Elmet: SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017

'Elmet is a quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable' - The Economist

'Pastoral idyll, political expose, cosy family saga and horror tale, it reads like a traditional children's story that turns into a gangster film: Hansel and Gretel meets The Godfather' - Sunday Times

Daniel is heading north. He is looking for someone. The simplicity of his early life with Daddy and Cathy has turned sour and fearful. They lived apart in the house that Daddy built for them with his bare hands. They foraged and hunted. When they were younger, Daniel and Cathy had gone to school. But they were not like the other children then, and they were even less like them now. Sometimes Daddy disappeared, and would return with a rage in his eyes. But when he was at home he was at peace. He told them that the little copse in Elmet was theirs alone. But that wasn't true. Local men, greedy and watchful, began to circle like vultures. All the while, the terrible violence in Daddy grew.

Atmospheric and unsettling, ELMET is a lyrical commentary on contemporary society and one family's precarious place in it, as well as an exploration of how deep the bond between father and child can go.

Reviews

A brooding study of family and belonging - Daily Telegraph

A fantastic, taught, very strange novel - BBC Radio 4, Front Row

Readers across Yorkshire will be hoping Ms Mozley's ascent to literary stardom continues - Yorkshire Post

Atmospheric and unsettling - Press

A stunning debut . . . It may be the best thing about the Booker too despite its oddness, or perhaps because of it . . . it quickly turns into an utterly arresting novel about family, home, rural exploitation, violence and, most of all, the loyalty and love of children under siege . . . Elmet is in so many ways a wonder to behold. It is also this year's David among the predictable Goliaths on the Booker list. How thrilling if David were to win against them - Evening Standard

Fiona Mozley is a rising star of British fiction . . . far from being bleak, Elmet is beautiful. Ms Mozley writes with clarity and insight, and her descriptions of the natural world and human relationships are both specific and profound . . . With very few missteps, this accomplished novel builds to a devastating conclusion. Like another great work about a family on the margins, Housekeeping, the 1980 debut by Marilynne Robinson, an American novelist and essayist, Elmet is a quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable. It is hard not to feel that at 29, Ms Mozley has only just begun - The Economist

The scattered moments of raw talent are arresting - The Times

An impressive slice of contemporary noir steeped in Yorkshire legend . . . Elmet possesses a rich and unfussy lyricism - Guardian

Author Bio

Fiona Mozley was born in Hackney but grew up in York and studied at Cambridge before moving to Buenos Aires for a year - without speaking any Spanish. After briefly working at a literary agency in London, she moved back to York to complete a PhD in Medieval Studies. She also has a weekend job at The Little Apple Bookshop in York. Elmet is her first novel and has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.