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A review by simonfromtaured
Nobber by Oisín Fagan
5.0
"Noah's vessel must have been a vehicle for great incestuous confusions and fornications," de Flunkl says to himself, almost happily, gazing at all the loose congregations of animals, and William of Roscrea gives, out of habit, his nodding assent.
Nobber is, if nothing else, a memorable read; it is a violent, perverted and blackly comic book that scorns and laments the worst impulses of men and women against the backdrop of one of the deadliest plagues in human history. Initially Nobber reads like a straight comedy; written in a parody of chivalric romantic prose, Fagan's story of cowardly nobles and slow-witted peasants is deeply sardonic and wry, dripping with a dry wit reminiscent of Blackadder that invites the reader to laugh at the increasingly absurd and self-inflicted tragedies of its main cast. But Nobber works on another level; as a critique of our willingness to acquiesce to and even participate in evil acts, Nobber succeeds on the back of Fagan's masterful building of atmosphere and tension, which keeps the novel at a high simmer all the way through to the bloody climax, and his ability to quickly and seamlessly pivot in tone from mockery to genuine sorrow and pity. Nobber will put a lot of people off with its gratuitous violence and Fagan's disdain towards his own characters, but what he's crafted is a unique and beautifully tragic story that deserves to be read and will reward those who persevere with it.
Nobber is, if nothing else, a memorable read; it is a violent, perverted and blackly comic book that scorns and laments the worst impulses of men and women against the backdrop of one of the deadliest plagues in human history. Initially Nobber reads like a straight comedy; written in a parody of chivalric romantic prose, Fagan's story of cowardly nobles and slow-witted peasants is deeply sardonic and wry, dripping with a dry wit reminiscent of Blackadder that invites the reader to laugh at the increasingly absurd and self-inflicted tragedies of its main cast. But Nobber works on another level; as a critique of our willingness to acquiesce to and even participate in evil acts, Nobber succeeds on the back of Fagan's masterful building of atmosphere and tension, which keeps the novel at a high simmer all the way through to the bloody climax, and his ability to quickly and seamlessly pivot in tone from mockery to genuine sorrow and pity. Nobber will put a lot of people off with its gratuitous violence and Fagan's disdain towards his own characters, but what he's crafted is a unique and beautifully tragic story that deserves to be read and will reward those who persevere with it.