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timinbc's review against another edition
1.0
Oh dear, I should have looked at my review of The Floating Land.
This is the kind of lit'ry stuff that sometimes gets misclassified as science fiction/fantasy.
I don't want lit'ry SF.
Harrison can dash off stylish prose with the best of them. What he doesn't seem to want to do is tell a story, and unfortunately that's what I want to read.
I do sometimes tire of improbable heros/heroines, magic libraries, time travel, intergalactic gates, and found families, and sometimes even spaceships. But when I pick up a book labelled SF/F, I don't expect to follow damaged losers through a dreary post-Brexit Britain in which shoggoths etc. are lurking at the edges of vision but no one seems to care and nothing much happens.
Twice we see someone walk into an 18-inch-deep pool and staircase down to disappearance. Do we ever find out WTF? We do not.
We get to know Shaw and Victoria and Tim and Annie, yet we don't care what happens to them because THEY don't care what happens to them. Perhaps this is Harrison's point, anomie and ennui, but golly, that can be put across in a short story, and maybe should have been.
This is the kind of lit'ry stuff that sometimes gets misclassified as science fiction/fantasy.
I don't want lit'ry SF.
Harrison can dash off stylish prose with the best of them. What he doesn't seem to want to do is tell a story, and unfortunately that's what I want to read.
I do sometimes tire of improbable heros/heroines, magic libraries, time travel, intergalactic gates, and found families, and sometimes even spaceships. But when I pick up a book labelled SF/F, I don't expect to follow damaged losers through a dreary post-Brexit Britain in which shoggoths etc. are lurking at the edges of vision but no one seems to care and nothing much happens.
Twice we see someone walk into an 18-inch-deep pool and staircase down to disappearance. Do we ever find out WTF? We do not.
We get to know Shaw and Victoria and Tim and Annie, yet we don't care what happens to them because THEY don't care what happens to them. Perhaps this is Harrison's point, anomie and ennui, but golly, that can be put across in a short story, and maybe should have been.
daja57's review against another edition
5.0
What brilliant writing. Winner of the Goldsmith's Prize for 'fiction at its most novel' in 2020.
This was a fascinating book. Although it has been characterised as fantasy, because the author has written works of fantasy and scifi before, it is embedded so deeply in gritty reality that I think its genre is more magical realism.
There is an element of fantasy in it. There are repeated references to water and both the major characters have experiences of strange green creatures associated with the water. This is flagged up in some folklore and urban myths, such as the tale of a seventy-year-old man who believed there were things alive in his toilet bowl: "Everywhere Patrick Reed passed water, green children grew." (Ch 5) with the suggestion that these creatures, like aphids, can photosynthesise.
The watery theme runs through the book. Every chapter has some reference to water, or fish, or something aqueous. Many of the characters have names that link to something aquatic, such as Pearl, or Reed, or Shaw {Shore}. The townsfolk where Victoria lives seem to be fascinated by The Water Babies. Shaw lives in Wharf Terrace and works on a barge. Victoria's favourite cafe turns into an aquarium shop.
It shares a feeling that the characters a deeply embedded in their locations, much like the novels of John Burnside (for example Glister and The Devil's Footprints). In chapter three, Shaw, one of the two protagonists, tells Victoria, the other one, that he is "making his way dérive by dérive up the Brent river." I had to look up the meaning of 'dérive'. It is a French word, translated as drift, and refers to an unplanned journey through an urban landscape; it was coined in 1956 by an avant garde intellectual and can be used to analyse the 'psychogeography' of a situation. This, I think, is a clue to the book. The characters more or less meander through their urban environments, Shaw in riverside London, Victoria is a Midlands town on the Severn. Neither of them have definite directions, both are drifting. There is some sort of plot underlying it all, I think, but there seemed to me to be a number of loose ends and neither protagonist nor myself really understood what was going on. Nevertheless, I found it compelling reading.
In the sense that the characters wander through a landscape, it is very like Ulysses by James Joyce, or Hunger by Knut Hamsun, or Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and it made me wonder whether all stream-of-consciousness books are essentially dérives. But this novel is not stream of consciousness. It is told in the third person and it feels more like Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled, another dérive with elements of fantasy, which in turn has been compared with Kafka.
