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The Blue Mask
Neil is a student at Birmingham University. He looks like a cross between Morrissey and Johnny Marr, equally attractive to girls and men. Gigs, clubs, politics, sex. Typical student, really. One night, after a row with his lover, Neil follows a stranger onto a canal towpath. The stranger turns on him and attacks. He viciously carves up Neil's face, leaving him mutilated beyond recognition. Neil's recovery is a journey through surgical reconstruction and sexual alienation. His attempt to track down his mysterious attacker is a search for his own hidden, destructive self, a search that leads him to question values he had always taken for granted. The Blue Mask is a hardcore emotional trip that explores the trauma of change and the nature of violence and of love. It confirms Joel Lane's place in the pantheon of rising stars of British fiction.
- GenresContemporaryFiction
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Joel Lane
128 books58 followersJoel Lane was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, critic and anthology editor. He received the World Fantasy Award in 2013 and the British Fantasy Award twice.
Born in Exeter, he was the nephew of tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott. At the time of his death, Lane was living in south Birmingham, where he worked in health industry-related publishing. His location frequently provided settings for his fiction.
Born in Exeter, he was the nephew of tenor saxophonist Ronnie Scott. At the time of his death, Lane was living in south Birmingham, where he worked in health industry-related publishing. His location frequently provided settings for his fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 22, 2019
(4.5) My copy of The Blue Mask has a quote from Joseph O'Neill on the cover. It says: 'Joel Lane's writing has the quality of dark glass shattered...' That's it exactly. This novel is fragmentary and elusive, studded with darkly enigmatic sentences like these (all from the first ten pages):
Neil is, as the blurb puts it, a 'typical student'. He's producing a play, writing a thesis on fascist ideology, and dating Matt, a medical student who loves horror fiction. One night, having just discovered that Matt has slept with someone else, Neil goes out and tries to hook up with a stranger. The man attacks him, slashing his face with a knife. Eventually, thanks to several rounds of reconstructive surgery, Neil's face is almost free of scars – but it is changed; it no longer looks like him. He calls this face 'the blue mask'.
The book begins in 1997, and that year's election occupies much of the characters' thoughts and conversation. Neil and his friends are torn between euphoria over the Tories' long-awaited downfall and distrust of what Tony Blair represents. It comes to seem that Neil's inner turmoil and fractured identity are inseparable from his perceptions of politics.
The Blue Mask has a lot in common with Lane's debut, From Blue to Black: both are set in an election year, focus on a relationship between two men, frequently reference particular music, and take place in locations around Birmingham. (Through Lane's work I am becoming more and more familiar with the geography of Birmingham, a city I have never visited in reality.) Yet, strangely, this book feels slightly less confident and assured than From Blue to Black, the prose prone to the occasional startling stumble. Once or twice, awkward or unlikely phrasing jerked me out of the story. The political elements don't always entirely seem in tune with the main plot; perhaps that's simply because they're more overt. This is a no doubt realistic position for a story set in 1997, but as we've seen with various authors' attempts to satirise the Trump/Brexit era, it can be difficult to weave political controversy into fiction without making your characters seem like puppets.
Like From Blue to Black, this book is not a horror novel, but it possesses much of the eeriness and ambiguity of good horror. After the attack, Neil begins to see shadow figures in his peripheral vision, intruders that vanish when the lights come on. He operates at a remove from the rest of the world – and from himself. The language often emphasises this sense of otherness:
But this isn't necessarily a consequence of the attack; it seems to be a part of Neil. Right from the very beginning the signs are there: 'His image in the mirror was more a shadow than a reflection' (p3).
I didn't love this book as much as From Blue to Black, but it is beautiful in its own jagged way. Neil's 'blue mask' gives the story a vague throughline, but so much of it isn't about this, and the narrative often branches off into vignettes that give us glimpses of other characters. In the end, it's difficult to sum up – it's not one kind of fiction in particular, it's not about one person/situation in particular. It leaves a mark, but it's smudged and indistinct, an indeterminate hieroglyph.
