Monday Guest Blog by Lisa
May 5, 2008
I’m currently reading an excellent novel by Rhyll McMaster, called Feather Man. The book was originally published in Australia and has won some prestigious awards there, and I can see why.
I would liken Rhyll McMaster to the brilliant Margaret Atwood, except I think McMaster is even better. However, Feather Man seems to be getting something of a rough time here in the UK. Apparently there is some objection to the first chapter, in which there is an incident of child abuse.
Feather Man is published by ballsy independent publisher Marion Boyars and they have talked of the reaction to Feather Man – they say on their blog, Risking It:
This is an entry about what writers, mainly fiction writers, do when they create the world their book takes place in.
They do not, necessarily, present the reader with the world as they already know it. They usually have some idea of the dangerous places their fiction is taking them. Not all stories are ones with happy endings.
I’m writing this since another person has told me they could not read past the beginning of Feather Man. The first one was the person who was judging the Waterstone’s New Voices, which Feather Man was short listed for. In both cases, because the book opens with a young girl being persuaded into a sexual act by an older man (who does not actually go as far as he could – guys, this is blog, open to all readers, so I will not be more specific here), they stopped reading. Yes, it is unpleasant, but then books are supposed to open up worlds beyond the reader’s experience.
Is the scene in question gratuitous? In my view it isn’t. To me it is handled sensitively, and is integral to the plot and the characterisation. Should Rhyll McMaster have censored out this scene, in order to make her book more palatable to a section of readers who would rather not face certain things in fiction?
Since there’s been debate about this, I’m going to link to the first chapter on the Marion Boyars website. If you want to read it click here
*WARNING: If you do not want to read anything dealing with child abuse, don’t click*
I’ve read it through again and I have to say that the chapter strikes me as strong, sensitive writing. Feather Man is Sooky’s story; her experience with her neighbour Lionel, the ex-magistrate, is just one part of her story, but it is an important one. But this novel is not “Misery Lit” – although I keep hearing that Misery Lit is the fastest growing sector of the market – Feather Man is beautifully written literary fiction, which asks a lot of questions about life and doesn’t necessary provide the answers. A friend of mine suggested that perhaps the problem here is not that Feather Man’s first chapter is too graphic, but rather that it doesn’t have the right judgement track running alongside it. I have been thinking about that.
I wonder if, given the chance, the author would go back and remove the chapter if she knew it would mean a bigger audience or wider review coverage?
Would you?
Lisa Glass blogs as part of the Vulpes Libris (Book Fox) collective. Her novel, Prince Rupert’s Teardrop, is out in paperback now.
This is an interesting question. A bit hard to answer out of context but what I do find very interesting is the way that this has become an issue for this particular literary book, but not for the huge number of mislit titles that sell like hotcakes.
When I read the extract it struck me as very well-written but with a certain amount of emotional distance from the main character, Sooky. I found this aspect very powerful – that the main character, perhaps, was distancing herself mentally from horrible events as they happened. But I wonder if some people find that disturbing – that the victim is not being sufficiently “victim-like”.
I think there is something in the idea of a book’s “soundtrack” if you like in misery genre – that awful events are continually confirmed as being awful. In this extract, the awful events are still awful, but the writing is subtle – exploring how people try to distance themselves from something disturbing, not be a victim in mind as well as body, so to speak. As I say, I found that a powerful aspect, but maybe it is this that disturbs readers?
And in answer to the other question: No, if integral to plot and character and, most of all, what the book is saying. But I might be tempted to put it a bit later in the book if people are not going to get past that!
Interesting, thought-provoking questions, Lisa.
I can’t refer to this book as I haven’t read it but, in general, I will admit that child sexual abuse scenes would be a turn-off for me too. Not because I think the writer shouldn’t include these scenes if it is right for the creation of his world but because I think readers have a right to choose not to venture into that world if they don’t want to (no matter how well-written it is or how pure the intentions of the writer). There are many writers whose worlds I don’t want to live in even for a short while (Anita Brookner is one example) for very different reasons although I acknowledge her abilities and talent.
In answer to your second question, I don’t think I’d write a scene like this in the first place for the same reason. It may be that I’m cowardly but it’s a subject I don’t really want to explore as a reader or as a writer.
[...] Elsewhere, I have likened Rhyll McMaster to Margaret Atwood. Atwood is brilliant, but in my view McMaster is even better. This novel is published by independent publisher, Marion Boyars, and I would say they did extremely well to sign this novelist. Feather Man has quite rightly won literary prizes in Australia and my money is on Feather Man making the Booker Prize longlist here. [...]