Out Backward (P.S.) [Paperback]

Ross Raisin (Author)

Book Description

Series: P.S. | Publication Date: July 1, 2008

Sam Marsdyke is a lonely young man, dogged by an incident in his past and forced to work his family farm instead of attending school in his Yorkshire village. He methodically fills his life with daily routines and adheres to strict boundaries that keep him at a remove from the townspeople. But one day he spies Josephine, his new neighbor from London. From that moment on, Sam's carefully constructed protections begin to crumble—and what starts off as a harmless friendship between an isolated loner and a defiant teenage girl takes a most disturbing turn.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this creepy, lyrical debut, Raisin explores the fine line between sanity and insanity with Sam Marsdyke, an awkward late teenager who was thrown out of school after being accused of attempting to rape a schoolmate. Sam now works his family's farm along with his father, and there he notices Josephine Reeves, a 15-year-old whose family has moved from London to the Yorkshire village where Sam resides. After an inauspicious beginning, Sam and Josephine strike up a friendship that culminates with them running away together. Soon, Sam's tenuous grip on reality slips, giving the reader a frightening glimpse into the mind of a psychopath. What happens next will shock readers, yet compel them to read faster to learn the outcome. Although the author's liberal use of the Yorkshire dialect and a stream-of-consciousness narration (Sackless article the wether kept indoors, as Father went and in the pen and fastened the tupping harness around the ram's neck, and the gate was unsnecked), it's true to the protagonists roots and lends an air of authority to this tightly plotted and disturbing effort. (July)
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From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Prior to the opening of this story, teenager Sam Marsdyke was dogged by accusations of rape, forcing him to leave school and work on his family's farm in Yorkshire, England. When a new family with a 15-year-old daughter moves in next door, Sam's father orders his son to keep his distance. But Sam's obsession with the forbidden drives him to stalk Jo, and the two eventually meet. A friendship develops, and it doesn't take long for the attraction to turn physical. They run away together, and all goes well until Jo decides she wants to return home to her family. Sam's tenuous hold on reality slips as events careen out of his control. While the story often points toward Sam and his psychopathic tendencies, Raisin plays with the lines of power in the relationship by suggesting that Jo knew all about the rumors of Sam's past and sought him out. This echo of themes from Nabokov's Lolita questions who really is the victim. The story is plotted more along the lines of a literary novel than a thriller, and the focus rests on the deep examination of the characters and what drives them. Because it is written in Yorkshire dialect, which recalls the visceral lyricism of Irvine Welsh, some readers might be put off by the prose, but those able to soak into it will find a rewarding—if somewhat disturbing—tale of fear, obsession, and sexuality.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061448753
• ISBN-13: 978-0061448751
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,255,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars astonishing disturbing look at two characters, July 2, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out Backward (P.S.) (Paperback)

In Yorkshire lonely teenager Sam Marsdyke was strongly told to drop out of school when he was accused of attempted rape; he left the classroom and no charge, not even assault, was filed against him. He lives and works on the family farm along side his acrimonious angry father and his submissive silent mother. Increasingly the area and the central village are being gentrified by wealthy Southerners to the dismay of generational long timers like Sam's outraged old man.

Sam sees fifteen years old Josephine Reeves, who has moved with her family from London onto the adjoining farm. Already hearing about Sam's scandalous incident, her father warns Sam to stay away from his daughter or else. Still the two teens becomes friends even as Sam stalks her sitting for hours on the nearby hill to catch a glimpse of his beloved. Jo encourages him to risk more. Finally she decides to run away and persuades Sam to accompany her; not that it took much. On their trek nothing goes right until Jo insists he let her go home, but he refuses.

This is an astonishing disturbing look at two characters; one might be a sociopath manipulating the other, but who is the deranged one as Sam seems obvious but Jo seemingly has cleverly maneuvered him to her bidding, or has he been the one in control. The stunning stark cover enhances the sense of doom while the local dialect adds to the overall tension of an increasingly creepy feeling that this is not going to end well. Fans need to set aside plenty of time because this one sitting read will grip the audience with the obsess need to know who, if either or both, are left standing.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, June 19, 2009

By 

LP (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out Backward (P.S.) (Paperback)

Dense yet totally absorbing tale told from the idiosyncratic perspective of a disaffected and delusional young man. Dark and lovely in its detail.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book, October 13, 2011

By 

Knerrd - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out Backward (P.S.) (Paperback)

A great story in a fabulous setting, with a main character who is unforgettable. I don't think I've ever read such a dark story with the amount of humor that is sprinkled into this one.

The use of heavy Yorkshire dialect is part of what makes this a great book, not the other way around as one reviewer opined. The character of Sam would be utterly unrecognizable if it weren't for his vocabulary. Most of the words that are unknown to Americans can easily be discerned from the surrounding context, or just look them up on Urban Dictionary. I especially enjoyed the way Sam gave pet names to everyone and everything, like Chickenhead and Hoble-Hop. It emphasizes the childlike qualities that it seems underlie many mentally unstable people.

I definitely recommend this book.