Customer Reviews

Voice That Thunders

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although he produces on average only one full-length original work of fiction a decade, Alan Garner makes up in quality what he lacks in quantity. THE VOICE THAT THUNDERS is Garner's first collection of non-fiction pieces, and they encompass a dizzying array of topics.

Garner's work is often described as dense and impenetrable, especially in light of the fact that for years his publishers marketed him as a children's author (his novel from 1967, THE OWL SERVICE, won both the Carnegie & Guardian Awards, Britain's top 2 children's book awards). Garner now disowns his first 2 children's fantasy novels, but he acknowledges that they helped him learn his craft. In THE VOICE THAT THUNDERS Garner touches upon many aspects of the writing process. Given that as a writer he shares characteristics w/ both Faulkner and Beckett it is indeed propitious for his readers when Garner explicates his own work, as he does here.

Two of the essays, "Aback of Beyond" and the title piece are a behind the scenes look at the writing of his last (and most difficult) novel, STRANDLOPER. To a slight extent, this is akin to peeping behind the curtain and seeing the Wizard of Oz for what he really is, but understanding how Garner goes about his task enhances rather than diminishes one's appreciation of his genius.

Topics that are of immense importance to Garner in his fiction are also present in his essays. These include sense of place, language, family, generational strife, Wales & the Welsh, adaptions of his work, the impact of the past on the present, classics, fairy tales, oral tradition, and the implicit tensions in being "on the edge" -- not just Alderley Edge, Garner's home in Cheshire and the dividing line between England & Wales, but being on the edge of childhood & adulthood, rich & poor, educated and illiterate. This sense of not quite fitting into either sphere, of being an outsider among his own family, is one that permeates Garner's work. THE VOICE THAT THUNDERS documents Garner's journey and his coming to terms with these dichotomies.

In addition to discussing the sources of his fiction, THE VOICE THAT THUNDERS covers a goldmine of other topics. Garner's second career as an amateur archeaologist is the subject of "Oral History & Applied Archaeology in East Cheshire." In another essay he reflects on the mail he receives from his readers. One of the most serious essays, "The Voice in the Shadows," records his bout with manic-depression. Not every writer is as interesting as Garner, but anyone that is should write such a book as this. Like his fiction, these pieces are beautifully crafted and can be read multiple times with increasing appreciation. Garner will probably not win the Nobel Prize for Literature, but it is hard to make a case for a more deserving recipient.

I grew up reading Tolkien and Mervyn Peake and also Alan Garner. In his fiction (much of which gets classified as for children, adolescents and young adults), he is much less wordy than those two, but often more oblique and thematically ambitious. What has always struck me about his fiction is how it can be difficult without frustrating, how it can surpass the reader without making them feel stupid.

Garner's acclaimed body of work invites multiple responses and interpretations; however, this collection of essays and autobiographical pieces will definitely help the reader to get a better grasp on how the author thinks.

I thought this book particularly insightful on the connection between artistic creativity and depression (yes, creative genius does seem to be associated with it). It was also interesting to read what an accomplished author has to say about writing for publication--yes, people struggling to write literature for publication could learn a lot from a master who has not compromised his vision yet still enjoys considerable success. Still yet another fascinating topic of discussion was the connection a writer must form between a certain place and the writing: the Manchester area and Wales serve as the geographical, historical and mythological backdrops for much of Garner's fantasy, yet a recent work successfully incorporates wilderness Australia.

If you are a fan of Garner (why not check out a title like "Red Shift" or "Strandloper" at Amazon today?) or a writer who wishes to succeed at publishing (most do!), this will prove a very valuable and insightful book.

This book kicked around on the floor of my study for 6 weeks, then I read it straight through, then I immediately went back & re-read big chunks. This probably ISN'T a good idea. I am a big fan of Garner (see other reviews) but there were times in VOICE when I felt by putting this series of essays together that rather than telling us stories he in fact showed us that he has just one story to tell. The same phrases keep popping up in different settings, and read all together this becomes irritating (I kept thinking "you just said that", forgetting that these were notes for talks often given several years apart). I think I would have enjoyed the collection more if I had read each essay seperately, with sufficient distance between them to allow me to miss the repetition. That being said, there is fascinating stuff here, including some very witty & pertinent comments on writing, creativity, madness, education, and response to one's critics. There is also a wonderful "look behind the scenes" at how some of Garner's books came to be. Here there may in fact be some value in the reading of the essays all at once -one can track an early-middle-age dismissal of his first two books (sorry Mr. Garner, I STILL think they are outstanding!) to an eventual coming-to-terms-and-acceptance of their value (Whew!. The discussion of STRANDLOPER is worth the price of admission by itself. SO, my copy of VOICE is now heavily read, heavily annotated & will be inflicted in parts on generations of my students and friends. Get it, read it, but my advice is savor it, this is a collection that shouldn't be rushed.