman is moving. You're left considering the ease with which young men do stupid things, a sneaking suspicion that murder was too harsh a decision, and the anguish of that mother and her belief in her son; in stark contrast to comments attributed to NZ Attorney General, John Marshall, "... we could do without these deplorable migrants". Readers have no option but to pause and consider if this is really what he said, what were the implications of that attitude on the trial and sentence?
THIS MORTAL BOY is sensitively written, beautifully constructed, considered and well balanced. It carefully delivers a number of points for the reader to contemplate - lack of compassion, lack of understanding of peer pressure, overt political interference in the judicial system, and the finality of capital punishment. It's not, however, a novel that shouts moral conclusions from the rafters. Rather it lays out the story of two young men who make stupid decisions, who lack self-control and wisdom and end up in an awful place. Whether or not they both deserved to die for this is left to the reader to consider, as is the role of the state and the judiciary when it comes to careful and cautious consideration of the facts, and the right to compassion and clear moral leadership. Needless to say, THIS MORTAL BOY, is a mighty undertaking and a very worthy Ngaio Marsh Award Winner.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/mortal-boy-dame-fiona-kidman
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
5.0
Second read: 17/06/21 - 17/06/21
Rating: (still) 5 stars
Man, this book just hits so good! (Grammar, what are you?) I was actually born in Mount Eden, the suburb in Auckland where this trial took place, and this makes it feel so much more, well, closer to home. I suppose "older" countries won't really understand, because they probably have heaps of true crime stories, but NZ is 181 years old, and so our "history" is not actually that historical. Anyway, I'm going off topic so I should probably stop now. Read below if you want more nonsensical thoughts. BUT PEOPLE. JUST READ THIS BOOK.
First read: 20/01/21 - 20/01/21
Rating: 5 stars
I loved this book so much. It was incredible. The poignancy of the story is conveyed wonderfully, and it almost made me cry! There are very few books that have ever done that. The way the author uses multiple timelines and perspectives was just amazing. I could just gush about it for several pages. I can find not fault (that being said, I just finished it 2 minutes ago so my opinion is definitely not impartial). Just read this book. It details New Zealand's penultimate hanging, and if that sounds even remotely interesting to you, look up the synopsis and just read this book please. AHHHHHH IT'S SO GOOD
Rating: (still) 5 stars
Man, this book just hits so good! (Grammar, what are you?) I was actually born in Mount Eden, the suburb in Auckland where this trial took place, and this makes it feel so much more, well, closer to home. I suppose "older" countries won't really understand, because they probably have heaps of true crime stories, but NZ is 181 years old, and so our "history" is not actually that historical. Anyway, I'm going off topic so I should probably stop now. Read below if you want more nonsensical thoughts. BUT PEOPLE. JUST READ THIS BOOK.
First read: 20/01/21 - 20/01/21
Rating: 5 stars
I loved this book so much. It was incredible. The poignancy of the story is conveyed wonderfully, and it almost made me cry! There are very few books that have ever done that. The way the author uses multiple timelines and perspectives was just amazing. I could just gush about it for several pages. I can find not fault (that being said, I just finished it 2 minutes ago so my opinion is definitely not impartial). Just read this book. It details New Zealand's penultimate hanging, and if that sounds even remotely interesting to you, look up the synopsis and just read this book please. AHHHHHH IT'S SO GOOD
madlymusing's review against another edition
5.0
This book was beautiful, but immensely difficult. It reminded me a lot of Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites, in that you know how it’s going to end, but it’s still heartbreaking as you work your way towards the inevitable. That it was relatively slow-moving made that even harder, because you can see what’s happening as it develops.
I learned a lot about modern New Zealand history through this book, and used it as a launch pad to do a bit of additional research. If nothing else, it highlights the danger of moral panic and prejudice, particularly in regards to age, immigration and ethnicity.
I was totally captivated by this book and while it hurt to get through, I’m so glad I read it.
I learned a lot about modern New Zealand history through this book, and used it as a launch pad to do a bit of additional research. If nothing else, it highlights the danger of moral panic and prejudice, particularly in regards to age, immigration and ethnicity.
I was totally captivated by this book and while it hurt to get through, I’m so glad I read it.
maplessence's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure if this book was quite a 5★, but a day later & I'm still thinking about both the book & the subject matter so...
Fiona Kidman is one of New Zealand's most respected fiction writers. From her bio on Goodreads;
Perfect description of this book - & of 1950's New Zealand society.
