THE NORTHERN CLEMENCY by Philip Hensher

(N0VEL)

The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008).

597 pages.

The Northern Clemency, narrated by Carole Boyd (Clipper Audio, US, 2008).

Unabridged. 22 compact discs (approximately 25.5 hours)

Reviewed by Wilda Morris

In 1974, at the beginning of the Thatcher era, the Sellers family moves to a home in Sheffield, across the street from the Glovers, a family in crisis. Neither family is entirely “normal” (if there is such a thing), but the Glovers are definitely dysfunctional.  As the Sellers family is moving in, Malcolm Glover has walked out on his family and his wife Katherine stomps her son Tim’s pet snake to death on the sidewalk in a fit of anger.

The Northern Clemency is an example of what is sometimes called a “sprawling novel.” The story takes place over three decades. Most of the action occurs in Sheffield, an industrial city, but Hensher takes some of his characters to London and Australia. As we watch the daily struggles and interrelationships of the two families and their neighbors and friends, the news seems to be playing in the background: we see how some of them are impacted by the economic and political struggles of the time (in particular, the coal miners’ strike of 1984).

The book is well-plotted and readable, but quite long. Had I been reading the book instead of listening to the CDs, I suspect I would have been annoyed by the surfeit of details and minor characters.

The Northern Clemency was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, given each year to a novel published in English, written by a citizen of the British Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland, and published in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, it got some rather mediocre reviews.

FALL OF GIANTS by Ken Follett

(HISTORICAL NOVEL)

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (New York: Dutton, 2010), 980 pages.

Available in hardback, paperback, Kindle, and audio versions.

Reviewed by Chuck Dayton

This is the first book of a promised trilogy about the prominent events of the 20^th century.  The book begins shortly before the turn of the 20^th century, and concludes during the period between the two world wars. The next two promised books cover the rest of the century.

Ken Follett writes basically two kinds of books: thriller, espionage stories (i.e.: Eye of the Needle, Key to Rebecca, etc), and detailed historical fictional accounts of some event or time period in history (i.e.: Pillars of the Earth, followed by a sequel, World without End). The latter two books were an account of building a cathedral in England beginning in the 11^th century, and continuing through the middle ages in the sequel.  Fall of Giants fits this historical fiction category. I enjoy his writing style and have read all of his books.

Fall of Giants follows in great detail the lives of fictional characters in Wales, England, Germany, America, and Russia. Their lives become intertwined as the tale is spun, almost to an unbelievable extent. This didn’t bother me as I read it, but it is a criticism. The real life characters of the period were, according to the forward, portrayed as they were written in history. There is enough intrigue, love, dare I say sex, to keep any reader interested in the history of the period. I learned a lot about the beginnings of WW I and the period through the end of the war. If you have ever wondered just who Archduke Ferdinand really was, this is your chance to learn in a fun way. I believe the fall of the royal houses in Europe following the war, in Russia and the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, were accurately portrayed. The book only gives a glimpse into what is about to happen in Germany during the period between the wars. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.  

© 2012