What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mud Dance
When drummer Kenny meets piano prodigy Larry at school, they form their first band, The Pretty Horses, which is later renamed Marine Light. From their early gigs in rural Somerset with a taste of regional recognition to international touring, the two friends blaze their way through the rock and roll scene of the 1970s. Propelled by the promise of fame, sex, and drugs, the lifestyle begins to take its toll on both of them. Ego trips, hangers on, groupies, and warring band members see Kenny and Larry stretch to breaking point.
As cracks start to show in their band and their relationship, Kenny is forced to question the character of the person he’s called his best friend and begins to wonder about their uncertain future. Larry has always had a dark side, but how deep does it go?
Set in the heyday of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, The Mud Dance follows passionate musicians and friends from their well-intentioned beginnings, through to fame, and beyond.
As cracks start to show in their band and their relationship, Kenny is forced to question the character of the person he’s called his best friend and begins to wonder about their uncertain future. Larry has always had a dark side, but how deep does it go?
Set in the heyday of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, The Mud Dance follows passionate musicians and friends from their well-intentioned beginnings, through to fame, and beyond.
- GenresMusic
191 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2016
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Neil Grimmett
8 books21 followersNeil Grimmett has had over eighty five short stories published. In the UK by among others: London Magazine, Stand, Panurge, Iron, Ambit, Postscripts Magazine, Pretext etc. Australia, Quadrant, South Africa, New Contrast. Plus stories in the leading journals of Singapore, India, France, Canada, and the USA, where he has appeared in Fiction, The Yale Review, DoubleTake, The southern Humanities Review, Green Mountains Review, Descant, The Southern Review, West Branch and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. He has appeared online in Blackbird, Plum Ruby Review, Tatlin's Tower, Web Del Sol, In Posse Review, m.a.g., Word Riot, Blue Moon Review, 3AM, Gangway, Eclectica, The Cortland Review, Segue, The Dublin Quarterly , Ducts, Sugar Mule, Mysterical E, Thuglit and over thirty others. His stories have also appeared in the anthologies: ENGLAND CALLING, BOOK OF VOICES and Italy’s ISBN’s Top International Stories. He has made the storySouth Million Writers Notable Short Story list for the last three years. In addition, he has won the Write On poetry award, 7 Oppenheim John Downes Awards, 5 major British Arts Council Awards, a Royal Society of Authors award and was just awarded a major grant from the Royal Literary Fund. He has been signed over the last ten years by twelve of the leading literary agents in both the UK and USA. His current agent is Jon Elek at United Agents who is just going out with his 2nd literary thriller, THE HOARD.
His first, THE THRESHING CIRCLE, has just been published on Amazon KDP Select.
His first, THE THRESHING CIRCLE, has just been published on Amazon KDP Select.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 27, 2016
Flawed individuals who make the music
THE MUD DANCE is a story about friendship, sorrow, and life. Kenny and Larry became fast friends in grammar school, escaping bullies together and discovering their mutual interest in music. They formed a rock band. Kenny was a talented drummer and Larry the extraordinary keyboard player, linked together in music and life from that point forward. They got “ensnared by vanities and false pride” as they danced their own “mud dance” of life. Switching from the present to the past and back again, Kenny narrates their tumultuous story through soaring highs and terrible lows. Readers become “bedroom moths”, caught by the “starlight in his music”, as Kenny delivers the captivating tale like an explosive drum solo.
The author’s vivid descriptions of drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll during the sixties seem real and gritty. He masterfully unfolds harsh truths about Larry’s full history until readers understand the demons that plagued him.
By the end of the story, we hope that Kenny can drag himself out of the past and learn to enjoy life again. Perhaps the beat of his music will prove harmonious in the end. One of my favorite lines from the novel was this: “Our eternal rhythm box: no more than one strand on the snare drum of the universe vibrating its strings of harmony or discord with each beat as we move in and out of time.” The character studies of Kenny and Larry give readers a glimpse into rock bands and the flawed individuals who make the music.
THE MUD DANCE is a story about friendship, sorrow, and life. Kenny and Larry became fast friends in grammar school, escaping bullies together and discovering their mutual interest in music. They formed a rock band. Kenny was a talented drummer and Larry the extraordinary keyboard player, linked together in music and life from that point forward. They got “ensnared by vanities and false pride” as they danced their own “mud dance” of life. Switching from the present to the past and back again, Kenny narrates their tumultuous story through soaring highs and terrible lows. Readers become “bedroom moths”, caught by the “starlight in his music”, as Kenny delivers the captivating tale like an explosive drum solo.
