#treacle walker

[mostlyghostie]

Reposting my favourite things of 2022 as I think about what I’m going to draw this year!

I have been to almost no gigs this year, so will have to add more of the other stuff, luckily there’s been tons of good albums and books out in 2023.

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Treacle Walker

By Alan Garner.

[food4dogs]

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner

What a book. What a story. What a book. What a story. What a book. What a story. What a book. What a story. What a book. What a story.

It was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. If Garner had received the votes, he would've been the oldest author ever, at 88. But books like this don't win the big prizes; they don't fit neatly into how the publishing industry likes to push novels that tread a well-worn pattern and sell in large numbers.

Mind you - while Garner's book is technically a 'novel', I'd be hard-pressed how to classify it: it's an allegory on one level; it's poetry on another; it's a strange spiderweb of philosophical and scientific enquiry; and it's always, quite simply, a story.

At 150 pages (large-ish print, well-spaced), you can read it in an afternoon. Then you will carry the words and ideas in your mind for a long time; possibly forever. The story says more than most door stopper novels ever do. I would call reading it an "experience".

The only niggle I have is that the publisher could have made the reading experience a bit easier by adding a small glossary. Garner employs (he works his words hard!) many very old Northern English words that you can't expect the majority of readers to be familiar with. I lived in a northern part of Britain for some years and did recognise a few - others I looked up online. You don't need to do a dictionary hunt; the story will show you via context what they mean. But hey, I happen to like etymology. :-)

For example, "glamourie" (remember "glamour" in True Blood?) is a Scots word meaning a charmed, magical condition. And "treacle" (the title is Treacle Walker after all) is a medieval term for medicine.

And do look up donkey stone, please.

The Guardian has a terrific review of Treacle Walker by Justine Jordan - but like all reviews, there is a certain amount of spoiling, so I recommend reading it after reading the book.

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner review – a phenomenal late fable

A convalescent young boy is visited by a mythical wanderer in a deeply evocative exploration of storytelling and time

Since I started reading Alan Garner recently (beginning with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen), I now recognise recurring symbols, words, concepts. The White Horse of Uffington; the Summer Stars; the peat bogs and Lindow Man; a rich world of English, Welsh and Scottish culture unearthed by archaeology and mythology.

I can summarise Treacle Walker in only one simple way: it's pure magic. It's funny (oh, very funny!), it's confounding, it's riddle-some and vernacular, it's time-spinning - but above all it's eye-opening.

"What sees is seen"

[wherekizzialives]

January Reading

All the reviews for the books I've read this month, gathered in one place:

This year I have decided to split my book reviews out of the quarterly This Sparks Joy! posts and do a monthly review post containing everything which I’ve rated 3 stars or over. All these reviews have already been posted to Amazon UK, Goodreads and The Storygraph but having them here as well allows me to both keep everything neatly in one place and include links to a variety of places to…

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[laku-incarnate]

Portrait of Alan Garner by Andrew Tift, 2010.

[rherlotshadow]

"'I have been through Hickety, Pickety, France and High Spain, by crinkum-crankums, crooks and straights,' said Treacle Walker. 'And I am at your pear, with my ears in my hat, my back in my coat, and two squat kickering tattery shoes full of road-wayish water.'"

From 'Treacle Walker' by Alan Garner

[harrison-abbott]

Am currently re-reading this. It has such playful wordplay in it. You can tell Garner is heavily influenced by Shakespeare. I get that lots of people dislike Shakespeare. Fair enough. But I’d imagine they would like this one, regardless of whether they’re fans of him or not. Really enjoyable writing.

[radedneko]

The sky was a blare of sick headache.

~Treacle Walker by Alan Garner