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poliphiloI began my reading of Alan Garner with Elidor (I think I read it aloud to my kids) and carried on from there in chronological order. Somehow I never bothered to go back to the first two books- and I doubt if I'd ever have bothered if Boneland (out this August) hadn't been announced as the long-delayed third part of the trilogy. I'm reading The Weirdstone now and- coming to it straight from a re-reading of The Stone Book Quartet- I'm taken aback by the flabbiness of the prose, the absence of characterization, the stiltedness of the dialogue. Two middle-class children come to Cheshire to lodge with a couple of salt of the earth peasanty types who say "sithee"; it could almost be Enid Blyton...
Garner himself went through a phase of hating the book. In his first revulsion he called it "one of the worst books published in the past 20 years." Now he's mellowed. Books don't last for half a century if they're unmitigated rubbish. In a recent interview he calls it "a young man's book" and praises its "energy".
I still don't altogether understand the affection in which it's held. It's the work of writer who is still learning his craft and hasn't- to be honest- got very far with it. Great things were to follow, but when Garner's name comes up it's not Red Shift that gets mentioned first, or Thursbitch, it's the bloody Weirdstone- even though they are masterpieces and Weirdstone is a codge.
No, it's beyond me. I'm missing something, but what?
Garner himself went through a phase of hating the book. In his first revulsion he called it "one of the worst books published in the past 20 years." Now he's mellowed. Books don't last for half a century if they're unmitigated rubbish. In a recent interview he calls it "a young man's book" and praises its "energy".
I still don't altogether understand the affection in which it's held. It's the work of writer who is still learning his craft and hasn't- to be honest- got very far with it. Great things were to follow, but when Garner's name comes up it's not Red Shift that gets mentioned first, or Thursbitch, it's the bloody Weirdstone- even though they are masterpieces and Weirdstone is a codge.
No, it's beyond me. I'm missing something, but what?
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Date: 2012-03-20 10:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 10:56 am (UTC)Garner always writes about real places- and all of them close to Manchester. I've been to several of them. They don't disappoint. Mow Kop (which features in Red Shift.) The secret, demon-haunted valley of Thursbitch.
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Date: 2012-03-20 11:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 11:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 03:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 03:23 pm (UTC)Red Shift is my favourite, closely followed by Thursbitch. The Stone Book Quartet has, as you say, a kind of perfection.
I have a question which you may be able to answer. Do you know what is meant by "the Aimer Gate"? I take it Charlie is talking about his own death, but I've dug around and I can't find any closer explanation of the phrase.
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Date: 2012-03-20 03:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 03:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 04:02 pm (UTC)Perhaps a reference then to Matthew 7.14:
"Strait is the gate etc..."
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Date: 2012-03-20 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 03:28 pm (UTC)The Owl Service - Not, as many believe, about Owl Post
Red Shift - Astronomical, but also Meg's petticoat, etc etc
The Stone Book - A book made of stone, rather than a book about stone.
Granny Reardun - is not about a Granny called Reardun.
The Aimer Gate - not about a gate.
Tom Fobble's Day - not about a man called Tom Fobble and how he spent his day.
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Date: 2012-03-20 04:04 pm (UTC)The Aimer Gate (fot instance) sounds grand, even if you don't have a clue about its meaning.
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Date: 2012-03-20 04:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 04:09 pm (UTC)