Young Irishman Albert "Paddy" Black
emigrates to New Zealand as a "Ten Pound Pom" - an immigrant who receives an assisted passage to New Zealand. Kidman's interpretation has Black as happy in his new country at first, but he soon becomes homesick and he leaves Lower Hutt & the good friend he has made to chase better pay in our biggest city. Black becomes a caretaker for an inner city boarding house. Johnny McBride (real name Alan Jacques)
Is bigger, meaner & (Black believes) older than Albert, and he forces his way into the boarding house. Things come to a head and after a severe beating at Jacques' hands & provocation at a milk bar, Black stabs Jacques in the neck. Against the odds, the stabbing proves fatal and Black is arrested.
"This Mortal Boy" is in all kinds of trouble. His new Auckland friends desert him, he is up against prejudice against youth, new immigrants - & the Minister of Justice "Gentleman Jack" Marshall. Marshall was a great contradiction -gentle and charming in his manner, but a hardcore proponent of the death penalty.
Source Wikipedia: Public Domain
I wasn't around in 1955, but I do remember Marshall from later in his career (He was briefly the New Zealand Prime Minister) as one of the most honorable NZ politicians.
Poor "Paddy" never stood a chance. He was the second to last person hanged in NZ. His death and the cruel way his mother was denied permission to visit NZ to farewell her son, caused an outcry and the death penalty as a punishment for murder was abolished in 1957.
Kidman's writing style is literary, thoughtful and reflective. She does a good job of showing the contradictions in New Zealand society of the time. I'm not totally convinced by her interpretation of Black's character, but I was still fascinated.
Fiona Kidman is one of New Zealand's most respected fiction writers. From her bio on Goodreads;
Much of her fiction is focused on how outsiders navigate their way in narrowly conformist society.
Perfect description of this book - & of 1950's New Zealand society.
Young Irishman Albert "Paddy" Black
emigrates to New Zealand as a "Ten Pound Pom" - an immigrant who receives an assisted passage to New Zealand. Kidman's interpretation has Black as happy in his new country at first, but he soon becomes homesick and he leaves Lower Hutt & the good friend he has made to chase better pay in our biggest city. Black becomes a caretaker for an inner city boarding house. Johnny McBride (real name Alan Jacques)
Is bigger, meaner & (Black believes) older than Albert, and he forces his way into the boarding house. Things come to a head and after a severe beating at Jacques' hands & provocation at a milk bar, Black stabs Jacques in the neck. Against the odds, the stabbing proves fatal and Black is arrested.
"This Mortal Boy" is in all kinds of trouble. His new Auckland friends desert him, he is up against prejudice against youth, new immigrants - & the Minister of Justice "Gentleman Jack" Marshall. Marshall was a great contradiction -gentle and charming in his manner, but a hardcore proponent of the death penalty.
Source Wikipedia: Public Domain
I wasn't around in 1955, but I do remember Marshall from later in his career (He was briefly the New Zealand Prime Minister) as one of the most honorable NZ politicians.
Poor "Paddy" never stood a chance. He was the second to last person hanged in NZ. His death and the cruel way his mother was denied permission to visit NZ to farewell her son, caused an outcry and the death penalty as a punishment for murder was abolished in 1957.
Kidman's writing style is literary, thoughtful and reflective. She does a good job of showing the contradictions in New Zealand society of the time. I'm not totally convinced by her interpretation of Black's character, but I was still fascinated.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshessonovel.wordpress.com
daisyvb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book made me cry so there's that. While the writing felt fairly simplistic, nothing to go on about, it did mean it felt like this case was treated with a respect and also made it a very easy and understandable read. There is something... interesting, about speculating on a real life criminal case, and also then "inventing" new backstories and versions of people and events that theorise on what could maybe have happened, but is ultimately fiction at its core. But this was very interesting and all over tragic. Ultimately men, especially those in positions of power and with influence and money, come out of this book looking bigoted, violent and ignorant.. It was enjoyable to read a book set mostly in New Zealand and to spot so many places I know. That Albert Black was the second to last person to be hanged is also the final tragedy; he was so close to being tried in a country with laws that would have given him a chance to grow and his family a chance to know him for even longer.
simonmee's review against another edition
5.0
Not an easy book to write, I think. Particularly one where the main characters fully inhabit the world of New Zealand in 1950s, or at least the one portrayed to us in books or the screen, albeit a bit wilder than in the film Tangiwai. It certainly hit a lot of touchstones early:
After the swearing in, a recess is called where they will get to know each other over morning tea and biscuits.
I felt tightly wound up reading This Mortal Boy. It’s tense when a marble is stolen, it’s tense over immigration:
'The country’s full of foreigners these days. Wogs everywhere. Spicks. Jews. Chinamen. All sorts, if you ask me. We were better off before the war.'
…it’s tense over flatmates, its tense with the debates at the highest and lowest levels over the death penalty, it’s tense at home, with no chance to unwind:
Stopping at the doorways of each of his sons’ rooms, he half wishes one of them will wake, so that he might suggest a cup of hot Milo, a piece of toast smothered in Marmite.
