The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Pearl by Siân Hughes

I was hoping to see Riambel but equally delighted to see this, which they must have entered instead.

The press has been a supporter of the Republic of Consciousness Prize book club and is an important diverse voice in the publishing scene. As always with small presses if you can please order from the press:

The Indigo Press is an independent publisher of contemporary fiction and non-fiction, based in London. Guided by a spirit of internationalism, feminism and social justice, we publish books to make readers see the world afresh, question their behaviour and beliefs, and imagine a better future.

Out of stock on Indigo already, which isn’t surprising but unfortunate. I picked it up on both Kindle and Libro. I meant to just sample it this morning but it’s sucked me in, so I’ll continue. The voice is so engaging (as is the voice on the audio.)

This does seem like a more logical Booker submission than Riambel.

I’m delighted for Indigo. They’ve played a blinder, because Riambel got a lot of attention being featured in predictions, and now Pearl will get a huge boost too. A double win for them!

This is my first book of the longlist, chosen because of the Goodreads rating. It’s not really my kind of book but after reading a sample from Apple Books it’s really grabbed my attention.

Only shame this wasn't on the RofC book club - then we'd have some serious bragging rights!

Elizabeth wrote: "Out of stock on Indigo already, which isn’t surprising but unfortunate. I picked it up on both Kindle and Libro. I meant to just sample it this morning but it’s sucked me in, so I’ll continue."

This is one that I expect will be a different experience reading vs. listening. For one thing, it will take me over a week to listen to it. I just can't listen to any audio for a long time.

From the discussion on the main thread, I don't know that I would have placed the dialect except I knew generally where the book is set. To my ear it sounds "almost Welsh" which makes some sense because Cheshire is almost in Wales.

From the blurb, I was expecting something like A Ghost in the Throat. So far, this seems like a much more conventional novel, almost a biscuit book. Interested in what others make of it.

David wrote: "From the blurb, I was expecting something like A Ghost in the Throat. So far, this seems like a much more conventional novel, almost a biscuit book. Interested in what others make of it."

What is a biscuit book? :)

David wrote: "From the blurb, I was expecting something like A Ghost in the Throat. So far, this seems like a much more conventional novel, almost a biscuit book. Interested in what others make of it."

Although I enjoyed it and the writing was excellent, I didn't see it as a 'ghost story' or a 'folk story'. It is a fairly conventional tale of someone trying to cope with childhood loss.

I liked this

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

A biscuit book is a “nice” book. The term comes from our conversations about the International Booker list this year.

As I get further into it, though, I don’t think I’d call it a biscuit book. We’ll have to see how it ends.

I've just finished reading this (The US publication date got pushed forward to September 19th but I read it as an ebook). I don't know that I think this is a "biscuit" book, and I thought it was fine. But I don't think it is in any way special or an example of "finest fiction" this seems like an odd choice on what may turn out to be, for me, an odd list. I am not sorry to have read it, but I don't feel that there is anything particularly memorable about it.

I just finished this and thought it was gorgeously constructed, with an ending that ties together the themes in a satisfying way:

- The plot of the medieval poem, Pearl
- The mother's fate
- The daughter's realisations
- The recurring themes of memory and loss

And the major plot points covered (and staring at you all this time) via the cover design!



Above: Illustration from the Pearl Manuscript

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "I liked this

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

I liked this one too and thought it was very cleverly constructed:

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

Great review of this, But_i_thought_, and GY too. This one grew on me. It's more complex and nuanced than I realized from the first few chapters and the ending was satisfying.

I like this line from your review: "By the end of the novel you realise that the answers have been right there, staring you in the face all along."

David wrote: "Great review of this, But_i_thought_, and GY too. This one grew on me. It's more complex and nuanced than I realized from the first few chapters and the ending was satisfying."

Thank you, David! The book comes together beautifully, in the end, and also made me appreciate the hazy opening chapters more.

Everything I've heard about this appeals to me. Waiting eagerly for my Blackwell's copy to arrive.

I loved this- it has been my favorite so far.

This was a case where I think the book suffered from my having experienced it as an audiobook (the easiest way I could get it in the U.S.). It had nothing to do with the narrator, who was great. But because the book seemed so conventional at first, I found my attention wandering and I think I missed some of the complexity others discovered in it.