The author’s vivid descriptions of drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll during the sixties seem real and gritty. He masterfully unfolds harsh truths about Larry’s full history until readers understand the demons that plagued him.
By the end of the story, we hope that Kenny can drag himself out of the past and learn to enjoy life again. Perhaps the beat of his music will prove harmonious in the end. One of my favorite lines from the novel was this: “Our eternal rhythm box: no more than one strand on the snare drum of the universe vibrating its strings of harmony or discord with each beat as we move in and out of time.” The character studies of Kenny and Larry give readers a glimpse into rock bands and the flawed individuals who make the music.
June 23, 2017
Two boys who are bullied in school in a Somerset town, become friends and develop their interests in music. Rock and roll is in its heyday, with young people forming bands, expressing themselves, leading lives of rebellion against the quiet career path their parents would prefer.
Kenny is the drummer who narrates their escapades, as Lawrence or Larry who plays piano is the more musically talented but also more volatile. Larry turns out to have a family history of mental illness and the hectic lifestyle, drink and drugs certainly don't help to keep anyone stable. Never mind relationships, when they pick up different girls every time they play. Some girls are easygoing, some furious to be dumped, some determined to hang on to guys who don't love them. Some violence also occurs.
Just as Kenny realises that this is not going to work out for them, and it might be time to revisit his options, an opening with a London music studio occurs and loyalties are seriously tested. To me the biggest betrayal is when Kenny discovers his friends creating and trialling a drum machine. But worse is to come.
I enjoyed the descriptions of Somerset life, such as sea buckthorn growing near the strand, and the muddy fields reminiscent of Glastonbury festivals. We see how the water is pumped from the peaty Levels to the ocean past flood gates. Too much strong language for my taste, though others won't mind. This book draws heavily on the experiences of the author in early bands, and will be greatly enjoyed by anyone who lived through similar times and challenges. Musicians, roadies, and their long-suffering families will find much to identify with and will read with bated breath to find out how life works out for the friends; they will probably rate it more highly too.
Many thanks to Lisa Grimmett and agent Joe Rogers for sending me this ARC. This is an unbiased review.
Kenny is the drummer who narrates their escapades, as Lawrence or Larry who plays piano is the more musically talented but also more volatile. Larry turns out to have a family history of mental illness and the hectic lifestyle, drink and drugs certainly don't help to keep anyone stable. Never mind relationships, when they pick up different girls every time they play. Some girls are easygoing, some furious to be dumped, some determined to hang on to guys who don't love them. Some violence also occurs.
Just as Kenny realises that this is not going to work out for them, and it might be time to revisit his options, an opening with a London music studio occurs and loyalties are seriously tested. To me the biggest betrayal is when Kenny discovers his friends creating and trialling a drum machine. But worse is to come.
I enjoyed the descriptions of Somerset life, such as sea buckthorn growing near the strand, and the muddy fields reminiscent of Glastonbury festivals. We see how the water is pumped from the peaty Levels to the ocean past flood gates. Too much strong language for my taste, though others won't mind. This book draws heavily on the experiences of the author in early bands, and will be greatly enjoyed by anyone who lived through similar times and challenges. Musicians, roadies, and their long-suffering families will find much to identify with and will read with bated breath to find out how life works out for the friends; they will probably rate it more highly too.
Many thanks to Lisa Grimmett and agent Joe Rogers for sending me this ARC. This is an unbiased review.
July 10, 2016
Two teens start a band in school and struggle to survive their own success.
When I began THE MUD DANCE, I questioned whether a story about sex, drugs and rock-n-roll set in the 1970s would hold me for long. I'm about ten years too young for the era to have much popular culture meaning for me. But Neil Grimmett's particular strength as an author is his ability to create amazingly complicated characters and drop them into heart-twisting situations. He uses his chosen rock-n-roll subculture as fascinating background to what is essentially that tale of a young man's painful education in good and evil and the exquisitely thin line that can exist between the two.
This is Kenny's story from beginning to end. We experience it solely through his point of view. Sometimes it's years after the fact when he's working as a house musician at a third-rate seaside venue. Other times it's as a young man trying to make sense of a world, and a friendship, that alternately bewitches and frightens him.
