A well-written and descriptive book. I have to admit, the way the book was set out, with the young boy looking for his sister and then zooming far back into the past, did confuse me but I found this book so enthralling and detailed in the way it was written. Reminds me of the quiet before the storm.

This was surprisingly good read. I liked the blurb and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It’s told through Daniel who’s a teenager living with his sister and father in a remote woods in the Yorkshire which his dad built himself; they eat what they hunt and live simply off the land.

It all comes to a halt when they are told they’re trespassing and need to move on, things get heated, threats are given to Daniels father and it all comes to a head in a shocking and violent climax!

It was a beautifully written book and an absolute pleasure to read.

This is an absolutely gripping and absorbing read and particularly accomplished for a first novel. The characters are intriguing with a timeless quality, although the setting is a fairly contemporary Yorkshire one. The family is deliberately set apart in its nature and lifestyle because of a largely unspoken mysteriousness that seems to follow and blight them for acceptance of and by the world in general,. The novel is highly unusual but manages to draw the reader into the strangeness and old-fashioned rhythms of their lives, making us care about their progress and their fate. A well-written, at times poetic, book which will remain long in memory after the last page has been turned.

This bleak and violent story tells of a father and two children, Cathy and Daniel, and their fight for survival in a remote part of Yorkshire. It is the fourteen-year-old Daniel who provides the narrative.

They are a dysfunctional family, on the very edge of society. It is never quite clear whether they are Travellers, or Gypsies, or just plain outsiders who do not fit into a modern way of living. John, the father, is a big bruiser of a man, who has earned his living by being a fighter. Now retired from fighting, he has made a life for himself and his children and built them a house in an isolated spot. They have become self-sufficient, living off the land, eating their own vegetables, shooting what they need for meat. When money is needed John earns it by offering protection to those who need it. Everyone is fearful of him, but he is a good and protective father to his children. Cathy is like her father, tough, fearless and strong. Daniel, by contrast, is sensitive and nervous, preferring to stay at home, and there is a subtext of his sexuality which is never fully explained. From the outset, I was worried by the children calling their father ‘Daddy’. This is such a conventional term and it jarred when the author was so plainly telling us that these people were outsiders and their lives were unconventional. Pa, or Fa, would have been more fitting. Daddy smacks of ‘The Railway Children’.
The real action of the story starts when the rich man about town, Mr Price, tries to take over the land and throw John and his family off it. This leads to John’s confrontation with the bully and the shocking and violent climax.

I found this a difficult book to get into, particularly the first half. The second half was more compelling as it moved towards the predictable but grim ending. There wasn’t much joy to be had and none of the characters was particularly likeable. The contrast between the rich and poor, the bullies and the underdogs was made clear, but it was difficult to feel empathy with any of them. Mr Price was the obvious villain with no redeeming features at all. The descriptive passages which made up most of the book were poetic and detailed, but were so long they held up the progress of the story, particularly at the beginning. I personally found the violence at the end almost too horrific to read.

At times this felt like a ‘creative writing’ exercise and I am surprised it was Booker Prize material. However, as a debut novel, it was promising and I’m sure this novelist will have great success in the future.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

This grim tale of a family on the edges of society confused me in that I wasn't sure if it was set in the present day, or some part of the 20th century. John, a prize fighter, has built a home in the forest where he brings up his son and daughter. They have little to do with their neighbours and the children don't really fit in at school, or with their peers. The tale takes a dark turn when the local landowner wants them out, and their is clearly some history there. I enjoyed the book to some extent but found the characters difficult to like or empathise with, and the ending didn't satisfy.

Delighted to receive this book. Loved the beautiful and evocative writing which this author seems to do so well. Definitely atmospheric with echoes of Ted Hughes poetic descriptions of his native northern landscape. Her realistic character portrayal enhances the book further. And is well deserving of the excellent reviews it has already received.

Elmet is an unexpectedly thrilling novel, i devoured the last half of it in one sitting as tension rose and events spiralled towards the conclusion. There’s a lyrical drive to the descriptions of the land, of people, of food; one that both grounds the action in a recognisable and relatable yorkshire setting, but also makes one look at the simplest objects afresh. The central relationships are well articulated, with as much to be drawn from what is not said as to what is made explicit. This is by no means a ‘dry’ Booker nominee, it’s alive with feeling and tells a gripping story.

Elmet is about the life of a father and his two children living in a shack he built in a wood. It is an unconventional life on the fringe of society. They are poor with no support but from some money the father wins from prize fighting. He sets his own standards which are demanding for the children but do not always fit with what society expects. There are conflicts and an all but inevitability that it will come to a violent end. Daniel, the son and narrator, has to continue searching both for his inner self and for his sister.
Thought provoking, Elmet is a good, if uncomfortable, read. I shall await with interest Fiona Mozley's next book

Literature is full of less than conventional families. One such recent book was My Absolute Beauty, a book that enthralled and disturbed in equal measure. Add to this list Elmet, and the story of Daniel who is heading north, looking for someone important.

The story is told in flashback. Daniel and his older sister Cathy live in a house built by their father when he’s back from the unlicensed fighting he did to earn money. Their father told them that the land had been their mother’s and so the house he built on it was theirs, come what may. But the outside world has a way of intruding into all families and a rich and immoral landowner is soon staking his own claim to their little paradise. The outcome is violent and disturbing and the story is so very well written.

