Review of The Last Family in England by Matt Haig

After reading The Radleys, I picked this offering off the library shelves thinking that I’d appreciate an amusing, smart read at the start of 2012. Hm. Well that didn’t work out…

Prince is an earnest young dog, striving hard to live up to the tenets of The Labrador Pact (Remain Loyal to Your Human Masters, Serve and Protect Your Family at Any Cost). Other dogs, led by the Springer Spaniels, have revolted. Their slogans are ‘Dogs for Dogs, not for Humans’ and ‘Pleasure not Duty’. Mentored by an elderly Labrador called Henry, Prince takes his responsibilities seriously, and as things in the Hunter family begin to go badly awry – marital breakdown, rowdy teenage parties, attempted suicide – his responsibilities threaten to overwhelm him. And down in the park it’s even worse. Henry has disappeared: Falstaff the Springer Spaniel wants to lead Prince astray… What will he do next?

I got sucked in by the comedic cover and Jeanette Winterson’s description that the book is fabulous and moving and funny and strange. And – yes – she’s absolutely right, it’s all of those things. It’s also poignantly sad.

Haig writes in first person viewpoint as Prince, the idealistic youngster, straining every nerve to live up to the lofty ideals of the Labrador Pact. His depiction of the world from a dog’s view with the emphasis on scents, hearing and decoding human body language certainly allowed me to suspend my disbelief for the duration of the book, which is crucial to the success of the story. And there’s plenty going on – we see a slice of family life just before the Hunter’s world starts to spiral away into crisis mode.

Haig holds the tension masterfully, allowing the series of secrets that rock Prince’s world to surface, one after the other. Nothing is as it seems. Prince finds himself surrounded by mounting difficulties at home; Henry is no longer around to give him advice and Falstaff’s carefree joie de vivre becomes ever more tempting… Even the family cat advises him to step back, not to get too involved in human affairs. But Prince is still driven on by his sense of duty.

This isn’t a long read. Each chapter is only a couple of pages long and event move along at a breathless clip. The language is pared down and the short, simple sentences allow a great deal to be packed into the modest word count and it can easily be read in a single sitting, if you so wish. As with The Radleys, the action is interspersed with extracts from a how-to manual – in this case it is The Labrador Pact that Prince has learnt by heart. The denouement isn’t a shock, Haig has heavily foreshadowed it, but I was surprised at the final twist which adds an extra slice of sadness to the ending.

The simple writing style is deceptive – Haig is dealing with some hefty issues in this slight book. At what point does loyalty become a lethal liability? Is unrealistic idealism a dangerous luxury in a world where cynical selfishness appears to be the norm? Because, of course, this book is actually nothing at all to do with dogs – it is about choosing how to live your life. Are you going to bounce through like a Springer Spaniel, carefully avoiding any commitment? Or shoulder responsibilities even if they buckle you in the process? Even those of us who have knocked about the world for a while should sometimes take the time to reconsider their choices – and I personally think that this should be required reading for every teenager in the land.
10/10

Review of EBOOK More Than Kin by Ty Johnston

As Ty guested on my blog on 22nd November, I uploaded his book More Than Kin from Amazon for the princely sum of £2.15 – and I have to say that other than Terry Pratchett’s Snuff, it is the cleanest and least error-pocked text I’ve yet encountered.

Walt Johnson has been a rolling stone most of his life, moving from town to town and living on the edges of homelessness. Now he has run out of time as lung cancer has left him only months to live. Walt then begins a quest to find the son with whom he lost contact decades earlier. Out of money, he lands a job at a small-town restaurant in an attempt to save enough to buy a bus ticket to the last known whereabouts of his son. The friends Walt makes at his new job soon become family for him, especially 14-year-old Danny who is emotionally paralyzed at the loss of his own father in Iraq. Faced with Danny’s struggles to grow up and the struggles of his other new friends, Walt comes to realize he is not only on a journey to find his own son, but he is on a journey to find himself worthy of being a father.

As you may have gathered from the blurb, while Johnston is principally a Fantasy writer, this offering is set in contemporary America. So, an elderly dying man befriends a troubled teenager and gets side-tracked from his quest to track down his son. Does Johnston manage to evoke the sense of urgency and regret expected from a man with only months to live – without lapsing into sentimentality?
If you’re looking for an adrenaline-fuelled slice of escapism, this isn’t it. The writing effectively evokes Walt’s failing strength as he still yearns for the next cigarette and cup of coffee as soon as he pitches up in yet another small town on his constant wanderings. I’ve never been to America, but had no problem envisaging the setting thanks to Johnston’s slick writing and assured characterisation of Walt. It would have been easy to have put a Disney spin on this tale – especially given the forename of the protagonist – but I’m glad to say this didn’t happen. The gentle pace is deceptive as it doesn’t prevent Johnston dealing with some gnarly issues – concerns that globalisation is swallowing up small town values, is one of the recurring themes. I found it fascinating that a spokesman for smalltown America – a country often perceived as purveying many commercially crass values around the globe – should also share the worries I regularly hear voiced here in Britain.

In addition, Walt’s regret at his lapsed relationship with his own son wasn’t ducked. I was impressed at Johnston’s ability to draw out the poignancy of a life wasted on too much booze. It seemed a terrible shame that an intelligent man with the right instincts had ended up living on the edges of society for so long. Johnston’s depiction of a young teenager devastated at the loss of his father didn’t pull any punches, either – and the fact that his father died in Iraq added teeth to the situation. Other social issues were also addressed, such as the seeming growth of gangs of disaffected youngsters who spend their spare time causing trouble.

The only aspect of the book that got a bit treacly for my taste were the passages featuring Libby. Other than that, I feel that Johnston adroitly avoided the temptation to coat this thought-provoking storyline with a layer of sentiment. I’m conscious that so far I may have given the impression that this is a slow-paced trudge through a worthy subject – and it’s nothing of the sort. While no zombies or aliens make an appearance, there is still plenty of narrative tension to keep readers wanting to turn the pages – I devoured the book in two sittings. Overall, this is an accomplished exploration of some of the issues bedevilling contemporary society in a story that still manages to deliver its message with charm and lack of judgement. I’m certainly going to be uploading the first of Johnston’s Fantasy offerings – if City of Rogues is written as well as this, it’ll be well worth reading.
8/10