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A review by kyatic
The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth
5.0
Well. This book was different and weird and immersive and worthwhile. By that, I mean that it took about 30 pages before I could read it without referring to the glossary every 6 words or so to try and remember what the heck a 'scucca' was, and I'm glad I persevered. At times, I thought I wouldn't. I gave up on The Great Gatsby, for god's sake, so my track record for continuing with books that I find tricky or dull is not exactly glowing. Something about this one made me break my habit of giving up quickly. That has to say something.
In terms of plot, it was very similar to Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt (one of my all time faves): unreliable, deranged narrator with a slowly revealed terrible past; meticulously researched history which bleeds into the protagonist's mindset; a climactic betrayal and reckoning amongst friends and established enemies; a background of war and political turbulence in England; and even the protagonist and his relationship with his wife was very similar. It still felt like a very different book due to the narrative technique, and although I think it'll be tricky to definitively separate the two books in my mind, I absolutely consider this as a genuinely impressive book on its own merit. I almost wish I hadn't read As Meat Loves Salt so that I could appreciate The Wake without constantly comparing the two, and it takes a great book to make me wish I hadn't read one of my favourites.
You should read this one if you like historical fiction, books that you need to make an effort with, unreliable narrators, and experimental literature. Or a book which spells 'such' as 'succ', because that's just a wonder in and of itself, isn't it?
In terms of plot, it was very similar to Maria McCann's As Meat Loves Salt (one of my all time faves): unreliable, deranged narrator with a slowly revealed terrible past; meticulously researched history which bleeds into the protagonist's mindset; a climactic betrayal and reckoning amongst friends and established enemies; a background of war and political turbulence in England; and even the protagonist and his relationship with his wife was very similar. It still felt like a very different book due to the narrative technique, and although I think it'll be tricky to definitively separate the two books in my mind, I absolutely consider this as a genuinely impressive book on its own merit. I almost wish I hadn't read As Meat Loves Salt so that I could appreciate The Wake without constantly comparing the two, and it takes a great book to make me wish I hadn't read one of my favourites.
You should read this one if you like historical fiction, books that you need to make an effort with, unreliable narrators, and experimental literature. Or a book which spells 'such' as 'succ', because that's just a wonder in and of itself, isn't it?