I loved Daniel, identified with him, but I admired Cathy who was harder and sadder than any child should have to be. Ms Mozely made the forest come alive for me and I was deeply youched by the ending.

This is a brilliant book and greatly deserved it’s Booker Prize nomination.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and JM Originals for providing me with a copy of this book.

This book is all about family which I thought was great however, I felt as though the story was missing something but I can't quite put my finger on it. Despite this I did enjoy reading it and couldn't put it down. Some people in their reviews have said that this book is best read in one or two sittings to get the most out of it, I totally agree with this.

Well done Fiona Mozley for creating a really good book. I would recommend this book.

This is stunning , reminds me of On The Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin , it occupies an unspecified time has characters who inhabit the story and build an emotional charge for the reader . It is hard to put down and has a sense of sadness that completely overtakes the reader. One of the best books i have read in years

Wonderful debut novel. I enjoyed the setting, the characters and the language. This is a unique and yet simple story. Very quick read, because I couldn't put it down. Very thoughtful discussion of people’s rights to the land, and of family relationships.
My thanks to Net Galley for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Elmet took me by surprise - I felt the author had captured the essence of the Yorkshire village where the book is set excellently - you could almost reach out and feel the trees and smell the damp earth and fires from the house where the narrator, Daniel, lives with his father and sister. Nothing about this family is conventional, Daniel's father is a bare knuckle fighter who lives by standards of a bygone age that don't fit in the modern world. He's built a house on land that he doesn't own - but feels that morally he does. His way of bringing up his children is different to say the least, but for Daniel and his sister it seems to work and although their world is in many ways narrow, they seem to be content until outside forces disrupt it. Human nature at its best and its worst is explored in this book and I loved it.

I really loved reading this book, even though for some reason I found that it was nothing like what I expected it to be. Honestly, I thought it was going to be pretty boring, and I'm not entirely sure why. I didn't think I would be interested in this book at all, and I think probably that's why I thought it was so wonderful. It was unexpected, and if it wasn't shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize this year I'm sure I never would have thought to read it at all. Fiona Mozley's writing really is exquisite, and her descriptions of place and person brought the novel to life in such a way that made it impossible to put down.

The only things I disliked about this book were the graphic violence - although it added to the story, it's something I don't enjoy reading - and the fact that many things seemed to be left unknown or uncertain. I understood the uncertainty, as these were all things that Daniel was uncertain about, but it still felt quite frustrating at times. This included the end, although as frustrating as this lack of satisfying conclusion was, I thought it was very fitting and actually wouldn't have wanted anything else. I definitely had a love/hate relationship with the uncertainty in this novel! I really wanted to know more, but thought the book was the better for keeping me wanting.

In short, I thought Mozley did a really great job with Elmet. The language and descriptions completely pulled me in, and I left the book with the sense that I was very glad that I had read it.

A really lyrical read. Telling the story of twins Daniel and Cathy who live with Daddy, the book covers the themes of conflict over land, politics and being the outsider. The shocking conclusion ends a book which will stay with me for a long time.

This dark and unique tale really grew on me after a puzzling start where I struggled to get my bearings. It didn't do any of the things I normally think of as an effective opening, but quickly drew me in with its sheer originality and lyrical prose.
There are some chillingly violent moments but what stayed with me afterwards was the hope and the love in what could be seen as a morally barren world. The central family, unconventional and mysterious, are such compelling characters that they shine in the bleakness of the world around them. There a few answers here but the journey is mesmerising.

I couldn't get into this book at all. The italic sections were particularly off putting and a lot of the language seemed to be early 20th century rather than contemporary. The narrator' s prose was also very poetic for a poorly educated child. It felt as if the writer has potential however and I will be interested in her next book.

Elmet is a beautifully written novel. There is an atmosphere that draws you in, a sense of being in and of the landscape that feels both gritty and timeless, putting human beings onto a level with the animals and foliage of England’s wooded land. At the centre of this wood are Daniel and his sister, Cathy.
Daniel and Cathy haven’t had a stable upbringing. Their father and mother move in and out of their lives and they are cared for mostly by their grandmother. When she dies and their mother has moved out for last time, their father pledges to stay with them always and to build them a home where they’ll be safe. A home, it turns out, in the woods on land that once belonged to their mother.
Divided between an italicised account in which Daniel searches for a her that you soon realise is Cathy, and an account of the events that led him to this search, there is a taut line of telling that flexes over the bones of a story about relationships between people, land, family, community and society. It is bleak and it is raw - drawing attention to those who live at the edges of official society, those who are poor and easily exploited - but it is also thoughtful and articulate, weaving a kind of magic of the faery tale into the modern world. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a compelling read by an incredibly talented young author. The story explores family relationships and is just brilliant.

This is a story which makes many demands on the reader's emotions. It swings from being a gentle tale of a father bringing up his feisty daughter and more emotionally dependent son. It deals with important contemporary social issues then becomes seriously violent. It takes considerable talent to combine these extremes in one book but the author does it convincingly and with a style appropriate to each thread.