The style of the prose, and this is definitely one of those books you read for the prose, reminded by of the work of Tony Hanania such as Homesick and Eros Island. It seems characterised by original descriptions and closely observed behaviours. One of the hallmarks is the non-sequitur: "The wind rose a little, bringing smells of fried food and the faint sounds of jackdaws keeping watch from the ruins of Geoffrey de Lacy's keep. To get some idea of its own strength, perhaps, it rustled about in the dry-cleaner's bag on Pearl's arm. She looked down absently and then away again." (Ch 7). That final sentence is unmoored from what went before and what comes after. In chapter 12, Shaw critiques the logic of Tim's beliefs and book: "None of it made any sense to Shaw. When he said so, Time nodded wisely, as if a careful academic point had been made. 'What haunts me is exactly that! In the end, is logic in any sense the right method to be applying here?' ... Stories reproduced from every type of science periodical appeared cheek-by-jowl with listicle and urban myth. These essentially unrelated objects were connected by grammatically correct means to produce apparently causal relationships. Perfectly sound pivots, such as 'however' or 'while it remains true that' connected propositions empty of any actual meaning, as if the writer had learned to mimic sentence structure without having any idea how to link it to its own content." (Ch 12) I felt that the author was being, to some extent, self-referential, mirroring this sort of prose to give his narrative an eerie sense of unreality whilst using descriptions to boost verisimilitude, creating a sense of contradiction.
Much of the dialogue has the feel of snippets of overheard conversation, squashed together. Of Victoria's emails, it is said: "They were less like emails than the sound of a cheerful but indistinct radio programme coming from an open window a little way down the street." (Ch 12) The dialogue is like that, less for communication than to flesh out the ambience of a situation.
I loved it!
This was a fascinating book. Although it has been characterised as fantasy, because the author has written works of fantasy and scifi before, it is embedded so deeply in gritty reality that I think its genre is more magical realism.
There is an element of fantasy in it. There are repeated references to water and both the major characters have experiences of strange green creatures associated with the water. This is flagged up in some folklore and urban myths, such as the tale of a seventy-year-old man who believed there were things alive in his toilet bowl: "Everywhere Patrick Reed passed water, green children grew." (Ch 5) with the suggestion that these creatures, like aphids, can photosynthesise.
The watery theme runs through the book. Every chapter has some reference to water, or fish, or something aqueous. Many of the characters have names that link to something aquatic, such as Pearl, or Reed, or Shaw {Shore}. The townsfolk where Victoria lives seem to be fascinated by The Water Babies. Shaw lives in Wharf Terrace and works on a barge. Victoria's favourite cafe turns into an aquarium shop.
It shares a feeling that the characters a deeply embedded in their locations, much like the novels of John Burnside (for example Glister and The Devil's Footprints). In chapter three, Shaw, one of the two protagonists, tells Victoria, the other one, that he is "making his way dérive by dérive up the Brent river." I had to look up the meaning of 'dérive'. It is a French word, translated as drift, and refers to an unplanned journey through an urban landscape; it was coined in 1956 by an avant garde intellectual and can be used to analyse the 'psychogeography' of a situation. This, I think, is a clue to the book. The characters more or less meander through their urban environments, Shaw in riverside London, Victoria is a Midlands town on the Severn. Neither of them have definite directions, both are drifting. There is some sort of plot underlying it all, I think, but there seemed to me to be a number of loose ends and neither protagonist nor myself really understood what was going on. Nevertheless, I found it compelling reading.
In the sense that the characters wander through a landscape, it is very like Ulysses by James Joyce, or Hunger by Knut Hamsun, or Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and it made me wonder whether all stream-of-consciousness books are essentially dérives. But this novel is not stream of consciousness. It is told in the third person and it feels more like Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled, another dérive with elements of fantasy, which in turn has been compared with Kafka.
The style of the prose, and this is definitely one of those books you read for the prose, reminded by of the work of Tony Hanania such as Homesick and Eros Island. It seems characterised by original descriptions and closely observed behaviours. One of the hallmarks is the non-sequitur: "The wind rose a little, bringing smells of fried food and the faint sounds of jackdaws keeping watch from the ruins of Geoffrey de Lacy's keep. To get some idea of its own strength, perhaps, it rustled about in the dry-cleaner's bag on Pearl's arm. She looked down absently and then away again." (Ch 7). That final sentence is unmoored from what went before and what comes after. In chapter 12, Shaw critiques the logic of Tim's beliefs and book: "None of it made any sense to Shaw. When he said so, Time nodded wisely, as if a careful academic point had been made. 'What haunts me is exactly that! In the end, is logic in any sense the right method to be applying here?' ... Stories reproduced from every type of science periodical appeared cheek-by-jowl with listicle and urban myth. These essentially unrelated objects were connected by grammatically correct means to produce apparently causal relationships. Perfectly sound pivots, such as 'however' or 'while it remains true that' connected propositions empty of any actual meaning, as if the writer had learned to mimic sentence structure without having any idea how to link it to its own content." (Ch 12) I felt that the author was being, to some extent, self-referential, mirroring this sort of prose to give his narrative an eerie sense of unreality whilst using descriptions to boost verisimilitude, creating a sense of contradiction.
