An unforgettable novel about family, as well as a beautiful meditation on landscape.
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.
This is fresh and distinctive writing from an exciting new voice in fiction - Sally Rooney meets Sarah Perry. A dazzling blend of acute observation of the natural world and of the ordinary, fragile human lives that pass through it.
Publisher: John Murray Press
ISBN: 9781473660540
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 360 g
Dimensions: 216 x 136 x 28 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
"A quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable." - The Economist
"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
"A work of troubling beauty . . . Brutal, bleak, ethereal." - New Statesman
"Mozley is a gifted writer . . . 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
"An impressive slice of contemporary noir steeped in Yorkshire legend . . . Elmet possesses a rich and unfussy lyricism." - Guardian
"Elmet, with its rugged landscape, violence and high emotion, recalls Wuthering Heights written with a wholly new voice. This debut is the start of something big." - Stylist
"Rhythmic and lilting . . . a rich and earthy tale." - Financial Times
"At its best, it reminds you of Cormac McCarthy's The Road." - Metro
"A cleverly constructed rural Gothic fable written in palatably simple prose . . . Elmet is a marvellous achievement." - TLS
"A novel that straddles the centuries, simultaneously modern and backward-looking, Hardeyesque yet fully engaged with contemporary politics." - Literary Review
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