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Grits
Niall
Griffiths
It
is
brutal but strangely
compelling. As he struggles to deal with the travails of everyday
life we begin to feel a strange empathy with our one-armed
protagonist, born of admiration for his sheer dogged determination.
It would be going too far to suggest that this is a
'feelgood' novel
but ,
'sleaze-factor' not withstanding, it does leave the reader with a
strange sense of elation.
The author, Niall Griffiths, is a native Liverpuddlian who currently resides in Aberystwyth . Previous titles include, "Sheepshagger" and "Grits", both set in Wales. If "Stump" is brutal , his previous works have been positively savage. There are episodes of graphic violence in "Sheepshagger" which would embarass Brett Easton Ellis. Indeed, many people have dismissed Niall Griffiths in the past as a peddler of 'shock-lit', which is why it is so refreshing to discover that his work is capable of far greater maturity. Three of his other works have been, or are being, adapted for television. "Stump" is also superbly constructed for cinematic adaptation. All the action takes place in one day. As Stump attends to his daily chores, two unpleasant but increasingly hilarious characters are driving down from Liverpool to settle an old score on behalf of their gangland boss. Their precise intentions are unclear, but the loss of further limbs is strongly implied. Stump is unaware of this and the tone of the novel oscillates between the vicious introspection in Stump's chapters and the equally vicious but comical dialogue taking place in the car as his would be avengers draw near. Throughout the novel there are powerful evocations of the savagery and grandeur of the Welsh landscape. There is also a running parody of the 12 steps of the AA programme interspersed between the chapters of the book. These betray an intimate and profound knowledge of the attractions and dangers of addiction , and the immense difficulty of overcoming it. One of these is quoted below:- "STEP 4: We made a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves. And no matter how fearless we thought we were, such an inventory took us nowhere near as far into the black pits of ar hearts that drugs took us to, that drink took us to. We took some wimpy an tentative steps into those vile places an we thought an were told that we were showing bravery an were encouraged, praised an patted, yet we were f*****g cowards, pure cowards cringing compared to what we were when we danced an laughed in a conga line as we waved goodbye to every last limp shred of innocence. Tara, we said. See ya." This is a book that is set in Wales but not necessarily about Wales. Indeed the characters seem almost out of place and their surroundings sublimely indifferent to them. It did, however, win the Welsh Book of the Year Award in 2004 ( in the English language category ) and it is a powerul, raw and evocative work by an exciting and established Anglo-Welsh writer. It is a serious literary study of addiction and recovery with elements of black farce thrown in. Ultimately, if you can cope with the dialect and endless expletives, it is a rewarding and enriching experience.
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NEWSt Winifred's Wellby John A. ShafferARCHIVE Reviews ArchiveArchived Book ReviewsALSO Our Library on GoogleBooksAn eclectic selection.Madoc Read Robert Southey's Madoc on iPaper. Topical in the wakeof the Madoc Plaque controversy in Mobile Bay.( a fair amount of scrolling is required) What is Anglo-Welsh Literature and Why Should Anyone Care? Read this article on Manuel Marino's Arts Weblog. Our Squidoo Page Anglo-Welsh literature on Squidoo. |
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