Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In this atmospheric and profoundly moving debut, Cathy and Daniel live with their father, John, in the remote woods of Yorkshire, in a house the three of them built themselves. John is a gentle brute of a man, a former enforcer who fights for money when he has to, but who otherwise just wants to be left alone to raise his children. When a local landowner shows up on their doorstep, their precarious existence is threatened, and a series of actions is set in motion that can only end in violence. Steeped in the natural world of northern England, this is a lyrical commentary on the bonds of siblings and fatherhood, and on the meaning of community in the modern world. Elmet marks the launch of a major new voice in literary fiction.
Fiona Mozley on PowellsBooks.Blog
Describe your latest book.
My debut novel,
Elmet, was published by Algonquin on December 3. It’s about a family of three — a father and his teenage children, Daniel and Cathy — who build a house for themselves in a copse in rural Yorkshire, on land they don’t own. They live almost self-sufficiently for a time, away from the world, in a paradise of their own making...
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