has been nominated for a lot of awards, most famously the Man Booker Prize in 2017, but I have to admit I hadn't heard of it before it came to me as part of the shortlist for the Young Writer of the Year Award 2018. Once I started reading I wasn't surprised that it has garnered so much praise and attention, especially given that it's a first novel. Elmet is a visceral and gritty story that is filled with intense emotion.
Initially I was wary of the young narrator, as Daniel is only in his mid-teens, but I could see why this choice was made. He and his sister Cathy live with their father - 'Daddy' - in a remote home in Yorkshire, where they live off the land and keep to themselves. They are isolated and you can see how this strange life has affected the young Daniel throughout his narrative. Their father is a bare-knuckle boxer, fighting for money, and there is a strong element of danger and the threat of violence running through the story. Seeing the story from Daniel's perspective means that we don't always get the full picture, but as adult readers we can infer the rest, which is sometimes darker than Daniel realises.
The title comes from the old Celtic name for the section of northern England where the characters live, and there is a timeless element to the story, especially as everything seems to happen so far away from normal society. The family very much live in their own world, where there is a blend of folklore and modern life. As a reader you wonder why they are so isolated, what has happened to the children's mother, and what drives the father to be so intense and scary, frankly. They do have some neighbours and it soon becomes clear that there may be issues over who actually owns the land on which they live, and from this there comes discussion of rights and class, as well as the importance of home and belonging. These themes run throughout the book, right through to the dramatic conclusion.
I quite liked the premise of Elmet, but for me the style and the setting was a little too affected, and I didn't warm to any of the characters. Like their father, Cathy is tough and secretive, and Daniel clearly needs more from both of his relatives. Their situation is extreme and unhappy, and the reading experience is hard going. While I admired Mozley's skill with scene setting and atmosphere, I found the novel quite hard to engage with. However, I think Elmet will still find a lot of fans who will enjoy the interesting family dynamics and the multi-layered issues and theme throughout the novel.
*
Published in 2017 by John Murray, an imprint of Hodder. My copy was provided for review in conjunction with the Young Writer of the Year Award 2018.
