Reviews

Elmet by Fiona Mozley

eccles's review

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Grim, foreboding, dark and hopeless.  Plus torture, rape, child abuse and extreme violence.  Our perspective is that of a young boy; a naif, observant and almost wistful narrative voice that sweetly sets up the moment when the expected and inevitable horror explodes. The characters are well drawn, but of a type I suppose.  A kind of Guy Richie set piece in the Midlands.  I was warned not to read it but I did and regret it.   Prose style is seductive, at times lyrical, but I feel there’s a kind of artifice in this kind of tale of plausible, ordinary awfulness that makes the reading of it feel almost voyeuristic, if the word voyeur can be used with violence. Kind of skimmed the end, glad it was over.

tomleetang's review

4.0

There's definitely something of the Southern Gothic in the style of this story, but also something of Wuthering Heights - there's a pervading gloom, a continuous threat of violence and a world that seems divorced from normal rules.

Elmet is set in a wild, brutal landscape, far from the civilised England that is more commonly touched upon in novels. Upon previously unoccupied, mostly untamed land live a family of three, headed by a giant father who is gentle with his offspring but has a talent for violence. His daughter fears the curse of her womanhood, the sexual brutality that she knows men can inflict upon it, while the narrator is torn between his family's aggression and his softer sensibilities.

What makes Elmet so compelling is that it strips back the thin line of law that acts as a civilising hand and lets its characters run free in an anarchic fashion, forced to rely upon their own wits and strength. This is lawless land, but land that holds a kind of perilous, primitive beauty, described with restraint in taught, tight sentences. What can a young boy make of such a land? And how can he survive in it when he has none of his father's brute nature?

tanasay's review

5.0

So, you know this isn’t the kind of book I usually read. I like fantasy, elves, science fiction, happy endings. This is not any of those. The father in the book has a kind of fantasy approach to caring for his children, but reality all too soon raises its horrific head. On the other hand, I do like beautifully written books that flow like poetry. Elmet actually is one of those. So, yeah. I’m giving it five stars and telling you to read it, but remember I also said horrific. Go in with your eyes open.

bexgil's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

moh's review

4.0

Gah, this was so good.

Elmet isn't exactly a dark fairy tale, but it has that feel. Fiona Mozley's language perfectly straddles the line between ever-after and creepy foreboding. I'm a sucker for stories about semi-feral young people, class conflict, and growing up, and Elmet is all of those things. And, gawds, I love these kids, their father, and the Yorkshire woods they live in.

Joe Jameson's narration of the audiobook is flawless.

amjammi's review

3.0

Atmospheric and strange and perhaps unnecessarily violent.

ddryden825's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This contains some really stunning, descriptive prose and I was genuinely captivated throughout. 

I thought the plot was interesting and that the themes were communicated well, I just didn’t think the characters had a lot of depth to them. That may have been intentional, but it meant that I wasn’t really attached to them. 

Either way, it’s still an absorbing read, and a debut novel from a writer who’s already got a pretty distinct voice from the jump. 

oh_the_ennui's review

3.0

I agree with other reviewers that Mozley’s prose is stunning. Unfortunately, the characterizations are much weaker. I felt compelled to continue this book if only for the inspired descriptions of nature and our surroundings; I felt little impetus to finish this book because of the plot or the characters.

Overall, I would probably not recommend to others, but I would certainly try a future book by this author.

beesjess's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

elliehamilton38's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0