Fiction: January 2007 Archives

“Anyhow, I must have clipped the edge of the pyramid and it toppled over. The whole thing, thousands of tines of tomatoes. They came crashing down. It was horrible!”

With characteristic good humour and seeming irreverence, Jeremy Strong’s latest novel, “Beware! Killer tomatoes” introduces Jack, a hapless individual whose catalogue of disasters include sitting upon the prongs of a fork – ouch! – swallowing a coin – dangerous! – and, most recently, crashing his bike into a parked car. These mishaps are affectionately termed by his family, Jackcidents.

Belying his most recent Jackcident is the real worry that Jack may unwittingly have killed somebody. His latest stay in hospital, accompanied by the clownish Liam and the surly Kirsty, is characterised throughout by the fear that police will come to arrest him.

The mechanics of observation chugging along beneath this narrative thrust and the comic means of its deliverance lend this – and Strong’s other novels – astute perception. Belying the sorts of question Jack has about the accident in the supermarket, is a character whose sense of self has been eroded by the type of comment made about him through familial influence.

A great warmth and affection arises through the parallels that are made as Jack’s broken leg gradually heals and he learns to walk again, and as his family and friends come to value the contributions he plays in their lives and the unique influence he holds. A subtle, clever book that inspires strength and inner resilience against all of our falls.

“I didn’t understand why he had to puke out all those words at the time, but now I’m telling you this I think I understand it a tiny, little bit. I think Rumsey just needed to say it so it wouldn’t just be locked up inside his head all the time. I was just the next step up from a smelly old rubbish bin in a school playground.”

Struggling to find a way to make sense of events that seem senseless, the novel opens with incredible pace and drama as ten-year-old Danny relates how he has thrown a brick through Grundy’s window, flattening his stuffed otter.

Through a careful series of revelations, it becomes apparent that some accident has befallen Danny’s twin Finn, leaving the former to host a range of powerful and all-encompassing emotions.

Split into three distinct parts, the first of these constitute two phases of Danny’s bereavement. The final stage, that of ‘Being’, is characterised by Danny’s meeting Nulty, a former art teacher who has endeavours to assuage his own personal grief through painting a massive mural.

Told using stream-of-consciousness, the novel is given structure as sequences of narration are themed around particular topics. Danny tells the story in the first-person, much of it is reflective, looking back on past events.

Tom Kelly’s deft humour prevents the book from becoming encumbered by the bleakness of its topic. Indeed, it is the humour, understanding and verve for life that makes this story soar, challenging readers to think about life and death and the ways in which we are able to find meaning from both.

Drawing on facets of the fantasy, mystery, comedy, action and adventure genres, Philip Caveney’s great skill in his debut children’s novel “Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools” is bringing together the familiar and the fresh for readers of all tastes, backgrounds and indeed ages.

Son of a jester, Sebastian Darke endeavours to appropriate his father’s occupation and together with his trust buffalope, Max, sets out to seek his fortune. That this aim seems ill-fated is evidenced by Darke’s inability to imbue comedic value to even the most simple of jokes.

Together with the pint-sized Cornelius, Sebastian and Max aid the Princess Karin, thereby becoming ensnared in a web of intrigue and cunning subterfuge. Only through their assistance will Princess Karin be able to ascend to her rightful position as heir to the throne of Keladon, however Brigands abound as obstacles towards this.

“Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools” is a gripping quest novel that transports readers on a voyage across wide vistas of imaginative lands. Teasing out the elegance and grandeur of epics and energising these with fast-paced modern humour, the novel feels at once wholesome and wicked of wit...

Thankfully, the hand-to-mouth living described in The Poacher’s Son will be utterly remote from most modern readers’ personal experience. Arthur becomes increasingly alienated by the rigid social and moral structures of the time, failing at school (his sister thrives there, but her prospects are absolutely defined and limited by her background). Instead, he is utterly absorbed by the natural world; it is this solitude that allows Arthur to become completely himself. It is a shock when the narrative lurches into the First World War and towards its bleak conclusion. Anderson allows Arthur as the narrator to seem much more eloquent than the younger self he describes; this imbues him with dignity, but it also has a distancing effect on the reader. A subtle, sombre book.

“Keane hates Muslim kids. He hates anyone he thinks is different. He picks on kids with red hair or glasses. Most of all, he picks on kids like me. He calls me a Paki. He says I’m a terrorist. He says I’m like Osama Bin Laden. But I’m no terrorist. I’m twelve! I’m just a normal kid. I like football, computer games and boxing. I just want to be left alone. I want to be a man of peace. I want to be like Muhammad Ali.”

In little over sixty pages, Alan Gibbons has subtly interwoven this story of violence and race-conflict with concepts of restraint, tolerance and peace. This is an exceptional work and one worthy of wholesale praise.

Twelve-year-old Ali is a boxer with a healthy respect and knowledge of his hero Muhammad Ali. His latest fight sees Ali pitted against arch-rival Chris Keane. Keane has tormented Ali in the past. The fight for Ali becomes one not so much only to win, but to assert his beliefs, to overcome initial hatred and ultimately to affirm his value, worth and humanity.

Taut in pace and tempo, the main thrust of the story is suffused throughout by biographical information about Muhammad Ali and his deeply humanist approach to life. The cumulative effect of both strands of the book combine to create a highly inspiring insight into the ways it is possible to escape becoming locked in by hatred, prejudice and intolerance and to utilise these to enhance and enrich our lives and the society within which we are located.