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The voice sounded lost, terrified, its message impossible to decode. (p4)
The boy's eyes were pale blue and wide open, as if he were staring at something too bright and terrible to look away from. (p5)
The field was a lake of shadow. Poplar trees swayed uneasily, waiting for the band to come on. (p10)
Neil is, as the blurb puts it, a 'typical student'. He's producing a play, writing a thesis on fascist ideology, and dating Matt, a medical student who loves horror fiction. One night, having just discovered that Matt has slept with someone else, Neil goes out and tries to hook up with a stranger. The man attacks him, slashing his face with a knife. Eventually, thanks to several rounds of reconstructive surgery, Neil's face is almost free of scars – but it is changed; it no longer looks like him. He calls this face 'the blue mask'.
The book begins in 1997, and that year's election occupies much of the characters' thoughts and conversation. Neil and his friends are torn between euphoria over the Tories' long-awaited downfall and distrust of what Tony Blair represents. It comes to seem that Neil's inner turmoil and fractured identity are inseparable from his perceptions of politics.
The Blue Mask has a lot in common with Lane's debut, From Blue to Black: both are set in an election year, focus on a relationship between two men, frequently reference particular music, and take place in locations around Birmingham. (Through Lane's work I am becoming more and more familiar with the geography of Birmingham, a city I have never visited in reality.) Yet, strangely, this book feels slightly less confident and assured than From Blue to Black, the prose prone to the occasional startling stumble. Once or twice, awkward or unlikely phrasing jerked me out of the story. The political elements don't always entirely seem in tune with the main plot; perhaps that's simply because they're more overt. This is a no doubt realistic position for a story set in 1997, but as we've seen with various authors' attempts to satirise the Trump/Brexit era, it can be difficult to weave political controversy into fiction without making your characters seem like puppets.
Like From Blue to Black, this book is not a horror novel, but it possesses much of the eeriness and ambiguity of good horror. After the attack, Neil begins to see shadow figures in his peripheral vision, intruders that vanish when the lights come on. He operates at a remove from the rest of the world – and from himself. The language often emphasises this sense of otherness:
His memories felt like rumours. (p38)
The only buildings were churches, so old they were like dreams. (p108)
His own life had become strange to him. (p169)
The bright April sunlight – or was it May already? – gave everything a faint glow. The negation of the negation. He could feel its warmth, as if through a sheet of glass. (p198)
But this isn't necessarily a consequence of the attack; it seems to be a part of Neil. Right from the very beginning the signs are there: 'His image in the mirror was more a shadow than a reflection' (p3).
I didn't love this book as much as From Blue to Black, but it is beautiful in its own jagged way. Neil's 'blue mask' gives the story a vague throughline, but so much of it isn't about this, and the narrative often branches off into vignettes that give us glimpses of other characters. In the end, it's difficult to sum up – it's not one kind of fiction in particular, it's not about one person/situation in particular. It leaves a mark, but it's smudged and indistinct, an indeterminate hieroglyph.
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August 10, 2024
I have read a lot of Joel Lane’s short stories and enjoyed them a lot, one thing I always wonder is how would his stories come across if he did a full length novel? with The Blue Mask he answers that question. Blue Mask follows a student called Neil who is doing his thesis at Birmingham Uni, he is in a relationship which has it’s rough moments, after a falling out Neil goes off with a stranger and gets his face badly damaged, needing a lot of surgery to start looking like himself again. Whilst the physical wounds start to heal it is the damage to his psyche that takes a lot longer to heal if it ever will. Neil’s spiral is one of the darkest journey’s I’ve ever read and I hated every moment and every decision Neil made, I so wanted him to take a different path to heal but Lane was adamant that this is how things will play out…and just like with his short stories you put yourself at his mercy and go with the flow.
I have enjoyed the book, and it is a very strong piece of writing but it does have it’s faults…I usually give a book 50 pages to grab my attention and this one failed, but I decided to try a bit more and by page 53 I was hooked, that is how Lane writes, he seems to know your limits and takes you beyond. I also felt that a couple of side stories were left unfinished, particularly Anne, she has her own battles and I felt it was left hanging a bit.
