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A review by sfian
Soot by Andrew Martin
5.0
In terms of novels, I (almost) exclusively read SF and fantasy, so why did I pick this book up? Well, it first caught my eye because of the cover, which featured an instantly recognisable picture of York Minster.
York is my hometown and the place I have lived all my life (so far) and, being honest, I have yet to read a decent book set in the city, or its nearby environs. (Being honest I can only remember one book actually set in the city.)
"Literary" put me off - both when the bookseller mentioned the word, as I handed over my credit card, and the quote on the cover. I like my books to be relatively easy reads and that word, to me, suggests highbrow. However, I needn't have worried, this is am incredibly easy, and yet layered, read. It makes you think, you wonder what's going on. It made me laugh and it made me cringe. It also made me feel like in was in my city, two hundred years in the past. It's a fairly immersive novel, with a very acceptable ending.
And yes, it portrayed my city brilliantly, and even made me research (albeit briefly) some of the history. That other book had made a glaring error - to anybody who lives here - of street geography. This one seemed to have, until I checked whether there had in fact been a Black Swan inn that you could walk out of into Coney Street. (There indeed was, and not the one I'm more familiar with, which is in a slightly different part of the city.) I looked up other locations and worked out where they would have been or, indeed, still are. I still can't square Micklegate having a Spread Eagle pub but, you know what? I trust the author did his research more fully than I have done.
Finally! A book that pays its respect to York. Loved it.
York is my hometown and the place I have lived all my life (so far) and, being honest, I have yet to read a decent book set in the city, or its nearby environs. (Being honest I can only remember one book actually set in the city.)
"Literary" put me off - both when the bookseller mentioned the word, as I handed over my credit card, and the quote on the cover. I like my books to be relatively easy reads and that word, to me, suggests highbrow. However, I needn't have worried, this is am incredibly easy, and yet layered, read. It makes you think, you wonder what's going on. It made me laugh and it made me cringe. It also made me feel like in was in my city, two hundred years in the past. It's a fairly immersive novel, with a very acceptable ending.
And yes, it portrayed my city brilliantly, and even made me research (albeit briefly) some of the history. That other book had made a glaring error - to anybody who lives here - of street geography. This one seemed to have, until I checked whether there had in fact been a Black Swan inn that you could walk out of into Coney Street. (There indeed was, and not the one I'm more familiar with, which is in a slightly different part of the city.) I looked up other locations and worked out where they would have been or, indeed, still are. I still can't square Micklegate having a Spread Eagle pub but, you know what? I trust the author did his research more fully than I have done.
Finally! A book that pays its respect to York. Loved it.