Kenny knows as soon as he meets Larry that there's something not quite right. Underneath the kid's cool, clever exterior and apparent confidence there's a moodiness that is somehow more than basic teen angst. But the pair share a love of music. Larry is a piano prodigy. Kenny is a talented drummer. These particular specialties work well to underscore each young man's perspective. Larry is used to being in the spotlight. He enjoys attention. Kenny is comfortable in the background and this puts him in a good position to observe what's going on around him--even if he can't quite interpret what he sees.
Our deep identification with Kenny's point of view is one of the biggest pleasures of the book. It is also an obstacle at times. We never quite get an unequivocal answer about what's at the root of Larry's pathology. We get lots of hints. It's clear that there's some unhealthy dynamic at work on Larry, his mother, and his mother's late brother--another prodigy who came to a tragic end. But other than a brief mention of some kind of scary device that can stretch a pianist's finger span, we get no sense of where or how maternal pressure to excel transitioned to the kind of treatment that would explain Larry's insanity. His uncle fought a war he couldn't emotionally escape and then had to face his family's lack of trust in his emotional state. What was the equivalent for Larry? We never know for sure. Grimmett hints that Kenny and Larry's mother come to some understanding about the truth, but it didn't quite translate to me as reader.
Despite the lingering ambiguity concerning Larry, THE MUD DANCE is a great book. Part coming-of-age tale, part social history, part psychological thriller it kept me engrossed to such a degree that I resented having to put my Kindle down to let the dogs out or make dinner.
When I began THE MUD DANCE, I questioned whether a story about sex, drugs and rock-n-roll set in the 1970s would hold me for long. I'm about ten years too young for the era to have much popular culture meaning for me. But Neil Grimmett's particular strength as an author is his ability to create amazingly complicated characters and drop them into heart-twisting situations. He uses his chosen rock-n-roll subculture as fascinating background to what is essentially that tale of a young man's painful education in good and evil and the exquisitely thin line that can exist between the two.
This is Kenny's story from beginning to end. We experience it solely through his point of view. Sometimes it's years after the fact when he's working as a house musician at a third-rate seaside venue. Other times it's as a young man trying to make sense of a world, and a friendship, that alternately bewitches and frightens him.
Kenny knows as soon as he meets Larry that there's something not quite right. Underneath the kid's cool, clever exterior and apparent confidence there's a moodiness that is somehow more than basic teen angst. But the pair share a love of music. Larry is a piano prodigy. Kenny is a talented drummer. These particular specialties work well to underscore each young man's perspective. Larry is used to being in the spotlight. He enjoys attention. Kenny is comfortable in the background and this puts him in a good position to observe what's going on around him--even if he can't quite interpret what he sees.
Our deep identification with Kenny's point of view is one of the biggest pleasures of the book. It is also an obstacle at times. We never quite get an unequivocal answer about what's at the root of Larry's pathology. We get lots of hints. It's clear that there's some unhealthy dynamic at work on Larry, his mother, and his mother's late brother--another prodigy who came to a tragic end. But other than a brief mention of some kind of scary device that can stretch a pianist's finger span, we get no sense of where or how maternal pressure to excel transitioned to the kind of treatment that would explain Larry's insanity. His uncle fought a war he couldn't emotionally escape and then had to face his family's lack of trust in his emotional state. What was the equivalent for Larry? We never know for sure. Grimmett hints that Kenny and Larry's mother come to some understanding about the truth, but it didn't quite translate to me as reader.
Despite the lingering ambiguity concerning Larry, THE MUD DANCE is a great book. Part coming-of-age tale, part social history, part psychological thriller it kept me engrossed to such a degree that I resented having to put my Kindle down to let the dogs out or make dinner.
July 25, 2016
An engrossing character study with strong thriller elements, The Mud Dance by Neil Grimmett vividly brings to life a pair of working-class British rock-n-rollers trying to make it to the ‘big time’ in the 1970s. The music scene at that time was dominated by ‘supergroups’ like Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, and Humble Pie, and featured ever-wilder tales of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll involving the bands and their groupies.
The chapters are named for songs of the period that help describe the events unfolding in that section. Each chapter also begins with a introduction set in the present where Kenny, our guide through the story, plays in a seedy music club by the seaside. Kenny’s a gifted drummer who became a ‘local hero’ more than once as his musical fortunes rose and fell. He’s now teamed up with a new keyboardist whose playing brings back some deeply-buried memories.
