Fight or flight? Which will you choose? What happens when others choose for you?
After an altercation with a schoolmate, John decides to leave town with his son, Daniel, and daughter, Cathy. They start from scratch in Elmet – John builds a home from the surrounding forest and teaches his children how to live off the land. Unfortunately, they do not technically own the property, and eventually the owner comes knocking.
Told from his first person perspective, Danny is the black sheep of the family. His father is a massive, strong man who literally fights for his family, earning a living by brawling in bare-knuckle donnybrooks. Taking after her father, Cathy is a rough and tumble teenage girl, while Danny is smaller, passive and introverted. As the book progresses, we see increasing juxtaposition between Danny and Cathy, which I found added a unique layer to the story.
The novel proceeds slowly, and the author’s loquacious prose is at times tedious as she meticulously describes the scenery and each passersby. However, her ability to vividly depict the climax of the story almost made it all worth it. The intense events of the last hundred pages are not for the faint of heart, as Mozley puts the reader in the center of some gruesome action.
For me, the narrative felt a bit stale for a finalist of the Man Booker Prize (Best Original Novel). A small town quarrel between a working class family and a rich businessman is not exactly a new material. Elmet attempts to be The Road and Mozley does her best Cormac McCarthy impression, but I never felt as emotionally invested. There is a long build with an adrenaline rush ending, which nearly saves the book. If you are more interested in eloquent writing, rather than a moving plot, feel free to give this a go.
Verdict: Really on the fence….ok fine, skip it
Length: 321 pages
Quote: “But I felt like I could now hear the blood in my veins, coursing through the tiny channels like rushing white water in a gorge.”
Instead Try: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Buy Elmet by Fiona Mozely HERE
Between Two Covers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.