The strong parts of his short stuff were all present and they seemed to tower out of the pages, the desolation of the city, the empty factories and the canal at night were so vivid. The sex was more graphic and violent and the characters larger than life, that maybe why Anne’s story felt unfinished, she was only a bit character but dominated her scenes. The supernatural elements were the only thing missing from this story, I think if Lane had included that the book could have become a mess and that’s why the focus was on the break down of Neil’s psyche.
Whilst it’s not a fun family read it is still a fantastic book by one of the best writers I have ever found. If you are starting on your own Joel Lane adventure, don’t start here, pick up a short story collection and work your way to this one, it is well worth the effort.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2024...
I have enjoyed the book, and it is a very strong piece of writing but it does have it’s faults…I usually give a book 50 pages to grab my attention and this one failed, but I decided to try a bit more and by page 53 I was hooked, that is how Lane writes, he seems to know your limits and takes you beyond. I also felt that a couple of side stories were left unfinished, particularly Anne, she has her own battles and I felt it was left hanging a bit.
The strong parts of his short stuff were all present and they seemed to tower out of the pages, the desolation of the city, the empty factories and the canal at night were so vivid. The sex was more graphic and violent and the characters larger than life, that maybe why Anne’s story felt unfinished, she was only a bit character but dominated her scenes. The supernatural elements were the only thing missing from this story, I think if Lane had included that the book could have become a mess and that’s why the focus was on the break down of Neil’s psyche.
Whilst it’s not a fun family read it is still a fantastic book by one of the best writers I have ever found. If you are starting on your own Joel Lane adventure, don’t start here, pick up a short story collection and work your way to this one, it is well worth the effort.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2024...
July 6, 2025
An intriguing fiction by Joel Lane that is murky, surreal and ethereal.
The story subject is interesting, a man is badly facially injured in an horrific attack and is scarred for life. His journey to "recovery" if ever there is one, is plagued with doubt, rage, loss of confidence and insecurity.
The writing is both tender and brutal, showing the rawness of the aftermath of such an event.
I really liked the descriptive elements of the writing; Lane being able to conjure atmosphere and setting beautifully.
I was saddened to read that Lane died in his 50's; always sad to hear of the loss of pure writing talent.
The story subject is interesting, a man is badly facially injured in an horrific attack and is scarred for life. His journey to "recovery" if ever there is one, is plagued with doubt, rage, loss of confidence and insecurity.
The writing is both tender and brutal, showing the rawness of the aftermath of such an event.
I really liked the descriptive elements of the writing; Lane being able to conjure atmosphere and setting beautifully.
I was saddened to read that Lane died in his 50's; always sad to hear of the loss of pure writing talent.
November 3, 2023
In the penultimate paragraph of The Blue Mask, the protagonist Neil is walking home from an evening with his ex;
“As the bus came up the steep hill, empty and staring, he said out loud: ‘I miss you’. Who was he thinking of, he had no idea. Somehow, he felt it was everyone. Even himself.”
In the next paragraph;
“As the bus waited by the shelter, it’s engine running, he thought about that. Then he thought about the dark streets. How complex and endless the world was. How the idea of revolution was just a dramatic way of saying Can we start again? And as the bus finally jolted back into life, he realised that where he’d gone wrong with Matt was in trying to make a home. It didn’t matter whether you could make a home. What mattered was whether you could leave it.”
In Joel Lane’s writing it’s not just that the personal is political, although that is true, but that the personal and the political are metaphors for each other. When Neil says ‘I miss you’ he’s expressing a braided bereavement; for his ex, for pre-Blair socialist politics, for his previous life. He goes on to suggest perhaps that stasis or comfortable fixed positions are problematic. The opposite of home is revolution which is itself a dramatic way of saying ‘Can we start again?’ He illustrates this idea of stuckness with the image of the stationary bus. When the bus is ‘jolted back into life’ Neil is given an understanding, and we are given a final image of forward movement, and of ‘homelessness’, but it isn’t tragic in the classic capitalist individualist sense of the lone-wolf, heroic male cowboy riding onto the sunset. The reference to revolutionary politics and ‘starting again’ is important. The book is populated by characters who have experienced forms of grief and bereavement, but who endure. One character who regrets a suicide attempt says
“…I didn’t really want to die. I just…wanted to feel better.”