Those memories center on Kenny’s relationship with his former best friend and music partner, Larry. They meet in school and discover a mutual interest in music, though Kenny’s passion for the art seems to come from a purer place. Kenny senses Larry has some dark secrets, but still follows the highly-skilled keyboardist as he forms and then breaks-up a few bands. Losing himself in the music seems to be Kenny’s only ambition while Larry's motivations are as murky as his ego is large.
Watching Kenny grow as a person, in the present and the past, is one of the pleasures of this book. He starts out in the past somewhat unformed, and his willingness to play second fiddle to Larry is a bit frustrating. But as events unfold and he is faced with making some difficult choices, he begins to come into his own. With the aging rocker version of Kenny, we realize something has happened to undo much of that. The only way to find out what is to take a journey through the past with him.
Having read and greatly enjoyed Mr. Grimmett’s debut novel, The Threshing Circle, I was not surprised to find the story told with clear and wonderfully evocative prose. I found myself constantly drawn back to this book, picking up my Kindle whenever a free moment allowed. As readers who enjoy a good story well told, we are all the worse off for his passing.
One note for those who don’t like adult language. There is some pretty strong (to our current ears) cursing that is accurate to the period and the place, and vulgarity. If you’re bothered by that, perhaps take a pass.
The chapters are named for songs of the period that help describe the events unfolding in that section. Each chapter also begins with a introduction set in the present where Kenny, our guide through the story, plays in a seedy music club by the seaside. Kenny’s a gifted drummer who became a ‘local hero’ more than once as his musical fortunes rose and fell. He’s now teamed up with a new keyboardist whose playing brings back some deeply-buried memories.
Those memories center on Kenny’s relationship with his former best friend and music partner, Larry. They meet in school and discover a mutual interest in music, though Kenny’s passion for the art seems to come from a purer place. Kenny senses Larry has some dark secrets, but still follows the highly-skilled keyboardist as he forms and then breaks-up a few bands. Losing himself in the music seems to be Kenny’s only ambition while Larry's motivations are as murky as his ego is large.
Watching Kenny grow as a person, in the present and the past, is one of the pleasures of this book. He starts out in the past somewhat unformed, and his willingness to play second fiddle to Larry is a bit frustrating. But as events unfold and he is faced with making some difficult choices, he begins to come into his own. With the aging rocker version of Kenny, we realize something has happened to undo much of that. The only way to find out what is to take a journey through the past with him.
Having read and greatly enjoyed Mr. Grimmett’s debut novel, The Threshing Circle, I was not surprised to find the story told with clear and wonderfully evocative prose. I found myself constantly drawn back to this book, picking up my Kindle whenever a free moment allowed. As readers who enjoy a good story well told, we are all the worse off for his passing.
One note for those who don’t like adult language. There is some pretty strong (to our current ears) cursing that is accurate to the period and the place, and vulgarity. If you’re bothered by that, perhaps take a pass.
July 22, 2016
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 20,2 016
When drummer Kenny meets piano prodigy Larry at school, they form their first band, The Pretty Horses, which is later renamed Marine Light. From their early gigs in rural Somerset with a taste of regional recognition to international touring, the two friends blaze their way through the rock and roll scene of the 1970s. Propelled by the promise of fame, sex, and drugs, the lifestyle begins to take its toll on both of them. Ego trips, hangers on, groupies, and warring band members see Kenny and Larry stretch to breaking point.
As cracks start to show in their band and their relationship, Kenny is forced to question the character of the person he’s called his best friend and begins to wonder about their uncertain future. Larry has always had a dark side, but how deep does it go?
Set in the heyday of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, The Mud Dance follows passionate musicians and friends from their well-intentioned beginnings, through to fame, and beyond.
•••••••••••
REVIEW: THE MUD DANCE by the late Neil Grimmett is a stand alone story focusing on friendship, music, obsession and addiction. Told from first person point of view (Kenny) between the psst and the present, THE MUD DANCE follows best friends Kenny and Larry who met at school in the 1970s, forming their first band leading the duo to a series of successes and failures with each incarnation of their British rock group. Kenny, as the drummer, stayed true to his calling but Larry was a man troubled in both mind and heart. What ensues is the back and forth, tumultuous relationship between two friends that does not end with a happily ever after.
