Man Booker Prize Longlist

The Many
By Wyl Menmuir
Salt, 2016, 160pp.

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 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.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Did You Ever Have a Family
By Bill Clegg
Gallery/Scout Press, Paperback, 9781476798189, May 2016, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Grief is processed in many different ways and Clegg manages to capture all of them in this beautifully written novel.

The Rest of It:

On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, June Reid’s life is forever changed when she loses her daughter, her daughter’s fiance, her ex-husband and her boyfriend in a tragic accident. Losing what is essentially her entire family, June packs her car and heads to a town where she can be alone for awhile.

Each character plays a role in the telling of this story. Some characters are more superfluous than others, yet all of them are important to the end result. As June makes her way across the country, other people also affected by this accident, are forced to come to terms with their own grief.

This is a tragic story about an imperfect family trying to come together to celebrate this joyous day and instead what they have is pain, sorrow and regret over what they didn’t say or didn’t do. There are beautiful, touching moments between these characters which makes the reading more an exploration of grief than a sad, heavy story about loss.

I really loved how the story came together at the end. It was a very satisfying read as far as books go and my book club had plenty to discuss. I highly recommend it.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…