The Many

This book is set in an isolated Cornish village, where a young villager, Perran, dies under unusual circumstances. Ethan is one of four remaining local fishermen and catches have become rare. He knew and liked Perran. Timothy is an outsider who, ten years later, purchases Perran’s dilapidated house in the village and plans to renovate it. As Timothy tries to integrate into the community, he discovers that the villagers are still haunted by the death of Perran. The atmosphere in the village is tense, and the villagers are secretive, making Timothy's attempts at connection challenging. Timothy is curious. He wants to know more about Perran and keeps asking unwanted questions.

The novel delves into themes of memory, guilt, loss, and the show more impact of environmental degradation. The atmosphere is eerie, and the story unfolds with a sense of foreboding. It is tinged with elements of folk horror and the supernatural. There are some events near the end where the real blends with the surreal, and an unanticipated event clarifies and changes the reader’s understanding of the storyline. I tend not to like “twists” like this that change everything that came before it. I ultimately found it strange and unsettling. Having said that, I would read another book by this author. show less

Looking to buy a second home in Cornwall, Timothy finds a house in a fishing village. The first time the rest of the village realise that there is someone present in the house is when smoke drifts from the chimney. The previous owner, Perran, died mysteriously 10 years earlier and the house has sat empty ever since, but his dominant character still haunts the village.

Quite why Timothy has bought the house in this village is not clear; it is far from a welcoming place and the sea is heavily polluted as he finds out one day after emerging after a swim. More sinister though is the barrier of huge container ships that stop the fishermen from venturing too far out., and the grey-suited officials that buy the meagre catch from the fishermen show more of the village.

The fragile equilibrium that has existed since the death of Perran is under threat though as Timothy has lots of questions. He wants to take a trip out in the boats to see what they catch, to head to the ships that crowd the horizon to see why they are there and to find out what happened to Perran. These are questions that no one in the village wants asked, and they really don't want a stranger asking them.

Menmuir has taken a county normally associated with holidays, sunshine and cream teas and dropped a disconcerting and unsettling novel on it. This dystopian future of a coastal setting is quite disturbing, there is the environmental catastrophe, the Orwellian overtones and a secret that the villagers will not speak of. The tension between Timothy and the villagers is palpable, how can an outsider come and demand answers to questions that they have no wish to talk about. Menmuir's writing is quite special, the prose taught and sparse, but for me, it left many questions unanswered as the narrative swirled between reality and the flashbacks. I did like it, but I felt that the I wasn't always sure what is going on. One to read again as I am sure there are hidden depths within. show less

The Short of It:

Mysterious. Deep. A lot to chew on.

The Rest of It:

"On the surface, his move to the isolated village on the coast makes perfect sense. But the experience is an increasingly unsettling one for Timothy Bucchanan. A dead man no one will discuss. Wasted fish hauled from a contaminated sea. The dream of faceless men. Questions that lead to further questions. What truth are the villagers withholding?" ~ the publisher

Grief, loss, societal and environmental collapse. It’s all here in this short book, but what a punch it packs. Tim is suffering a great loss. He heads to an isolated coastal village to begin fresh. The house he settles on, has been abandoned for years; once belonging to a man whom no one speaks of. Why is this show more man’s name taboo? Whenever Tim tries to find out, he’s shut down and sometimes in a violent way. Harm to his person as well as the house he just bought.

He wants very much to make a home for his wife, but he doesn’t feel comfortable bringing her there without completely understanding what he’s dealing with. He has nightmares. The fishing boat he finds work on detracts from the horrible visions in his head but once he’s back on land, he plummets once again into a very dark place.

This story that can be interpreted in many different ways. I’m sure Menmuir knew which direction he wanted to go with it, but I refrain from sharing what I believe as it could be a spoiler for anyone wanting to pick up this obscure novel.

Did I enjoy it? It’s not a book to enjoy. It took a little time to get a feel for the writing but it’s very atmospheric and welling with meaning. It was shortlisted for a Man Booker. You know the type of novels that make that list. This is that. I found it to be quietly disturbing and while reading it, it haunted my thoughts and still does.

My book club discusses it in March. It’s no longer in print, which makes it difficult to find a copy but I managed to snag the ebook from the library.

Recommend.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter. show less

This short novel is set in an isolated English coastal village whose fishing industry has been all but completely eradicated, as larger ships have left its waters contaminated with chemicals that leave its fish unrecognizably mutated and half dead at best. One day the residents see smoke emerging from the chimney of an abandoned home, and they soon learn that a well-to-do Londoner, Timothy Buchannan, has purchased it, with the intent to renovate it as a vacation home for himself and his new wife. What Timothy does not know is that the house, which has been left vacant and untouched for a decade, was the home of Perran, a young man beloved by the villagers who died under mysterious circumstances and continues to be mourned by his show more neighbors. One of those still haunted by Perran's death is Ethan, an irascible fisherman who continues to fruitlessly ply his trade, while his fellow anglers leave their boats on dry land.

