Northern Clemency

[BelligerentGhoul]

Has anybody read it and fancy talking about it? :)

[londonartemis]

Yes...we read it at our book group. We all thought it was too long and disappointing in the end, though the first section was good.

[piscesmoon]

I admit to skipping whole chunks-good in parts but could be much shorter.

[AgentProvocateur]

Oh, I loved this. I read it last summer so can't remember enough about it to discuss with you, but I did enjoy it.

[BelligerentGhoul]

I liked the first half in a 'well, this isn't going anywhere much but it's quite nice' kind of way. Then I got bored of it. Then I saw the stupid Australian sea bit coming and was irritated by it. then I couldn't see the point og the last section at all.

Ultimately very disappointing - which is a real shame because he has a good eye for character and can turn/shape a phrase well. Just useless at plot - probably should have been a poet instead! :)

[LostArt]

For me, the book just plodded on and on.

My enjoyment was spoilt by the fact that I had no sympathy for any of the characters, especially the older boy, who, I think, was supposed to be the hero of the book. But then, non of characters seemed to like each other either - I had the impression that the parents were relieved when their strange son died. I don't think the younger characters were very well written. While he wrote in great detail about the mother, the younger characters (and the husbands) didn't have any depth. The descriptions of the school struck a chord with me though.

I did like the way that the end of an event was explained by another character, perhaps years later. But there were many event that were left up in the air. What happened to the florist (Nick?) or the boy in the hospital.? And what did happened with the girl in the delivery van on the way to Sheffield?

The book was such a disappointment. It's a shame because I thought there was a good story in there somewhere, but very well hidden.

[LittleCheesyPineappleOne]

I really wanted to like it; it's just the sort of thing I usually adore, but I was so disappointed. Didn't engage with the characters, or care for them in any way. Such a shame.

[Lilymaid]

I quite enjoyed reading the book, though it was overlong.
LostArt - didn't Nick end up in jail (done for money laundering)? Not sure about the boy in hospital - did he die or was Tim forbidden from seeing him, so that he didn't reappear in the story?
I wondered whether there would be a sequel to bring the story up to date.

[LostArt]

Thanks, lilymaid. You're right, didn't he try to incriminate the mother? (sorry, I can't remember any of the names)

I couldn't cope with a follow-up, though.

[DandyDan]

I really enjoyed it but he let the characters drift too much and sped up too much towards the end. It was well-observed in part about the 70's in Sheffield, but there was a lot more aggro in the 80's than he describes with anti-Thatcherism and marches for steelworkers rights and huge marches against educational cuts as well as for the miners. Mind, he was describing the more swish end of Sheffield.

Couldn't cope with a sequel. The characters weren't that compelling.