Writelife

I’m about halfway through the novel English Passengers by Mathew Kneale and I’m loving it. It’s the kind of novel I’ve always liked. It’s funny (both in the sense of wit and its slapstick way with certain scenes), it’s dark (it’s essentially about the genocide of aboriginal people in Tasmania) and it’s a magnificent example of writing style.

In terms of style, it reminds me a bit of one of my all-time favourite novels, John Barth’s The Sotweed Factor. In both cases the writers capture the tone and style of the period in which they’ve set their novels while also informing the text with brilliant humour.

At the same time, while capturing the period style, Kneale also captures individual style. (The book is made up of writings from numerous characters.) So it’s not simply an evocation of period and style, the writing evokes character.

To write in a particular style is difficult. To write in many character styles is more difficult still. But to make it all cohere and in a way that pushes the story forward and makes it engaging, that’s almost impossible.

But Kneale manages it. You also get a very strange sense as you read. The book is funny; the story is compelling. Yet it’s about something utterly horrific.

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