Elmet: LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017

✍ Scribed by Fiona Mozley

• Book ID: 100193536
• Publisher: Algonquin Books;JM Originals
• Year: 2017
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 152 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN: 1473660556

✦ Synopsis

**FINALIST FOR THE 2017 MAN BOOKER PRIZE

The Guardian Best Books of 2017 * December Indie Next Pick * Amazon Best of the Month * Amazon Debut Spotlight * PEOPLE Magazine BOOK OF THE WEEK

“Beguiling . . . A lyrical and mythic work . . . Mozley’s sheer storytelling confidence sends the reader sailing.”─New York Times

"A quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable." —The Economist**

"Part fairy tale, part coming-of-age story, part revenge tragedy with literary connections, Mozley's first novel is a shape-shifting, lyrical, but dark parable of life off the grid in modern Britain. Mozley's instantaneous success . . . is a response to the stylish intensity of her work, which boldly winds multiple genres into a rich spinning top of a tale."*—Kirkus Reviews**** (starred review)*

The family thought the little house they had made themselves in Elmet, a corner of Yorkshire, was theirs, that their peaceful, self-sufficient life was safe. Cathy and Daniel roamed the woods freely, occasionally visiting a local woman for some schooling, living outside all conventions. Their father built things and hunted, working with his hands; sometimes he would disappear, forced to do secret, brutal work for money, but to them he was a gentle protector.

Narrated by Daniel after a catastrophic event has occurred, Elmet mesmerizes even as it becomes clear the family's solitary idyll will not last. When a local landowner shows up on their doorstep, their precarious existence is threatened, their innocence lost. Daddy and Cathy, both of them fierce, strong, and unyielding, set out to protect themselves and their neighbors, putting into motion a chain of events that can only end in violence.

As rich, wild, dark, and beautiful as its Yorkshire setting, Elmet is a gripping debut about life on the margins and the power—and limits—of family loyalty.

**

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of December 2017: Fiona Mozley’s debut novel is a surprising, serious story with some of the best writing about nature and family published this year. Short listed for the Man Booker prize, Elmet begins with a young person – without name or sex – walking along a railroad line in the north of England, searching for someone lost. The origins of that scene unfold: a family has sought refuge on a patch of woods that was once theirs, but their harmonious and humane way of life in this Edenic setting is threatened by conflict with “Mr. Price,” the rapacious new landowner. Mozley’s liberal sympathies are all out in the open across a range of issues from unionization to privatization and gender identity. But even to readers who might not share her politics, Elmet presents a persuasive and evocatively written argument. Her vision of what rural life could be is only slightly tempered by the knowledge that like all Edens, this one must be left behind. --Sarah Harrison Smith, Amazon Book Review

Review

“A quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable.” (The Economist)

“Pastoral idyll, political exposé, cosy family saga and horror tale, it reads like a traditional children’s story that turns into a gangster film: Hansel and Gretel meets The Godfather” (Sunday Times (London))

“An impressive slice of contemporary noir steeped in Yorkshire legend . . . Elmet possesses a rich and unfussy lyricism.” (The Guardian)

“There is a hint of Grimms’ Fairy Tales in the blending of the pastoral and the macabre, and Mozley has a lot of fun showing how an unconventional childhood can be both inspirational and scary . . . one looks forward to more from the same pen.”  (Mail on Sunday)

“A work of troubling beauty . . . Brutal, bleak, ethereal, Mozley’s novel combines parable with urgent contemporary truths about dispossession and exploitation. Reading Elmet leaves the metallic taste of blood in the mouth: centuries old, yet as fresh as today.” (New Statesman)

“The scattered moments of raw talent are arresting.” (The Times (London))

“A brooding study of family and belonging.” (Daily Telegraph (London))

“At its best, it reminds you of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.” (Metro)

“Mozley is a gifted writer . . . Pastoral idyll, political exposé, cosy family saga and horror tale, it reads like a traditional children’s story that turns into a gangster film: Hansel and Gretel meets The Godfather.” (Sunday Times (London))

“Thrums with all the energy and life of the forests that surround the family . . . Rhythmic and lilting, the writing is dreamily poetic.” (Financial Times)