Reading the 20th Century discussion

I'd been meaning to read something by Benjamin Myers for a few years now. Primarily linked to the Gordon Burn Prize. I have a couple of his books on Kindle waiting for the right moment.

The universe heeded my call, and Netgalley approved me for is latest offering...

The Offing

...which is not published until 22 August 2019.

I just finished, and I loved it - so much so that I am bestowing favourite author status on Benjamin Myers

Here’s my review

5/5

I am really glad you liked it so much - I could almost be tempted by the hardback, though at £17 it is rather expensive.

I have read four of Myers' previous books:
The Gallows Pole
His breakthrough novel that explores the life of the Cragg Vale Coiners, an eighteenth century gang of money clippers that thrived on the moors above Calderdale. I recommend this one very highly.

Under The Rock
An intriguing mixture of nature writing, social history, memoir and poetry that explores Myers' relationship with Calderdale and more specifically Mytholmroyd and Scout Rock, which overlooks it. This is another wonderful book.

and two earlier novels
Pig Iron

and
Beastings

The Gallows Pole also inspired The Cragg Vale Coiners' Walk, which I also have (in fact I have even done the walk!)

Thanks Hugh - that's very helpful

Hugh wrote: "I am really glad you liked it so much - I could almost be tempted by the hardback, though at £17 it is rather expensive."

It is available to request on Netgalley UK though I'm not sure if that's your bag.

I would mention that the version I read on my kindle still needs work doing on the formatting. I soon got used to it but it was quite intrusive at the outset, so perhaps worth waiting for the finished item.

Hugh wrote: "The Gallows Pole also inspired The Cragg Vale Coiners' Walk by Christopher Goddard, which I also have (in fact I have even done the walk!)"

I must confess I love it when books and travel intersect. Many's the time I have visted a place just on the strength of a book. I am one of life's instinctive psychogeographers.

I'm heading to the Lake District this Summer so perhaps can detour to Erringden Moor on the way there or back - otherwise I'll make a note to head up there on another excursion

It sounds wonderful...

Inspired by the real-life story of the Cragg Vale Coiners this route takes in several key locations that feature in the acclaimed novel The Gallows Pole, which charts the rise and fall of ‘King’ David Hartley and an 18th century criminal enterprise that rocked the national economy.

The route begins in the heart of Mytholmroyd and rises up through the beautiful woodlands of Bell Hole (now Broadhead Clough) before approaching Bell House, Hartley’s remote home on the edge of Erringden Moor. Extracts from the novel can be read in the locations where real-life events took place in the 1760s, while additional notes and sketches offer a deeper understanding of life in this unique corner of Yorkshire.

A unique collaboration between novelist Benjamin Myers and cartographer Christopher Goddard, the diverse route takes in ancient woods, moorlands, stunning views and haunts of the murderous Cragg Vale Coiners, and can be enjoyed by readers and walkers alike.

A significant portion of The Offing takes place at Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire. A place I walked to and from whilst visiting the area about 20 years ago. It's wonderful to be able to picture the area in your mind's eye whilst reading a book.

Pig Iron is set in the North East (where Myers lived as a child), Beastings in a slightly fictionalised Lake District.

Hugh wrote: "The Gallows Pole also inspired The Cragg Vale Coiners' Walk by Christopher Goddard, which I also have (in fact I have even done the walk!)"

It also inspired some music too....

The Gallows Pole OST by The Shining Levels

https://theshininglevels1.bandcamp.co...

“Resonating with the raw currents of nature, notes of hot human emotion and wild surges of power and defiance which underpin the narrative…This music takes on the textures of hardship and hope, the human continuance and determination to strive in the countryside, to come to some kind of understanding with nature.” - Emily Oldfield, Louder than War.

Written and recorded on the edge of the northern English moors using rural folk musicians, loops and electronics, the result is a heady brew of gritty landscape hymns, ethereal acid-folk, borderlands ballads, 70s folk horror TV/film atmospherics, mood pieces, echoes of the colliery bands of old, moor-top drones and much, much more.

Music inspired by the novel The Gallows Pole sees The Shining Levels tread similar topographical terrain to The Unthanks, and shares DNA with such disparate musical ancestors such as Pentangle, Sandy Denny, Bridget St. John and Tom Waits, though is its own beast entirely.

Inspired by the real life events of 18th century Yorkshire criminal gang the Cragg Vale Coiners who operate in the Upper Calder Valley in the Pennines, the album’s source material, The Gallows Pole by author Benjamin Myers, has rapidly become a modern cult classic. First published in 2017 by Bluemoose Books, it has sold out seven print-runs before being reissued by Bloomsbury Publishing. It is the first novel to be signed to Jack White’s Third Man Books, and will be published in the US/Canada in November 2019.

Drawing on a shared childhood and background with the author, The Shining Levels’ music explores themes from the book: an England divided, the potency and mystery of remote rural landscapes, industrial progress, the changing seasons, shifting fortunes, self-delusion and self-aggrandisement, poverty vs wealth, societal power structures…and strange visions of mythical creatures.

released May 31, 2019

Review here....
https://louderthanwar.com/shining-lev...

Myers has also written two crime novels, neither of which I have read: Turning Blue and These Darkening Days, and a few music related books (he has also been a music journalist), including one that sounds interesting: Richard.

Thanks again Hugh. Plenty to explore.

Susan wrote:


"Cuddy is currently £3.99 in the Black Friday sale if anyone wants to buy a kindle copy."


Thanks Susan - your post inspired me to buy the audio version which I plan to read fairly soon

I'll post a reaction on this discussion




** Winner of the Goldsmiths Prize 2023 **

Cuddy is a bold and experimental retelling of the story of the hermit St. Cuthbert, unofficial patron saint of the North of England. Incorporating poetry, prose, play, diary and real historical accounts to create a novel like no other, Cuddy straddles historical eras - from the first Christian-slaying Viking invaders of the holy island of Lindisfarne in the 8th century to a contemporary England defined by class and austerity. Along the way we meet brewers and masons, archers and academics, monks and labourers, their visionary voices and stories echoing through their ancestors and down the ages. And all the while at the centre sits Durham Cathedral and the lives of those who live and work around this place of pilgrimage - their dreams, desires, connections and communities.

Hugh wrote:


"The Gallows Pole also inspired The Cragg Vale Coiners' Walk by Christopher Goddard The Cragg Vale Coiners' Walk, which I also have (in fact I have even done the walk!)"

I've done the walk now too (inspired by your post). I should have mentioned it earlier

I have visited Hebden Bridge twice recently and fallen in love with the surrounding area

It's a lovely walk, and a fascinating story

I've still not read the book though! I must put that right



The Shane Meadows BBC adaptation go quite a mixed reception too. Did anyone watch it? If so, what did you think?


It's still on iPlayer for UK residents...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001...

I've read most of Myers fiction work up to The Gallows Pole , which was published by Blue Moose in Hebden Bridge . Sad to say I didn't get along with Cuddy on holiday this summer but have just got The Perfect Golden Circle out of the library ...DOI . I live in West Yorkshire and the landscape is one of the many good things about living here . Can recommend any Christopher Goddard walk . He has four books , all idiosyncratic and full of really interesting facts , as well as the trails already mentioned linked to the coiners ,he has a walk about "Gentleman Jack" Ann Lister around Shibden and the Brontes at Thornton , near Bradford I loved the TV prequel of The Gallows Pole Such great improvisation and about ten times as many women as feature in the novel .

That's great intel - thanks Hester

I loved The Gallows Pole, Pig Iron, and Beastings.

I wasn’t as big a fan of his crime fiction-Turning Blue only because I’m not much a crime reader and it is pretty raw, so I haven’t yet read These Darkening Days.

I really enjoyed The Perfect Golden Circle which I listened to on audio with the perfect narrator, Tim Key, so I’m hoping to find The Offing in audio as well. The Offing was madly popular in nature loving Germany.

I have, but haven’t yet read Under the Rock: The Poetry of a Place or Male Tears, only because I am tragically required to maintain employment which cuts into my reading time.

The wonderful thing about indie press authors is how willing they are to engage with fans. After reading The Gallows Pole I messaged Ben on Instagram and asked if I could send him my copy with return postage for him to sign. He offered instead to send me a postcard and sent me several of the book cover cards for The Gallows Pole, Turning Blue, Pig Iron, and Beastings that I think are used for advertising, 2 signed postcards with views of Mytholmroyd and Yorkshire, and a rare chapbook Brutalism One: Nowhere Fast that he signed! It was so generous of him that I will always be a fan.

One of my favorite things about his books is how big a role Northern England plays in the stories. While reading The Gallows Pole I felt a bit disoriented when I looked up from the page to see that I was in 21st century Ohio, not 18th century Upper Calder Valley.

The Gallows Pole was a kindle deal of the day a few days ago too. I picked up both books, but not sure when I will get to them, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Cuddy.

Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990 which I know you enjoyed, Nigeyb, is a kindle deal of the day today if you want to pick up a copy.

Thanks Susan - that's great. I think I will grab a copy as the copy I read came from the library.

Susan wrote:


"The Gallows Pole was a kindle deal of the day a few days ago too. I picked up both books, but not sure when I will get to them, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Cuddy."

Thanks Susan

Likewise, I eagerly await your verdict on his work




WndyJW wrote:


"I loved The Gallows Pole, Pig Iron, and Beastings.

One of my favorite things about his books is how big a role Northern England plays in the stories. While reading The Gallows Pole I felt a bit disoriented when I looked up from the page to see that I was in 21st century Ohio, not 18th century Upper Calder Valley"

Love it Wndy

I’m listening to Cuddy and loving it

Is the narrator Tim Key, Nigeyb?

I thought it was Booker worthy

It definitely was and had it been nominated there would have been some variety in the short list. I didn’t read the short list, but I’ve read friends who say the book were all similar in theme.

WndyJW wrote:


"Is the narrator Tim Key, Nigeyb?"

Each section has it's own narrator which works really well. The narrators are Colin Mace, Hannah Barrie, Jimmy Chisholm, Rowena Gray, & Samuel Edward Cook

I'm still in the first part of the novel, Saint Cuddy, which is told in the voice of Ediva, the orphan taken in by the monks as a child. Whoever is doing the narration is brilliant. She's really bringing it all to life


Stephen wrote:

"I thought it was Booker worthy"

I've already had that very thought but gawd knows what criteria the Booker applies. It's breathtakingly good so far and I feel sure it will continue in the same vein. Such a clever structure.

It did win the 2023 Goldsmiths prize which is "awarded for creative daring and rewards fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form".

No surprise the combination of poetry, prose, play, diary and real historical accounts found favour with the judges.

Already feels like it could be my favourite book of 2023

*


** Winner of the Goldsmiths Prize 2023 **

Cuddy is a bold and experimental retelling of the story of the hermit St. Cuthbert, unofficial patron saint of the North of England. Incorporating poetry, prose, play, diary and real historical accounts to create a novel like no other, Cuddy straddles historical eras - from the first Christian-slaying Viking invaders of the holy island of Lindisfarne in the 8th century to a contemporary England defined by class and austerity. Along the way we meet brewers and masons, archers and academics, monks and labourers, their visionary voices and stories echoing through their ancestors and down the ages. And all the while at the centre sits Durham Cathedral and the lives of those who live and work around this place of pilgrimage - their dreams, desires, connections and communities.

I pre-ordered my copy from a Hebden bookstore (and was very lucky to get a copy inscribed by Ben Myers who lives near the bookstore,) but I would like to hear it in audio too.

WndyJW wrote:


I pre-ordered my copy from a Hebden bookstore (and was very lucky to get a copy inscribed by Ben Myers who lives near the bookstore,) but I would like to hear it in audio too."

How wonderful - good for you

I've now finished Book 1 set in 995 and told in the voice of Ediva, the orphan taken in as a child by the travelling monks and who travels with them as healer, cook and helper as they search for a final resting place for Cuddy’s coffin.

Ediva is alive to the landscape in a way that marks her out as different. She also sees visions of the future cathedral where the saint will finally be laid to rest.

I'm now onto Book 2 which moves things forward a few centuries, It's now 1346 and the Masons are building the cathedral

What's so impressive is how convincing the narrative voices sound.

It’s shocking this wasn’t nominated for the Booker. We joked in my other group that if Ben had written in a dead mother Cuddy would have been on the Booker list. (Almost every book longlisted had dead mothers, or so I was told.)

It's certainly an exceptional book, and very original


I'm loving the second book. Eda's great, as is Francis Rolfe

The writing looks exciting and lovely from the 'look inside'.

I’m impressed RC, not that I would set myself up as any great arbiter 🤠

I loved the book

I think you’re a fairly great arbiter, Nigeyb. Oxymoron intended :)

🫶🏻


#tastemaker
#kinda

We need a like button on Goodreads. Often a response to a post isn’t necessary, but no response feels a bit rude.

👍🏻

Nigeyb wrote:


"I'm now onto Book 2 which moves things forward a few centuries, It's now 1346 and the Masons are building the cathedral"

Finished book 2 now - a most satisfying and enjoyable tale it is too

Nigeyb wrote:


"Finished book 2 now - a most satisfying and enjoyable tale it is too"

And now the interlude from 1650 with the Scottish soliders imprisoned in the cathedral having been captured by Cromwell after the Battle of Dunbar

This is the inspiration...

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2...

It's a brilliant, powerful interlude

What a novel

I did a lot of research, aka google searches, reading this book.

It's that kind of book


The voice in the third book is so different to what's gone before - what a talented writer

Agreed.

I have just finished Book 3. A gripping MR James type ghost story populated by ghosts we have already met in the previous books.

Do you listen to the podcast Backlisted? The host John Mitchinson said the last book his father read before he died a few months ago was Cuddy. His father was from Northern England and had an affinity for St Cuthbert, so the book meant a lot to him. I bet knowing a lovely old man loved his book and that it was the man’s last book meant more to Ben Myers than winning the Goldsmith.

I did hear that, it was part of my inspiration for prioritising it


Backlisted has introduced me to so many wonderful books

Still enthralled


This last book is very powerful and moving

The contrast between each book is striking and also demonstrates Ben’s imagination and gifts as a writer

👏🏻

I've finished Cuddy (2023) and I conclude it's my favourite novel of 2023


Review here....

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

5/5

Nice review. I suggest The Gallows Pole next. Here’s my review of The Gallows Pole:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks. I shall heed your sagely advice

I hope I didn’t oversell it, but I don’t think I did.

Not in the slightest


It's marvellous and I thank you for the inspiration

Like 🤭