Wanting to feel better, wanting to start again are things to believe in. Although how to achieve them isn’t so easy.
Part of the real tragedy of this book is that it doesn’t have a sequel, and never will. Joel Lane will never write a novel responding to our current political situation. It’s set during ‘the end of history’ in the late 90’s before 9/11 or the Financial Crash of 2006/7. Neil would have undoubtedly gone on to become involved in the anti-war movement. Would have become a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Saunders. He would have watched the rise of populism and right-wing nihilism with shock but with deep understanding, because, reading The Blue Mask now it’s incredible how it foresees the current rise of facism.
I read this in the beautiful new Influx edition which has a wonderful introduction by Joseph O'Neil
“As the bus came up the steep hill, empty and staring, he said out loud: ‘I miss you’. Who was he thinking of, he had no idea. Somehow, he felt it was everyone. Even himself.”
In the next paragraph;
“As the bus waited by the shelter, it’s engine running, he thought about that. Then he thought about the dark streets. How complex and endless the world was. How the idea of revolution was just a dramatic way of saying Can we start again? And as the bus finally jolted back into life, he realised that where he’d gone wrong with Matt was in trying to make a home. It didn’t matter whether you could make a home. What mattered was whether you could leave it.”
In Joel Lane’s writing it’s not just that the personal is political, although that is true, but that the personal and the political are metaphors for each other. When Neil says ‘I miss you’ he’s expressing a braided bereavement; for his ex, for pre-Blair socialist politics, for his previous life. He goes on to suggest perhaps that stasis or comfortable fixed positions are problematic. The opposite of home is revolution which is itself a dramatic way of saying ‘Can we start again?’ He illustrates this idea of stuckness with the image of the stationary bus. When the bus is ‘jolted back into life’ Neil is given an understanding, and we are given a final image of forward movement, and of ‘homelessness’, but it isn’t tragic in the classic capitalist individualist sense of the lone-wolf, heroic male cowboy riding onto the sunset. The reference to revolutionary politics and ‘starting again’ is important. The book is populated by characters who have experienced forms of grief and bereavement, but who endure. One character who regrets a suicide attempt says
“…I didn’t really want to die. I just…wanted to feel better.”
Wanting to feel better, wanting to start again are things to believe in. Although how to achieve them isn’t so easy.
Part of the real tragedy of this book is that it doesn’t have a sequel, and never will. Joel Lane will never write a novel responding to our current political situation. It’s set during ‘the end of history’ in the late 90’s before 9/11 or the Financial Crash of 2006/7. Neil would have undoubtedly gone on to become involved in the anti-war movement. Would have become a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Saunders. He would have watched the rise of populism and right-wing nihilism with shock but with deep understanding, because, reading The Blue Mask now it’s incredible how it foresees the current rise of facism.
I read this in the beautiful new Influx edition which has a wonderful introduction by Joseph O'Neil
October 25, 2023
Spooky October #8
I'm pulling out the big guns. The thing called global warming has conspired against my spooky season. It's been mostly sunny and very hot for this time of the year for the past couple of weeks and apparently it's going to stay that way forever and that's no spooky atmosphere. Hence Joel Lane who seems to be the hidden treasure of literary horror. Not that I follow the scene much but I don't seem to be seeing his name anywhere, and there's a lot to be talked about when it comes to his oeuvre. This novel, for example, is just the kind of literary anything let alone horror that I like: there are Barthes, Foucault, left politics, queerness, and even The Cure. Add to that warped sense of psychic and bodily self after a violent event and these are all ingredients that make hell of a (horror) story. I've been drip feeding myself with Lane's stories as there aren't many, but I suppose I'm going to stick to them this season. There's just the right kind of ontological desperation in this overheated city as in his stories.