The stuff about the medieval poem floated right past me, unfortunately. The only part that really grabbed my attention was the seance sequence. It's a shame that I surely gave it short shrift. That's one of the few downsides of trying to read the whole longlist before the shortlist drops, which otherwise I do value as a project/experience. Oh well.

Nicholas wrote: "This was a case where I think the book suffered from my having experienced it as an audiobook (the easiest way I could get it in the U.S.). It had nothing to do with the narrator, who was great. Bu..."

Very true, Nicholas. Like you, I value the experience of reading the whole longlist in synchronicity with the group, but that pushes me to have to choose 2-3 to read as audiobooks. This year, I think I missed out on a lot of the depth of This Other Eden by listening instead of reading a print copy. I just started listening to In Ascension, and I worry about the same thing with that book (plus the narrator is taking some time to get used to with that one).

I just finished this one, and I really liked it. It doesn’t seem like the kind of book that will win the Booker, but I’m glad it made it onto the longlist. There was a surprising amount of momentum for a story that was really only circling around the protagonist’s grief over losing her mother so early in life. It’s quite a clever writing trick to keep a 200+ page rumination on grief moving forward.

The structure of the novel was compelling as well. Rather than moving linearly, the story is told in episodes, which allows for rich characters and even richer settings (that back garden!) while keeping the novel fairly concise overall. This is a beautifully told story with a satisfying ending that is perfectly in keeping with everything that came before in the novel. I particularly loved (view spoiler)[ the final pages where Marianne recognizes that her mother did leave a note—a note that said she was returning shortly—made up of the bread rising in the over, the half-finished knitting, the seed catalogs, etc. Lovely. (hide spoiler)]

Great comments.

I do think this has a good shortlist chance as you have to feel this is a book the judges fell in love with as it’s their most left field choice I think.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "Great comments.

I do think this has a good shortlist chance as you have to feel this is a book the judges fell in love with as it’s their most left field choice I think."

I hope you’re right!

Probably not - I really have no idea with these judges what they consider finest fiction.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "Probably not - I really have no idea with these judges what they consider finest fiction."

What GY said. It's definitely not what I consider "finest fiction."

I meant the list rather than this book (for clarity)

Yes, so did I.

Once again I'm not certain where to place this on my list. The pluses: adequately written, though there was nothing I wanted to reread, or read aloud; excellent weaving of the songs/poems and the action within the novel; and an ending that adequately tied together many of the elements of the book.

The big minus for me: the last time I loathed a narrator this much was reading American Psycho the week it was published 32 years ago. Spacey, self-destructive, living in some made-up world, unable and unwilling to function. I just wanted to shake her, or in real life, cross to the other side of the street. Having her in my brain for over 200 pages was enraging.

Ten Booker longlist books read so far and I haven't liked any of them.

Still waiting for my copy which I ordered the day of the longlist. I do love small presses and ordering direct from them but they don’t help themselves at times. Contacted them today and they will send another copy.

I thought this worked really well in a second read - I really appreciated second time the way each chapter is a separate vignette (either of a theme or a particular indecent) and the contents linked cleverly to the chapter title and the folk song.

The arrangement of the book into the scenes each with remembered poems or songs also very cleverly matches Marianne’s charity shop sourced scenes from Pearl in her exhibition.

Yes, the deliberate structure is one of the things I really appreciated about this book. It’s very thoughtfully done, and it works.

it was full of emotions and grabbed me by my heart. some could say "mummy issues on a new level". i've found many moments that felt like they were written about/for me.

i'd say it's a beautiful book that shows us how hard it can be to deal with grief and losing someone in unexplained circumstances. so far it is my favorite from the longlist.

Clearly on the shortlist for me (my real shortlist is only 5 books this year)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxSG9QCIo...

This has made my shortlist too - it’s one that has stuck me and I would quite like to reread I think. I always find it interesting the ones that have an immediate impact but that fade against those which didn’t but grow.

But_i_thought_ wrote: "And the major plot points covered (and staring at you all this time) via the cover design!."

Luke Bird is my favourite book designer - works with a lot of small presses (Weatherglass, Dead Ink, Indigo etc) but also some big names as well

Some of his work here: https://www.lukebird.co.uk/

He did the Milkman cover as an example

This was very impressive. So far I've been very impressed by the 3 books I've read - and if this isn't on the shortlist the others must be very good - except they don't look it.

This is definitely the one I lament most missing out of the shortlist.

I thought this was very well done. I'm most sorry it did not make the shortlist.