Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a weird little book. There is very little plot, a little conflict but no resolution, and in my view quite a lot of pretension on the way.

For a start it's only 163 pages, so you might think it would be an easy read. Ha ha. The author apparently doesn't believe in chapters (there are three, the first and last having the same title) or, for that matter, paragraphs. Yes yes it's all very moody and vibey but honestly Benjamin Wood, give the poor reader a break. It's a structural disaster, with pages of solid screed and nowhere for the eye to rest.

I found the 'period northern commoner' voice to be a little inauthentic. Benjamin Wood is from Liverpool so might be expected to know better, but the characters here seemed a bit pastiche. Throw in an occasional dialect word and some shrimp harvester jargon and hope that makes it seem real? It didn't, for me.

I'll admit I was a little intimidated by the book, what with all the ringing endorsements and prizes mentioned on the covers. I'm afraid it left me a little underwhelmed.




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