Neil Grimmett’s THE MUD DANCE looks at the turbulent 70s era of rock and roll-the drugs, the groupies, the pressure to be number one, and the people pushing behind the scenes. Although many survived the upheaval, others were unable to overcome their own demons and the encroaching darkness. THE MUD DANCE is a fated tale of friendship, betrayal, and the madness of perfection and the shattered mind. The premise is a slow build; a dramatic, intense and tragic story. The characters are ill-fated and passionate but in the end, life is fleeting if balancing on the proverbial edge.
Copy supplied by the publisher
www.thereadingcafe.com
When drummer Kenny meets piano prodigy Larry at school, they form their first band, The Pretty Horses, which is later renamed Marine Light. From their early gigs in rural Somerset with a taste of regional recognition to international touring, the two friends blaze their way through the rock and roll scene of the 1970s. Propelled by the promise of fame, sex, and drugs, the lifestyle begins to take its toll on both of them. Ego trips, hangers on, groupies, and warring band members see Kenny and Larry stretch to breaking point.
As cracks start to show in their band and their relationship, Kenny is forced to question the character of the person he’s called his best friend and begins to wonder about their uncertain future. Larry has always had a dark side, but how deep does it go?
Set in the heyday of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, The Mud Dance follows passionate musicians and friends from their well-intentioned beginnings, through to fame, and beyond.
•••••••••••
REVIEW: THE MUD DANCE by the late Neil Grimmett is a stand alone story focusing on friendship, music, obsession and addiction. Told from first person point of view (Kenny) between the psst and the present, THE MUD DANCE follows best friends Kenny and Larry who met at school in the 1970s, forming their first band leading the duo to a series of successes and failures with each incarnation of their British rock group. Kenny, as the drummer, stayed true to his calling but Larry was a man troubled in both mind and heart. What ensues is the back and forth, tumultuous relationship between two friends that does not end with a happily ever after.
Neil Grimmett’s THE MUD DANCE looks at the turbulent 70s era of rock and roll-the drugs, the groupies, the pressure to be number one, and the people pushing behind the scenes. Although many survived the upheaval, others were unable to overcome their own demons and the encroaching darkness. THE MUD DANCE is a fated tale of friendship, betrayal, and the madness of perfection and the shattered mind. The premise is a slow build; a dramatic, intense and tragic story. The characters are ill-fated and passionate but in the end, life is fleeting if balancing on the proverbial edge.
Copy supplied by the publisher
www.thereadingcafe.com
April 21, 2018
A vividly enthralling depiction of the voracious world of bands, fame, fortune and fury, Neil Grimmett’s Mud Dance is an invitation to share the life and trials of a gifted drummer, and the tribulations of an honest man in a world of contorted music and artistic demands. The novel is filled with enticing contrasts, music and dance, souls with hope and hapless emptiness, soaring sounds played by musicians stuck in the mud of reality… The complexity of musical terms balances perfectly with the unmeasurables of human relationship, while the narrator’s voice brings drum playing out of darkness into artistry and heart. The present day narrator, wounded and aged by years, reveals a different sense of time that surpasses the timing of his instrument—no longer “the master of time; but its servant like everyone else.” And a sense of mystery haunts the pages as readers wait to learn how he got to here from there.
As evocative in its descriptions of scenery, town and countryside, as in its recreation of music and dance; as relevant to the present day as its song titles are to the past; The Mud Dance is a haunting tale, filled with haunted characters; a warning to those lured by fame; a coolly bleak and honest evocation of a different era; and a soaring dance of heartfelt joy and pain. By the end, “into the mike from a long way off. ‘Goodnight to you now,’” completes the story perfectly.
Disclosure: I was given an ecopy and I’m just sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it. I love this author’s work, and this is my favorite of his novels.
As evocative in its descriptions of scenery, town and countryside, as in its recreation of music and dance; as relevant to the present day as its song titles are to the past; The Mud Dance is a haunting tale, filled with haunted characters; a warning to those lured by fame; a coolly bleak and honest evocation of a different era; and a soaring dance of heartfelt joy and pain. By the end, “into the mike from a long way off. ‘Goodnight to you now,’” completes the story perfectly.
Disclosure: I was given an ecopy and I’m just sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it. I love this author’s work, and this is my favorite of his novels.
October 25, 2016
Kenny and Larry became friends at school and went on to play in rock bands. This is the story of their brush with fame and the slow disintegration of their relationship.