Much of the dialogue has the feel of snippets of overheard conversation, squashed together. Of Victoria's emails, it is said: "They were less like emails than the sound of a cheerful but indistinct radio programme coming from an open window a little way down the street." (Ch 12) The dialogue is like that, less for communication than to flesh out the ambience of a situation.
I loved it!
kiramke's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
I want either a clearer narrative or a clearer philosophy or a clearer character study. Did not quite connect, or I guess I didn't get it. Great job creating a murky, uneasy atmosphere.
mhverney's review against another edition
5.0
Astonishing. On the surface, it is about Shaw, a middle-aged man who’s had something of a nervous breakdown, and divides his time between long walks along the Thames, visits to his dementing mother and a bizarre part-time job on a barge. He has a vague relationship with Victoria, who heads off the heartlands of Brexit when she inherits a house from her mother in a big village with weird locals who are obsessed with the Water Babies. Underneath the surface, it reads like a fevered aquatic dream, with green men, translucent water babies and water everywhere. Oh, and it’s also the ultimate Brexit novel, although don’t ask me to explain why. I’d give it six stars if possible.
thebobsphere's review
3.0
Now and then I come across a novel which leaves me confused, by this I do not mean whether I understood it or not but rather there will be conflicted feelings. The Sunken Land begins to Rise Again is such a book.
As for some background knowledge, I tried reading this book exactly a year ago but I abandoned it. I picked it up again for two reasons. M. John Harrison was a judge on this year's excellent Booker prize and this is the only Goldsmiths prize winner I have not read (well that's solved now)
The book focuses on two characters. one is Shaw who has trouble with relationships, and has a mother who does not recognise him. The other person is Victoria, who is sort of dating Shaw and decides to renovate and sell her recently deceased mother's house in Shropshire.
Both characters then go on an inner journeys of discoveries. Shaw decides to take on a new job on a barge as a sort distributor. Mainly his boss' book, which people do not want. One day he is assigned to meet a medium and film her for his boss' blog, which leads to certain personal revelations. For Victoria, the eccentric characters in her mother's village help her open her eyes.
All events have roots in Charles Kingsley's political tale, The Water Babies.
Did I like the book? there were moments where I just had a lot of fun reading but with every joyous moment, a dull passage or two would crop up and I kept yo-yoing like this throughout the novel. I am also not sure about the main message. Is this a commentary on the state of England. Is the book insinuating that post Brexit Britain will be recover? or is it stating that the past is a different place? I'm not sure.
Generally I love all the Goldsmith prize winners but this one did leave me muddled in places. What did you think?
As for some background knowledge, I tried reading this book exactly a year ago but I abandoned it. I picked it up again for two reasons. M. John Harrison was a judge on this year's excellent Booker prize and this is the only Goldsmiths prize winner I have not read (well that's solved now)
The book focuses on two characters. one is Shaw who has trouble with relationships, and has a mother who does not recognise him. The other person is Victoria, who is sort of dating Shaw and decides to renovate and sell her recently deceased mother's house in Shropshire.
Both characters then go on an inner journeys of discoveries. Shaw decides to take on a new job on a barge as a sort distributor. Mainly his boss' book, which people do not want. One day he is assigned to meet a medium and film her for his boss' blog, which leads to certain personal revelations. For Victoria, the eccentric characters in her mother's village help her open her eyes.
All events have roots in Charles Kingsley's political tale, The Water Babies.
Did I like the book? there were moments where I just had a lot of fun reading but with every joyous moment, a dull passage or two would crop up and I kept yo-yoing like this throughout the novel. I am also not sure about the main message. Is this a commentary on the state of England. Is the book insinuating that post Brexit Britain will be recover? or is it stating that the past is a different place? I'm not sure.
Generally I love all the Goldsmith prize winners but this one did leave me muddled in places. What did you think?
malenfant's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jw101's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
txshap_'s review against another edition
This was all a little bit of nothing so maybe I just was not the audience - DNF
pallavi_sharma87's review against another edition
1.0
1 star
The book is a blend of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This follows the intertwined lives of two protagonists, Shawna and Harrison, who are both struggling to find their place in the world.
I seldom find a literary award nominee or winner that I enjoy. And this was one of them which I just could not grasp.
Not my cup of tea. DNF@30%
Happy Reading!!
The book is a blend of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This follows the intertwined lives of two protagonists, Shawna and Harrison, who are both struggling to find their place in the world.
I seldom find a literary award nominee or winner that I enjoy. And this was one of them which I just could not grasp.
Not my cup of tea. DNF@30%
Happy Reading!!