Timothy is viewed as an unwelcome visitor by the villagers, and Ethan is deeply troubled by his presence in Perran's house, as he serves as a reminder of the loss of the young man and the bountiful harvests from the sea that went away after his untimely death. The two men eventually form a tenuous bond on Ethan's boat, but Timothy's insistence on finding out what happened to Perran leads Ethan and the other villagers to turn against him. He refuses to heed their warnings to mind his own business, but his curiosity cannot be quenched, which leads to a climactic confrontation.

The Many blends a real to life novel with elements of a folk tale and an untold ghost story, with hidden symbolism and promises of revelations about Perran, Ethan and the other villagers. I found it to be a compelling and mysterious read, but ultimately it was an unsatisfying one. This is an interesting choice for this year's Booker Prize longlist, but I would be surprised and disappointed if it was selected for the shortlist in September. show less

Very much enjoyed this atmospheric and dreamlike novella set in a Cornish fishing village. An outsider, Timothy, moves into an abandoned house which he hopes to renovate. Ethan, one of the last four fishermen still working the bay is disturbed by his presence - the house used to belong to a close friend (or perhaps more than friend?) of his who was found drowned ten years before. Most of the fish are dead now, victims of overfishing and pollution, and the catch consists of jellyfish, dogfish, and the diseased remnants of a once bounteous catch. The fishermen are forbidden to venture buying a marker line of container ships on pain of prosecution. A mysterious women in a grey suit is always there to buy the complete catch, every last fish show more - but why?

Surprisingly few of the questions the book raises are answered, and I bet this will annoy the hell out of some readers, but I enjoyed the strangeness, and the atmosphere. (I'm a huge Twin Peaks fan so am perfectly happy with ambiguity!) The book this reminded me of most is The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley, also a modern gothic novel drawing on British folklore and superstition.

Looking forward to seeing what Wyl Menmuir writes next. show less

"The Many" isn't marketed as a mystery, a ghost story, a post-apocalyptic story or a time travel story but I interpreted it in those ways at various times while reading it. I think most people will deal with it in a similar way because as the plot progresses more clues are provided that allow for further interpretation.

It starts off simple enough. Timothy Buchannan moves into a 10-year old fixer-upper house in a coastal fishing town. He is to work on the house so that his wife Laurel can join him. But the environment is odd, the villagers are standoffish, Buchannan goes swimming in the same water from which the local fishing crews bring home what look like diseased and mutated fish. The fishing grounds are limited to an area that is show more bordered by abandoned rusty container ships. The catch is bought entire by a mysterious group led by a woman in a gray coat. A fisherman named Ethan befriends Timothy to some degree and Timothy joins him on his vessel "Great Hope" and he encourages Ethan to break the fishing moratorium and to go beyond the container ship boundaries. But Timothy starts asking questions about a boy named Perran who lived in his house previously. Ethan and then the entire village turn against him. And then it seems as if Timothy can't leave the village.

I'm leaving out some key elements in the above summary so as not to give it all away, but in the end i decided that the entire book was (view spoiler).

Everyone will have their own interpretation and I'd encourage you to not read many other reviews or comments ahead of time and make up your own mind. Wyl Menmuir has designed an eerie world and presents it in an intriguing novella sized package and lets you seek your own solution to find your way out of it.

Stray Observations
- "The Many" is currently (August 2016) on the 13-book 2016 Booker Longlist. It may be too quirky to make the September 2016 6-book shortlist, but it is definitely the most intriguing of the 7 out of 13 that I've read (or partially read) to date. show less

I got this book because I read good things about it and about how the author created it by typing it while living in a camper van at a small coastal village and going out on a fishing boat. So I guess I came to it with high expectations and was left slightly disappointed. In the end I thought that it was a bit woolly and not well thought out.

Like who was the woman by the van with the heavies? She was introduced and repeatedly added along the way as if she was of some import to the whole thing and yet in the end who was she? To me she ended up as distraction and was one of the woolly elements. Maybe the author thought that the intrigue of her would keep the reader interested? Not for me though, I kinda like things to get tied up a bit show more more neatly than that. In character based novels I like resolution.

I was also troubled by the dream sequences. I thought they were principally there to carry the story on without actually adding anything of value, a bit like the author couldn’t figure out how to get from a to b so he added a dream to muddle a way through.

Having said all that I think I was more disappointed because it starts of so well and never quite reaches its potential. It doesn’t really reach an end so much as fade out. And yet the writing style is gripping and the characters, at leat the main ones are drawn so well that you could feel them. It had all the dark undertones of a classic modern horror/thriller and initially I was excited to be reading it. show less