Books we like ... and books we're not too fussed about
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MJ Hyland
Canongate 2009
It’s difficult to review this without revealing the story, and revealing the story would spoil it. What I will say is that it is a very good novel indeed. Through sparse first person prose we see the world through the eyes of Patrick Oxtoby, a young mechanic who has moved to a boarding house in an unnamed seaside town after the end of his relationship with his fiancée. Whilst there is a grim realism to the story, there is also an air of mystery: the boarding house and its occupants are clearly from another time, and yet it is impossible to say exactly what time, so sparse are the clues. It’s difficult even to place the town. The effect of this is unsettling, as is the viewpoint from which the story is told. It becomes clear that Oxtoby is deeply disturbed, and yet we are already seeing the world very much through his eyes, and feeling much sympathy for him. In this way the novel is reminiscent of Sebastian Faulks’ Engleby, I thought. The boarding house and the seedy life of the town reminded me of Patrick Hamilton, while the sense of unreality pervading a grim reality could have been from Auster. This isn’t to say this isn’t a very original novel; it is. Halfway through, something terrible happens, and paradoxically Oxtoby’s life seems to regain some balance. Perhaps because of this, I found the second part less satisfying,. As a whole though, I think this novel works well, and the first half is magnificent.
3rd January 2010
http://www.mjhyland.com/
See also: How The Light Gets In ; Carry Me Down
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