Peter Cocks |
Walker Books |
9781406324754 |
January 2011 |
402 pp |
stopped at p92 |
Read On? NO |
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It’s getting difficult to actually finish some of the books I pick up these days, so I have decided that, rather than ignore them, it would be better to confront the situation and actually record the point at which I give up on a book, for whatever reason.
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As the publisher of Long Reach I am happy to confirm that this book was truly intended for readers of 14+ and that is why the package is sophisticated and appropriate to the adult genre. And I agree that the ground where one might appeal to teens boy readers can be very narrow as they do, indeed, move to Stephen King in the blink of an eye. But I believe that we have evidence that the readership for Peter’s book is considerably broader than even we had hoped. The reader reviews posted by Waterstone’s are from many in their 20s and 30s and even some 50+, so I really feel that we have published a book which can appeal to 14+ precisely because it has the right adult feel and texture. I also think we have found new ground for fathers and sons to share and am excited by exactly how right we are to have published into this ‘middle ground’. It’s looking very successful from our point of view, I’m pleased to report.
I think this raises a very interesting question : just how (or why) do we define a children’s book? I have read two books recently which illustrate this dilemma: ‘Pigeon English’ by Stephen Kelman, published as an adult book, and ‘ Out of Shadows’ by Jason Wallace, which won the children’s book category of the Costa book prize. Yet of the two, I would more happily recommend ‘Pigeon English’ to, say, a 13 year old than the Jason Wallace, because although the book is violent and the ending tragic, the young protagonist has humour and a passion for life.’Out of Shadows’, on the other hand, is unrelentingly bleak and grim, with virtually no characters who are not either weak or deeply unpleasant. So what makes this a children’s book and ‘Pigeon English’ not? Perhaps the answer is that the distinction is meaningless: they are both powerful books whch could be enjoyed by any one over the age of 13. So perhaps the time has come to abolish the category ‘teenage novel’ altogether? What do you think?