I'm pulling out the big guns. The thing called global warming has conspired against my spooky season. It's been mostly sunny and very hot for this time of the year for the past couple of weeks and apparently it's going to stay that way forever and that's no spooky atmosphere. Hence Joel Lane who seems to be the hidden treasure of literary horror. Not that I follow the scene much but I don't seem to be seeing his name anywhere, and there's a lot to be talked about when it comes to his oeuvre. This novel, for example, is just the kind of literary anything let alone horror that I like: there are Barthes, Foucault, left politics, queerness, and even The Cure. Add to that warped sense of psychic and bodily self after a violent event and these are all ingredients that make hell of a (horror) story. I've been drip feeding myself with Lane's stories as there aren't many, but I suppose I'm going to stick to them this season. There's just the right kind of ontological desperation in this overheated city as in his stories.
July 25, 2013
Joel Lane is one of our best writers.
His books are firmly of their place - Birmingham and the Midlands - and have a beautiful but bleak realist style. This is noir from the decaying and fraying industrial heartlands.
Lives lived not in the mainstream or in the underworld but somewhere on between - arty, political, gay, counter cultural.
This book is about loss of innocence - in politics, in love, of youth. A sense of trying to get back something that's gone for ever pervades. Some of the passages in the book ache with a sense of something good lost for ever in an enveloping gloom.
Lane's style of writing utterly compelling and his control of words highly impressive.
I can't recommend this highly enough.
His books are firmly of their place - Birmingham and the Midlands - and have a beautiful but bleak realist style. This is noir from the decaying and fraying industrial heartlands.
Lives lived not in the mainstream or in the underworld but somewhere on between - arty, political, gay, counter cultural.
This book is about loss of innocence - in politics, in love, of youth. A sense of trying to get back something that's gone for ever pervades. Some of the passages in the book ache with a sense of something good lost for ever in an enveloping gloom.
Lane's style of writing utterly compelling and his control of words highly impressive.
I can't recommend this highly enough.
February 21, 2017
2003 notebook: studenty view stuffed with indie tracks, fear of small town pubs, in-jokes. Lovely writing: '...trees made a jigsaw of the light, and dead leaves covered everything. Birch, sycamore, oak, beech. The only buildings were churches, so old they were like dreams.'
Joel was in a writer's group with me and one of my dearest friends. He died in 2013.
Joel was in a writer's group with me and one of my dearest friends. He died in 2013.
July 4, 2025
fragmented and surreal, yet unmistakably grounded in reality.
i found that the start was slightly meandering, offering scenes that were either repetitive, or that didn’t add anything (ex. the bike scene??). the end, too, also left something to be desired. the saga with mark was a bizarre interlude, and though i understand the purpose it served, it was a bit on the nose. anne’s storyline also ended fairly abruptly and without much resolution.
the middle, however, the largest part of novel, was gutting. a terribly slow and painful drag (complimentary) through the forward slash between reality/unreality in the wake of life-shattering trauma, it was splintered with sharply funny dialogue and gorgeous prose. metaphors take sharp swerves, and nothing lane writes is at all predictable. any quibbles i have are by far out-weighed by a laundry list of merits.
i found that the start was slightly meandering, offering scenes that were either repetitive, or that didn’t add anything (ex. the bike scene??). the end, too, also left something to be desired. the saga with mark was a bizarre interlude, and though i understand the purpose it served, it was a bit on the nose. anne’s storyline also ended fairly abruptly and without much resolution.
the middle, however, the largest part of novel, was gutting. a terribly slow and painful drag (complimentary) through the forward slash between reality/unreality in the wake of life-shattering trauma, it was splintered with sharply funny dialogue and gorgeous prose. metaphors take sharp swerves, and nothing lane writes is at all predictable. any quibbles i have are by far out-weighed by a laundry list of merits.
July 1, 2008
I liked parts of this. There were sections of the writing which I thought were floundering, just like the character in the story, but perhaps that was the authors intent, even if that was the case it didn't entirely work for me.
April 24, 2025
"You never knew what men wanted."
Wow.
Wow.
September 10, 2024
An interesting view on how a traumatic experience effect the mind & the everyday life. A little slow at places but overall a good read
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews