The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks

The book has two key distinguishing features: a detailed use of Patois and (even more distinctively) the way in which the rhythm of music (and in particular the music of the late 1970s/early1980s underground dub scene) is incorporated into the novel.

The Patois (which interestingly the author dialled up during writing after her original agent dropped her after she did not agree to tone it down) really adds to the authenticity of the novel and I think is quickly absorbed by any reader.

The music/rhythm parts have two elements.

Much of the book is set in underground clubs, or to accompaniment of mix tapes or in some other way listening and/or dancing to music and the author spends a lot of time describing the way the characters experience this e.g

Inna cave of sound, we skank low, spirits high, Deep moves as offerings to the soundboxes, wooden dieties full of fading voices.

I’m dragged under reverberations, the spinning wheels of time. Dancers wave their arms, air horns blow, a ship lost at sea. Go deh, the massive shout. Electrified jerks of their heads. Clockwork arms. They come alive on the dance floor. Pull-back motion of spines. Juddering-stalking-rotating. All the stored-up, winding energy of the old times.

This was the part that did not quite work for me – I have to say I am not particularly interested in music and much less so in dancing and I simply could not absorb these sections.

But what did really work for me is how the author, via her first party narrator Yamaye, mixes musical metaphors into her every day experiences, one example (which for me is brilliant writing)

High E strings in my stomach, pulling on my guts, but I can’t seem to dredge the siren sound to my throat. Have I mixed things up? The notes in my belly twang so I try a haul-and-pull, lifting the needle off memory, dragging it back to the first bar again and again. Feel the foreboding and dread of truth

This book really stands out for me because of the voice of the narrator and the dynamic prose which we can see from the extracts GY has quoted.

The plot gets a bit conventional, but there's so much authenticity and passion in the writing that I could forgive that. Crook is someone to watch in my view.

What RC said.

Jacqueline Crooks was a guest on this week's Literary Friction podcast: https://www.nts.live/shows/literaryfr...

What a wonderful reading experience this was! I agree with RC: this stands out re the narrator's voice and the rhythm of the book. The plot is indeed a bit convential at times but I really liked how she 'resolved' the story.
4.5*

I really loved this book! I thought the style and characters were fresh and engaging. Having read 12 of the 16, the is right up there as one of my favourites and I would be happy if it won.

It would be a great winner and fresh is exactly the right description

John Self (a very respected reviewer) in the Critic this month both reviews this and has a separate article on the interaction between novels and pop music

He makes the point that most novel writing about music does not work (the classic “dancing about architecture” argument) but that this does as it is writing about the impact of music on the listener

Agree with all. This would be an excellent winner and one I hope we see again with the Booker.

I would also love to see this win. Really interesting point by Self - I agree.

I've been curious about the locations where this is set. Cockpit Country, Jamaica, is real (and has a fascinating history). Bristol is real.

The first section is mostly set in Norwood. Is that a real place or fictionalized? I see locations in South London on google maps that contain the word Norwood, including Norwood Park, but I can't tell if it's an actual suburb or meant to be read as fictionalized. (I see from his review GY was disoriented by this too, so I know I'm not alone.)

Norwood is absolutely real, in South London! And Bristol is where BLM pulled down the statue of Edward Colston, the slave trader, and threw it in the water.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Norwood is absolutely real, in South London! And Bristol is where BLM pulled down the statue of Edward Colston, the slave trader, and threw it in the water."

The Norwood in the book is in West London, which is one of the things that threw me off.

You are completely right David and RC wrong (sorry RC) - it’s a fictional Norwood in a different part of London. That through me completely initially as I travel through the real Norwood Junction train station about 8 times a week.

Ooh, that's embarrassing, a Londoner being corrected by a Yankie 😉!

I hadn't noticed it's in west London in the book, sorry!

Odd choice to pick a real place name in London and assign it to a fictional other place. Have seen several reviews (The Telegraph as an example) that assume it is in south London.

It does literally say it’s in West London the very first time Norwood is mentioned - but I must admit I mentally skipped that (I think I subconsciously registered West Norwood) only to get very confused with other details which did not fit.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Ooh, that's embarrassing, a Londoner being corrected by a Yankie 😉!"

A Yank who's never been south of the Thames! :)

I don't know why she didn't choose a real setting for the first part since parts 2 and 3 are set in real places.

This sounds like a book not to be missed.

Just finished Fire Rush, my last of the 16 longlisted novels. I can see this on the Booker longlist, maybe even on the Goldsmith longlist. It stands out among the WP longlisted titles for me for its distinctive writing style and hard-to-put-down story. I did not love it (a bit too disjointed for me, probably due to the points GY raised in his initial comments) but I respected it tremendously.

I hadn't thought of this as a Goldsmiths book - but you're absolutely right, Cindy. This is at least as innovative as many titles on the shortlist tend to be. It's the rare book that could be a contender for the Women's Prize, Booker, and Goldsmiths.

I loved this one. I enjoyed the beat of it, the story and the characters were well done. I see this as a strong contender for any prize list it graces.

99p on Kindle today, for anyone who still hasn’t gotten around to this one!

Has anyone else noticed the similarities between this book and Maame by Jessica George? Very generally, both are coming of age female stories with a significant father figure, an elusive mother born in another country, and first male relationships.

I have not written a review of Fire Rush yet, and I still have 10 percent of Maame to read.