Mary Margaret
Hamilton was educated in Scotland. She was born there too. These
may not have been the best possible options, but they were the only
ones on offer at the time.
Although her father did his best,
her
knowledge of life is perhaps a little incomplete.
Margaret knows
the best way to look at the moon, how to wake on time and how to
breathe fire. now she must learn how to live.
A.L.Kennedy's absorbing, moving and gently political first novel dissects the intricate difficulties of human relationships, from Margaret's passionate attachment to her father and her more problematic involvement with Colin, her lover, to the wider social relations between pupil and teacher, employer and employee, individual and state.
Written with the same quirky imagination and acute sensitivity to the workings of our inner lives which characterised her prize-winning stories, this novel confirms A.L.Kennedy's reputation as one of the most interesting young writers to have emerged in recent years.
German edition ("Einladung Zum Tanz") was published in 2001.
Reviews
Good:
"...A.L.Kennedy, a writer rich in the humanity and warmth that seems at a premium in these bleak times, and who is also well able to handle a complex, layered narrative and to build to a shocking climax that is fully earned and not a bit gratuitous."
ALK: Salman Rushdie A proper gent, that Mr. Rushdie.
".. the anger is
tempered by a lyrical sensuality and a wry humour that makes for a satisfying
mixture."
Mike Petty - Literary
Review
"In an unflashy
but finely felt way, this novel brings its quirky canniness to bear on
a wide range of human relations."
Paul Taylor - Independent on Sunday
Bad:
"The lack of narrative
focus in the book is only enhanced by its complicated time scheme..."
Lucasta Miller
- The Times
"Dance of Boredom"
Eben Smith - Willenhall
Adnews, Chase Post, Stafford Post, Wolverhampton Adnews
ALK: I love syndicated reviews.
Silly:
"That final phrase
with its arresting elision of "beneath their dignity" and "beyond them" (in
the sense of not being able to make her out) beautifully conveys how
incomprehension can merge into, or be confused with, hostility and distrust."
Paul Taylor - Independent
on Sunday
ALK: Yes, quite.
