The only other book by Myers I had read was "The Gallows Pole", recommended here in the blogosphere by Christina from Blackburn and Thelma from "North Stoke". That was a great read. I reviewed it here. So when Shirley told me that her reading group would be talking about "The Offing", I asked her to pass the book on to me when she was done with it.
I was not disappointed. The novel tells the story of a young coal miner's son called Robert Appleyard who, just after World War II, leaves his home in County Durham to have adventures that will keep him away from the pit that is meant to be his destiny.
Near Robin Hood's Bay on the coast of North Yorkshire he encounters a rebellious and intellectual older woman called Dulcie Piper. It is a meeting that will change his life.
Well maybe I should not say much more because I do not wish to be accused of creating spoilers but I will say something about the title. An "offing" is described as “the distant stretch of sea where sky and water merge”. It's like a place that blurs boundaries.
And here's a typical sample of Benjamin Myers's writing:
“At times like this, or when hoeing soil or sanding wood, or just sitting on a bench with my face turned to the sun, I appeared to slip out of the moment so entirely - or, conversely, perhaps was so deeply immersed in the here and now - that I forgot who I was. The slate of self was wiped.”
What a gorgeous photo. I shall have to look for that book and thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend Tony hopes to have his ashes deposited on the cliffs by Robin Hood's Bay.
DeleteHappenstance has played an important role in my life thus far. I have been a tiny piece of thistledown blowing in the capricous breeze of fate.
ReplyDeleteI love the word "happenstance". I have not been a tiny piece of thistledown but a ball of newspaper.
DeleteOur fate can turn on a pinhead as you say.
ReplyDeletePlaces in The Offing matter as much as people. Dulcie appears at the right place
and time : the pinhead moment.
*People from the North seem more fatally impregnated with their landscape than
than people who live in the South,* wrote Alan Sillitoe, in a 1964 introduction
to The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett.
Cuddy by Benjamin Myers. Nina Allan. The Guardian online 2023.
Nina Allan like Myers is a storyteller who can make you forget where you are.
"... a storyteller who can make you forget where you are". Perhaps that is the litmus test for fiction.
DeleteSounds intriguing.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a film version, you could be Dulcie Piper Debra!
DeleteHaven’t read this one but I did enjoy Cuddy.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Seascraper. By Benjamin Wood? Think you might like it
Thanks for the tip Traveller.
DeleteI'll add it to my long list of books to read. I only ever get to read in bed. Usually a chapter or two per night so it takes me a while to get through the list!!
ReplyDeleteWhy not read at other times too Addy - when you are awake and your brain is really alert? That is what good writers deserve.
DeleteI am glad you included a sample of Myers's writing. I have always wished that I had a talent like that to write. To capture life with words. I looked up the book and it has gotten good reviews (in addition to yours!)
ReplyDeleteHe is 49 now - probably at the peak of his powers as a writer.
DeleteThe sample of writing makes me not want to read this, a bit too literary for me.
ReplyDeleteMay I then recommend "Danny Dog" in the Peppa Pig series? The twins would love it.
DeleteI didn't know the meaning of the word. I thought it was related to when you 'off someone', that is kill them. The book does sound interesting. Connections between older women and younger men often are interesting.
ReplyDeleteThere is not even the slightest frisson of sex.
DeleteI said nothing about sex.
DeleteThank you for this review. It makes me want to read the book, last but not least because I have been to Robin Hood's Bay many years ago and will be able to picture the place clearly in my mind when reading about it. Whether there is a German character in the book or not has no influence on my interest in it, to be honest. I am surrounded by many Germans most days :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, I never! It did not occur to me that there would be other Germans in Germany! I just assumed the others were all Turkish or Ukrainian.
DeleteYou're almost right about that when it comes to my semi. This house and the other semi have about 16 people living in them altogether, only two of which are German. The majority are Turkish, but we also have an Italian, a Syrian and a family from Iran. No Ukrainians (so far), but there are many living in Ludwigsburg. Of the about 95,000 inhabitants, roughly half of them are German; one quarter does not have a German passport, another quarter are German with an immigration background.
DeleteI take so long to read a book these days but I do try. I haven't read any fiction for years, when I finally get used to this new shift pattern I hope I get more time to read and do some of my other hobbies.
ReplyDeleteI feel sure you would be able to get through an entire shelf of books with your grandson. Look out for the Peppa Pig series.
DeleteI could never read Gallow's Pole because of the terrible fireplace incident, hopefully Myers new book won't be so stark. But he does capture the dark dramatic feel of how it was to live on the moors. The photo of Robin;s Hood Bay captures the village living on the edge of the sea, now the fishermen have gone all that remains is holiday cottages. Time moves on.
ReplyDeleteI like the way he uses language, feeling every word.
DeleteI'll have to look for The Offing.
ReplyDeleteYou could place another word before "Offing".
DeleteA great book leaves you eagerly anticipating the next page.
ReplyDelete...or maybe just a book that happens to suit you when it might not suit somebody else.
DeleteSounds like this guy wandered through life without goals and plans. Stuff happens when life's like that.
ReplyDeleteHe was finding his way.
DeleteThanks for this. I shall read it with my ears as i go about my daily chores.
ReplyDeleteEh? Most people's eyeballs are located in their eye sockets!
DeleteThanks for the recommendation! I think I'll buy this book tomorrow! (And maybe the other one you mentioned, too.)
ReplyDeleteWell don't bark at me if you don't like them Steve!
DeletePerfect review - just tantalising enough to make this reader want to read the book.
ReplyDelete