Take a photo of a barcode or cover
claire_fuller_writer 's review for:
Elmet
by Fiona Mozley
This debut is on the Man Booker shortlist, which is a fantastic achievement for Mozley: greater exposure, higher book sales, probably guaranteed publication of whatever she writes next. But that achievement also shines a glaring spotlight on a debut that then has to work hard to live up to it. If this was a debut that I had come across another way (and of course without the Man Booker I might well not have), then I would probably be less critical. Being on the short list isn't of course Mozley's 'fault' but it isn't possible to read it without having that in mind.
There was much to like: the sections in italics when Daniel, the narrator was going in search of his sister, Cathy - these were wonderfully written; the earthy feeling of the whole book; the visceral scene when the fighters and their specators gather in the woods; the playing with gender roles - Daniel is softer, while Cathy is hard and self-sufficent.
But I found Daniel's voice very inconsistent. His dialogue (even if he is remembering the time when he is about 15) is often incredibly sophisticated for someone who has been taught briefly by his neighbour, Vivien.
The enemy of Daniel, Cathy and his 'Daddy' is Mr Price - an exploitative, money-grabbing landlord with two bully-boy posh sons. I found him to be a cliché - every bad kind of person rolled up into one. And I found myself having some sympathy for him. Daddy has built a house on land that Mr Price owns, and Mr Price wants him off. He might be going about trying to achieve that in despicable ways, but it is his land.
And finally some inconsistencies in the story (even sometimes very small) that took me out of it: Daniel and his sister are told by Daddy how he knows Vivien and then while at Vivien's house, Daniel wonders how the family knows Vivien; how the family like their coffee; whether the house is built in the copse or outside it.
I'd definitely be interested be interested in what Mozley writes next, but I found this novel patchy.
There was much to like: the sections in italics when Daniel, the narrator was going in search of his sister, Cathy - these were wonderfully written; the earthy feeling of the whole book; the visceral scene when the fighters and their specators gather in the woods; the playing with gender roles - Daniel is softer, while Cathy is hard and self-sufficent.
But I found Daniel's voice very inconsistent. His dialogue (even if he is remembering the time when he is about 15) is often incredibly sophisticated for someone who has been taught briefly by his neighbour, Vivien.
The enemy of Daniel, Cathy and his 'Daddy' is Mr Price - an exploitative, money-grabbing landlord with two bully-boy posh sons. I found him to be a cliché - every bad kind of person rolled up into one. And I found myself having some sympathy for him. Daddy has built a house on land that Mr Price owns, and Mr Price wants him off. He might be going about trying to achieve that in despicable ways, but it is his land.
And finally some inconsistencies in the story (even sometimes very small) that took me out of it: Daniel and his sister are told by Daddy how he knows Vivien and then while at Vivien's house, Daniel wonders how the family knows Vivien; how the family like their coffee; whether the house is built in the copse or outside it.
I'd definitely be interested be interested in what Mozley writes next, but I found this novel patchy.