…it’s very tense over sex, well, sometimes humorous:
As if she hadn’t heard this, Sally circled the forefinger and thumb of her left hand, using the forefinger of her right to poke back and forwards through.
There’s violence, ranging from domestic against women and children:
He got hidings if he didn’t milk the cows fast enough.
…to actual homicide and the Government’s ultimate response:
'Aren’t we, as a government, not succumbing to lynch law?'
...and drinking, so much drinking, be it the five o’clock swill, a wild house party or late night reminisces while the wife waits with cabbage pooled into an amoebic slime in the oven.
Welcome to New Zealand.
After the swearing in, a recess is called where they will get to know each other over morning tea and biscuits.
I felt tightly wound up reading This Mortal Boy. It’s tense when a marble is stolen, it’s tense over immigration:
'The country’s full of foreigners these days. Wogs everywhere. Spicks. Jews. Chinamen. All sorts, if you ask me. We were better off before the war.'
…it’s tense over flatmates, its tense with the debates at the highest and lowest levels over the death penalty, it’s tense at home, with no chance to unwind:
Stopping at the doorways of each of his sons’ rooms, he half wishes one of them will wake, so that he might suggest a cup of hot Milo, a piece of toast smothered in Marmite.
…it’s very tense over sex, well, sometimes humorous:
As if she hadn’t heard this, Sally circled the forefinger and thumb of her left hand, using the forefinger of her right to poke back and forwards through.
There’s violence, ranging from domestic against women and children:
He got hidings if he didn’t milk the cows fast enough.
…to actual homicide and the Government’s ultimate response:
'Aren’t we, as a government, not succumbing to lynch law?'
...and drinking, so much drinking, be it the five o’clock swill, a wild house party or late night reminisces while the wife waits with cabbage pooled into an amoebic slime in the oven.
Welcome to New Zealand.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘It is a matter of pride to him that under his watch the death penalty has been reinstated.’
On 5 December 1955, Albert Laurence Black, became the second last person to be executed in New Zealand. Albert Black was only twenty when he was convicted of murdering another young man during a fight at a milk bar in Auckland on 26 July 1955. In this haunting novel, Fiona Kidman recreates the events that led to his execution.
And it is a haunting story: encouraged by his mother, Albert Black left Ireland in search of a better life. He made friends with another emigrant, and the two of them found labouring jobs and boarded with a widow in Lower Hutt. But Albert was restless and homesick. Initially he tried to save enough money to return home to Ireland but his need for companionship and desire to try to fit in with other young people thwarted his plans.
Albert moved to Auckland, where he became caretaker of a large house. Despite being told by the landlord not to take in housemates, he did. Albert fell in love with one girl, but another man (one of his housemates) was jealous. And on the 26th of July 1955, in a scuffle, Albert accidentally killed him.
‘What do you know about Albert Black? … Who’s to know what really happened that night? You lot don’t know nothing.’
Reading this novel, I found it difficult to accept that Albert was convicted of murder. But in 1955, it seems that New Zealand was not a liberal society. The novel portrays a society in which English migrants (and especially Irish migrants) were viewed with suspicion. Being different was almost proof of wrongdoing. And in the court, Albert never really had a chance.
I found this a difficult novel to read: sad and thought-provoking.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
On 5 December 1955, Albert Laurence Black, became the second last person to be executed in New Zealand. Albert Black was only twenty when he was convicted of murdering another young man during a fight at a milk bar in Auckland on 26 July 1955. In this haunting novel, Fiona Kidman recreates the events that led to his execution.
And it is a haunting story: encouraged by his mother, Albert Black left Ireland in search of a better life. He made friends with another emigrant, and the two of them found labouring jobs and boarded with a widow in Lower Hutt. But Albert was restless and homesick. Initially he tried to save enough money to return home to Ireland but his need for companionship and desire to try to fit in with other young people thwarted his plans.
Albert moved to Auckland, where he became caretaker of a large house. Despite being told by the landlord not to take in housemates, he did. Albert fell in love with one girl, but another man (one of his housemates) was jealous. And on the 26th of July 1955, in a scuffle, Albert accidentally killed him.
‘What do you know about Albert Black? … Who’s to know what really happened that night? You lot don’t know nothing.’
Reading this novel, I found it difficult to accept that Albert was convicted of murder. But in 1955, it seems that New Zealand was not a liberal society. The novel portrays a society in which English migrants (and especially Irish migrants) were viewed with suspicion. Being different was almost proof of wrongdoing. And in the court, Albert never really had a chance.
I found this a difficult novel to read: sad and thought-provoking.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
searlait_carolinehoey's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0