Philip Hensher's saga The Northern Clemency was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. It spans over two decades, beginning in 1974, and primarily it charts the experiences of two lower-middle-class families.
Malcolm and Katherine Glover, with their three children Daniel, Jane and Tim, are native to Sheffield; their neighbours Bernie, Alice, Sandra and Francis Sellers relocate there from London.
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The backdrop is Thatcherism and the social and economic changes that took place in England. Tim Glover becomes an activist during the miners’ strike of 1984, selling a magazine called ‘The Spartacist’, but the political context does not swamp the book.
The novel contains many different plots, involving a host of characters. Third person narrative is used throughout, with the perspective switching between the main players.
Hensher sets his scenes carefully, providing precise details about locations and using delightful dialect words such as ‘mardy’ and ‘nesh’.
He evokes the period by describing the food and décor in vogue.At times the sense of authenticity is powerful: for example in Book Two, when the narrator succeeds in conveying the traumatic ordeal of transferring to a new school.
Whilst some critics have felt that The Northern Clemency recalls great nineteenth-century epics, others have baulked at its length. There have been suggestions that Hensher dwells too much upon trivial details, and that certain passages are melodramatic and unrealistic.
Join us to discuss these points and any others you would like to raise. We could debate the meaning of the title 'The Northern Clemency'!
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Book of the Month: April 2009 - The Northern Clemency
This month we make our first stop on our tour of last year's Booker nominess: The Northern Clemency.
Learn about the novel with Stephanie's introduction: The Northern Clemency.
Once you've read the book, be sure to return and share your views with the rest of us.
Re: Book of the Month: April 2009 - The Northern Clemency
I was extremely disappointed by this book. It was much shallower than I expected, and having been a young ddult during the seventies (admittedly in London and not in the North) I was also disappointed by the lack of resonance and recognition of those times - in fact a couple of things really jarred. I had the continual feeling I was missing something - were there allegories there I was missing? I was looking forward to a good involving read, but I felt there was little character development or real understanding of any of the characters or their motivations.
Re: Book of the Month: April 2009 - The Northern Clemency
It never ceases to amaze me how different we all are in what we choose, what we like, how we respond to the same thing. When I read this nearly-800-page epic The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher (which I'd been avoiding because I was put off by the size of it) I found it a real page-turner and I read it in two and a half days even though I was doing other things too. I thought that the book was well-written, with good plots and characterisation. The context seemed well-researched and the research well-integrated. I loved it!
According to the blurb on the cover, Hensher wanted to emulate the great Russian writers in the breadth and depth of his novel and I'm not sure he did that - I'm half way through the 51 cds of the audiobook of War and Peace so I have that as a current example - but nevertheless he does achieve an intensive and extensive study of families, across two generations, living in the UK in the '70s and '80s. It reminds me more of Vikram's Seth's A Suitable Boy.
The novel does not have a story that begins and ends so much as a narrative that picks up the characters' lives part way through, looks at them closely for a while, some more than others, and then stops. As far as I'm concerned, Hensher could have carried on - I'd gladly have read more about them. I suppose that may make it seem like a sort of 'soap', but I think it is deeper, more sophisticated, than that.
The psychological representation of the characters and the dynamics of the families - an examination of personal upheavals alongside continuities - are convincing and blend well into the context of the social and political changes of the decades. The language is intelligently handled and the author's control over the structure is awesome - essential for such a lot of book.
Re: Book of the Month: April 2009 - The Northern Clemency
Overall I enjoyed the book, but it is immensely long and I found there were some sections that I was not terribly enthusiastic about.
For example, the start of the novel did not grab me particularly. I persevered, and found my attention was gained when I reached the part of the book that deals with the children's experiences at school. As I mentioned in another thread, I think the author conveys the anxieties and stresses of childhood very effectively indeed: the games that are played by the children; the petty intrigues that take on momentous significance; the overwhelming peer pressure; the teacher who saps confidence; the dreaded P.E. lessons, with fears about the kit, the team choices and the showers!
There were, though, some parts of the book that did not register with me much at all, or which actually turned me off. I did not find the 'Nick' storyline believable! Also, I did not consider Tim to be a convincing character, and the sequence in Australia seemed contrived rather than moving.
Re: Book of the Month: April 2009 - The Northern Clemency
The link below will take you to a Reading Guide about 'The Northern Clemency'. Here you will find information and links, with a list of questions and topics relating to Hensher's novel. These would prove useful to anyone who is reading the book or who is taking part in a group studying it.
www.harpercollins.com.au/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13=9780007174805&displayType=readingGuide
Re: Book of the Month: April 2009 - The Northern Clemency
You will find a useful reading guide at:
www.themanbookerprize.com/perspective/readersguides