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FINALIST FOR THE 2017 MAN BOOKER PRIZE **The Guardian Best Books of 2017 * December Indie Next Pick * Amazon Best of the Month * Amazon Debut Spotlight * PEOPLE Magazine BOOK OF THE WEEK** "Beguiling . . . A lyrical and mythic work . . . Mozley's sheer storytelling confidence sends the reader sailing." â??New York Times "A quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable." â??The Economist "Part fairy tale, part coming-of-age story, part revenge tragedy with literary connections, Mozley's first novel is a shape-shifting, lyrical, but dark parable of life off the grid in modern Britain. Mozley's instantaneous success . . . is a response to the stylish intensity of her work, which boldly winds multiple genres into a rich spinning top of a tale."â??Kirkus Reviews(starred review) The family thought the little house they had made themselves in Elmet, a corner of Yorkshire, was theirs, that their peaceful, self-sufficient life was safe. Cathy and Daniel roamed the woods freely, occasionally visiting a local woman for some schooling, living outside all conventions. Their father built things and hunted, working with his hands; sometimes he would disappear, forced to do secret, brutal work for money, but to them he was a gentle protector. Narrated by Daniel after a catastrophic event has occurred, Elmet mesmerizes even as it becomes clear the family's solitary idyll will not last. When a local landowner shows up on their doorstep, their precarious existence is threatened, their innocence lost. Daddy and Cathy, both of them fierce, strong, and unyielding, set out to protect themselves and their neighbors, putting into motion a chain of events that can only end in violence. As rich, wild, dark, and beautiful as its Yorkshire setting, Elmet is a gripping debut about life on the margins and the powerâ??and limitsâ??of famil… (more)
A distinctively different book, set in rural West Yorkshire, in a time which may be 21st century Britain, but which seems more like feudal England. The family at the heart of the novel, Daddy, Catherine and Daniel are to a large extent outcasts, living on their wits in a house they built themselves in an unlooked at corner of the landowner's territory. Feudal values take over, and the later part of the book is a shocking one, the ending itself ambivalent and leaving the reader with lots of questions. In many ways plainly written, the description of the natural environment is poetic and evocative.
I've written this too soon after reading the book. I need to digest what I have read, and return to this later. ( )
A curiously timeless tale. Possibly set in the present day but maybe not. Possibly set in Yorkshire but maybe not. Disputes between those in power and and those without power. Guess who wins? Written in a seemingly deliberate young fiction readers style to suit the narrator's position. But with lavishly described violence. Odd. ( )
(8.5) From the outset, the reader knows that the outcome for this story will not be a happy one. The story opens with the narrator, Daniel, on the run, trying to locate his sister. His recollections, as he walks, provides the back story to how he came to be alone. The author has created an atmospheric setting and strong character portrayals. ( )
You don't need to get very far into this book before you know what's going to happen. The characters are begging for it. So the question is whether you can stand the tension. ( )
Fiona Mozley’s Man Booker-longlisted debut is an elemental, contemporary rural noir steeped in the literature and legend of the Yorkshire landscape and its medieval history...Elmet possesses a rich and unfussy lyricism....Elmet belongs to a strain of northern British gothic that mirrors the variety that has long held sway in the southern states of the US. The gothic has always returned to us what we repress, whether that be monks hiding in priest holes or bodies buried in swamps...The embedding of such myths in the language and landscape of Hughes, dragged down from the moorland and into the woods, makes for a scarred, black gem.
Elmet was the last independent Celtic kingdom in England and originally stretched out over the Vale of York...But even into the 17th century this narrow cleft and its side-gunnels, under the glaciated moors, were still a 'badlands', a sanctuary for refugees from the law----Remains of Elmet--Ted Hughes
Dedication
For Megan
First words
I cast no shadow.
Quotations
Last words
Pale moths hang loosely in the haze, their wings luminous, then dim, then luminous, as they beat against an inevitable descent.
FINALIST FOR THE 2017 MAN BOOKER PRIZE **The Guardian Best Books of 2017 * December Indie Next Pick * Amazon Best of the Month * Amazon Debut Spotlight * PEOPLE Magazine BOOK OF THE WEEK** "Beguiling . . . A lyrical and mythic work . . . Mozley's sheer storytelling confidence sends the reader sailing." â??New York Times "A quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable." â??The Economist "Part fairy tale, part coming-of-age story, part revenge tragedy with literary connections, Mozley's first novel is a shape-shifting, lyrical, but dark parable of life off the grid in modern Britain. Mozley's instantaneous success . . . is a response to the stylish intensity of her work, which boldly winds multiple genres into a rich spinning top of a tale."â??Kirkus Reviews(starred review) The family thought the little house they had made themselves in Elmet, a corner of Yorkshire, was theirs, that their peaceful, self-sufficient life was safe. Cathy and Daniel roamed the woods freely, occasionally visiting a local woman for some schooling, living outside all conventions. Their father built things and hunted, working with his hands; sometimes he would disappear, forced to do secret, brutal work for money, but to them he was a gentle protector. Narrated by Daniel after a catastrophic event has occurred, Elmet mesmerizes even as it becomes clear the family's solitary idyll will not last. When a local landowner shows up on their doorstep, their precarious existence is threatened, their innocence lost. Daddy and Cathy, both of them fierce, strong, and unyielding, set out to protect themselves and their neighbors, putting into motion a chain of events that can only end in violence. As rich, wild, dark, and beautiful as its Yorkshire setting, Elmet is a gripping debut about life on the margins and the powerâ??and limitsâ??of famil
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The family thought the little house they had made themselves in Elmet, a corner of Yorkshire, was theirs, that their peaceful, self-sufficient life was safe. Cathy and Daniel roamed the woods freely, occasionally visiting a local woman for some schooling, living outside all conventions. Their father built things and hunted, working with his hands; sometimes he would disappear, forced to do secret, brutal work for money, but to them he was a gentle protector.
Narrated by Daniel after a catastrophic event has occurred, Elmet mesmerizes even as it becomes clear the family's solitary idyll will not last. When a local landowner shows up on their doorstep, their precarious existence is threatened, their innocence lost. Daddy and Cathy, both of them fierce, strong, and unyielding, set out to protect themselves and their neighbors, putting into motion a chain of events that can only end in violence.
As rich, wild, dark, and beautiful as its Yorkshire setting, Elmet is a gripping debut about life on the margins and the power—and limits—of family loyalty.
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I've written this too soon after reading the book. I need to digest what I have read, and return to this later. (