An atmospheric and thrilling debut about family as well as a meditation on landscape in South Yorkshire. Perfect for fans of The Loney and The Essex Serpent.
Mozley, who wrote the story while commuting on the train, said that making the Man Booker longlist felt “really surreal”. “I didn't expect anything like this”.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017 AND THE PFD/SUNDAY TIMES YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD
WINNER OF A SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD AND THE POLARI PRIZE
'A quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable' The Economist
'A cleverly constructed rural Gothic fable . . . Elmet is a marvellous achievement' TLS
'Pastoral idyll, political exposé, cosy family saga and horror tale, it reads like a traditional children's story that turns into a gangster film: Hansel and Gretel meets The Godfather' Sunday Times
Daniel is heading north. He is looking for someone. The simplicity of his early life with Daddy and Cathy has turned menacing and fearful. They lived apart in the house that Daddy built for them in the woods with his bare hands. They foraged and hunted.
Cathy was more like their father: fierce and full of simmering anger. Daniel was more like their mother: gentle and kind. Sometimes, their father disappeared, and would return with a rage in his eyes. But when he was at home, he was at peace. He told them that the little copse in Elmet was theirs alone. But that wasn't true. Local men, greedy and watchful, began to circle like vultures. All the while, the terrible violence in Daddy grew.
Brutal and beautiful in equal measure, Elmet is a compelling portrayal of a family living on the fringes of contemporary society, as well as a gripping exploration of the disturbing actions people are capable of when pushed to their limits.
Ms Mozley writes with clarity and insight, and her descriptions of the natural world and human relationships are both specific and profound . . . Elmet is a quiet explosion of a book, exquisite and unforgettable. It is hard not to feel that at 29, Ms Mozley has only just begun The Economist
A stunning debut . . . It may be the best thing about the Booker too despite its oddness, or perhaps because of it . . . Elmet is in so many ways a wonder to behold. It is also this year's David among the predictable Goliaths on the Booker list. How thrilling if David were to win against them Evening Standard
A fantastic, taught, very strange novel BBC Radio 4, Front Row
A brooding study of family and belonging Daily Telegraph
Author
About Fiona Mozley
Fiona Mozley was born in Hackney but grew up in York and studied at Cambridge before moving to Buenos Aires for a year - without speaking any Spanish. After briefly working at a literary agency in London, she moved back to York to complete a PhD in Medieval Studies. She also has a weekend job at The Little Apple Bookshop in York. Elmet is her first novel.