I’m a big fan of Neil Grimmett. His writing is fluent and delightful to read, if the subject matter is sometimes painful.
This story has its share of angst but is also a fascinating insight on the bizarre world of the rock star.
Well worth reading-
I’m a big fan of Neil Grimmett. His writing is fluent and delightful to read, if the subject matter is sometimes painful.
This story has its share of angst but is also a fascinating insight on the bizarre world of the rock star.
Well worth reading-
August 5, 2016
‘I’d like to say goodnight to you now’, I say with a slick drum roll to finish as I repeat the final words, ‘Goodnight to you now.’ It’s my closing joke.’
Two teenage boys, Kenny and Larry, meet at school. Kenny’s a drummer and Larry’s a pianist and they call their first band The Pretty Horses. Their early gigs are in rural Somerset. The band evolves, undergoes name changes, and moves well beyond its rural roots. During the 1970s, the group makes It big, but the lifestyle takes its toll on both Kenny and Larry. In addition to the fame, the alcohol, the drugs and sex, there are hangers on and groupies to contend with and egos to manage. Can Kenny and Larry’s friendship survive – either the fame or Larry’s dark side?
‘The Mud Dance’ is Kenny’s story of friendship, life, love and music. It’s also a story of success and survival, of learning the difference between good and evil. ‘The Mud Dance’ is told from Kenny’s point of view. While we observe Larry’s behaviour and get some sense of the demons which beset him, we are always at some distance from him. Kenny’s story moves from the present (he’s now a house musician at a seaside venue) back into the past where both as a teenager and a young man he tries to make sense of the world and his own place in it. And he tries to work out the puzzle of Larry: his moodiness, his attention-seeking behaviour, his relationship with his mother.
This is the third of Neil Grimmett’s novel’s I’ve read, and while the setting and story are very different from the first two, the strength of the story-telling is not. Mr Grimmett is an accomplished story-teller, capable of creating complicated characters in complex situations. After I’d finished reading this novel, I found myself wondering about Larry’s choices (or were they compulsions?) and hoping that Kenny could find a way to jettison the baggage of the past and enjoy life again.
Those of us old enough to remember the 1960s and 1970s will recognise aspects of the rock and roll world created in this novel, but that recognition isn’t essential. Mr Grimmett has created his own coherent version of that world.
‘Goodnight to you now.’
Note: My thanks to Lisa Grimmett for providing me with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. Sadly, Neil Grimmett passed away on 28 November 2015.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Two teenage boys, Kenny and Larry, meet at school. Kenny’s a drummer and Larry’s a pianist and they call their first band The Pretty Horses. Their early gigs are in rural Somerset. The band evolves, undergoes name changes, and moves well beyond its rural roots. During the 1970s, the group makes It big, but the lifestyle takes its toll on both Kenny and Larry. In addition to the fame, the alcohol, the drugs and sex, there are hangers on and groupies to contend with and egos to manage. Can Kenny and Larry’s friendship survive – either the fame or Larry’s dark side?
‘The Mud Dance’ is Kenny’s story of friendship, life, love and music. It’s also a story of success and survival, of learning the difference between good and evil. ‘The Mud Dance’ is told from Kenny’s point of view. While we observe Larry’s behaviour and get some sense of the demons which beset him, we are always at some distance from him. Kenny’s story moves from the present (he’s now a house musician at a seaside venue) back into the past where both as a teenager and a young man he tries to make sense of the world and his own place in it. And he tries to work out the puzzle of Larry: his moodiness, his attention-seeking behaviour, his relationship with his mother.
This is the third of Neil Grimmett’s novel’s I’ve read, and while the setting and story are very different from the first two, the strength of the story-telling is not. Mr Grimmett is an accomplished story-teller, capable of creating complicated characters in complex situations. After I’d finished reading this novel, I found myself wondering about Larry’s choices (or were they compulsions?) and hoping that Kenny could find a way to jettison the baggage of the past and enjoy life again.
Those of us old enough to remember the 1960s and 1970s will recognise aspects of the rock and roll world created in this novel, but that recognition isn’t essential. Mr Grimmett has created his own coherent version of that world.
‘Goodnight to you now.’
Note: My thanks to Lisa Grimmett for providing me with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. Sadly, Neil Grimmett passed away on 28 November 2015.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews