This rewarding book is the story of a Scottish family with their complex inter-relationships, seen primarily through the eyes of a young man. Note ‘primarily’; at first I found the multiple points of view and multiple time-periods confusing. If hadn’t been so well written, he’d have lost me about 1/4 of the way through, but Banks has a way of pulling the reader in. The Crow Road is witty, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, confusing, but builds a sense of real lives. Characters are very sharply, sometimes brutally drawn; picture the middle aged aunt at a wedding, ‘dressed in something which looked like a cross between a Persian rug and a multi-occupancy poncho, [who] moved with the determined grace of an elephant, and a curious stiffness that made the experience a little like dancing with a garden shed’, and who had ‘the same effect on the dance floor as a loose cannon manned by hippos’.
It is worth persevering through the initial confusion. Plot lines and dominant characters do emerge, and I finished the book well satisfied, and wishing I could capture characters as well.
I’m delighted to hear that Saxon’s Bane has been selected by The Qwillery for their 2013 Debut Author Challenge. Watch this space for guest blogs and interview. Further details at http://qwillery.blogspot.co.uk/p/2013-dac.html
I’m delighted to announce that Saxon’s Bane has been acquired by Solaris Books, an imprint of Rebellion, and will be released in September 2013. Solaris Books’ press release, excluding the blurb and bio that is already posted on this site, is:
Acquisition announcement:
Debut author finds Saxon treasure beneath 21st Century England
COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2013: Saxon’s Bane by Geoffrey Gudgion
Solaris is proud to announce a 2013 debut novel that brings the Dark Ages crashing into the 21st Century.
Geoffrey Gudgion’s historical supernatural thriller, Saxon’s Bane, will be published in September 2013.
A contemporary novel with a thrilling historical heart, Gudgion’s first novel is set in the 21st century but grounded in the Dark Ages, with a Saxon legend at its heart.
The past invades the present in this beautiful, lyrical and frightening tale, inspired by Gudgion’s love of ancient, ethereal places, and his eye for signs of the distant past in the English landscape of today.
“It’s a rare occasion when a submission comes in that I have to read right the way through in one go,” said Jonathan Oliver, editor-in-chief of Solaris. “Saxon’s Bane was such a book. Discovering a new writer is always a thrill, and Geoffrey’s novel is of such a high calibre that I can’t wait for people to read it.”
For all press enquires please contact Michael Molcher
on +44 (0)1865 792 201 or press@rebellion.co.uk
http://www.solarisbooks.com/
Has anyone ever noticed how evocative music can be? The way it takes the mind back to a particular time and place?
I was at a very elderly relative’s house recently, helping her to clear out old cupboards. Among the debris was a stack of old piano music, some of it inscribed with the names of ancestors who’d been born when Queen Victoria ruled an empire. Each sheet was a slice of social history from an era before television, when a family made its own entertainment around the piano, or the ‘ol joanna’ as one London great-aunt used to call it. The words shone a spotlight on an era that is passing from memory.
‘Here we are, out of cigarettes, / holding hands and yawning, look how late it gets, / Two sleepy people, by dawn’s early light, / And too much in love to say “Goodnight.”’
An image of innocence formed in my mind; young lovers in a past so distant that smoking was normal but unmarried cohabitation was unthinkable.
Then one thin, folded compilation from 1940 caught my eye. Its cover showed a British soldier sitting on an ammunition box, tin hat at a rakish angle, waving a torch as he sang songs from an era when courage and defiance were the watermark of the British soul.
‘There’ll be blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover…’
My sight-reading is awful. People only ask me to play once. But hey, ho, this stuff was too good leave unplayed, so I propped it on the piano and started.
‘There will always be an England…’
Have you ever felt that an audience was with you? I mean, totally with you, carrying you, urging you on?
‘And that England shall be free…’
Around me, querulous, reedy voices found a power they hadn’t felt since before the old King died. Their enthusiasm filled me with confidence. I even started playing better. Well, at least their noise drowned my mistakes.
‘If England means as much to you as England means to me…’
More! More! We were on a roll. A ninety-something year old clapped her hands over her head before her voice faltered at the memory of the dashing young officer she’d once loved.
‘We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when…’
I turned as the singing faded into sniffs behind me, and in the dewy eyes of great age, I saw the ones they’ll meet again, some sunny day.
You can have too much of a good thing. Now where did I put that Flanders and Swann album?