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rhetoricandlogic 's review for:
The Vagrant
by Peter Newman
Can I - for a second here - rave about this book?
The main protagonists: a mute, a baby and a goat. When I read the blurb, I was more than sceptical. I mean, what kind of dialogue do you expect with these protagonists? Something between scree and bleaaaaat and silence, right?
No. Completely wrong. Newman pulls it off. 402 pages of a highly interesting story with lots of dialogue (you wouldn't believe how much talking in a book can be done without using voice).
Another big plus: the world. It's basically New Crobuzon, but with demons. And a singing sword. The mixture is so new and refreshing, I was blown away.
I understand this is a debut novel and it shows in the beginning. The prose starts out a little wooden, but smoothes out soon (this is where the missing star is gone). It has to be said, the book is written in the style a Jaqen H'ghar talks, you have to like him talking, to like this prose. For me, it was a match. Might not be everybody's cup of tea, tho.
ETA: humour. This book has it. Mostly caused by the goat. Not the ROFL-type, but the sweet-smile type.
The main protagonists: a mute, a baby and a goat. When I read the blurb, I was more than sceptical. I mean, what kind of dialogue do you expect with these protagonists? Something between scree and bleaaaaat and silence, right?
No. Completely wrong. Newman pulls it off. 402 pages of a highly interesting story with lots of dialogue (you wouldn't believe how much talking in a book can be done without using voice).
Another big plus: the world. It's basically New Crobuzon, but with demons. And a singing sword. The mixture is so new and refreshing, I was blown away.
I understand this is a debut novel and it shows in the beginning. The prose starts out a little wooden, but smoothes out soon (this is where the missing star is gone). It has to be said, the book is written in the style a Jaqen H'ghar talks, you have to like him talking, to like this prose. For me, it was a match. Might not be everybody's cup of tea, tho.
ETA: humour. This book has it. Mostly caused by the goat. Not the ROFL-type, but the sweet-smile type.