The Many (Salt Modern Fiction)

Recently longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, I was instantly intrigued by The Many – a novel that I may not have come across were it not for its nomination.Like many people, Timothy Bucchanan loves the idea of living on the coast. Buying a house in a Cornish fishing village seems a natural thing for him to do, although he soon begins to question his decision to buy without first viewing the property when he arrives and realises the extent of the work required to make it comfortable.Daunted but determined, he begins to renovate the property, his task made somewhat difficult by the animosity of the villagers, who refuse to talk about the man, Perran, who owned the house previously. A man who died ten years ago. Intrigued, Timothy begins to dig deeper, but should he let sleeping dogs lie?It’s clear from the outset that Timothy has moved to an insular little village, and whilst the villagers aren’t aggressive, they aren’t welcoming either. Timothy is referred to as an “incomer”, a term which to me implies someone unwelcome, and there’s more than a little “Royston Vasey” about the village. Yet the inhabitants seem oddly fascinated by Timothy. When he returns to his city home, they watch for his return, almost as though they are afraid that one day he will go and not come back. I thought that this was an interesting contradiction, and I felt that for the locals, Timothy represented change and advancement – something that seems to be sorely needed in this isolated little village, but that can be a terrifying prospect nonetheless.The setting of the novel is a little strange, and paints a significantly bleaker picture than my idea of a cosy little seaside village. The sea contains:"A profusion of biological agents and contaminants"Which makes it unsafe for swimming and has resulted in abnormal, malformed fish, and the many of the fishermen have since abandoned their trade due to the ever dwindling catches, their boats left to decay on the beach. Additionally, a number of abandoned container ships have been anchored three miles out at sea by the mysterious “Department for Fisheries and Aquaculture” to mark a boundary which the fishermen must not cross. This gave the novel an air of dystopia, and whilst I wouldn’t class it as such, I thought that it shared some traits, such as the control of this unseen government agency, with dystopian fiction.The Many raises multiple questions, and whilst the reader is given more information than Timothy, I left the novel with almost as many questions as I started with. I don’t say this as a bad thing – although some readers may be put off by its inconclusive nature – I liked the air of mystery it imparted, and it's a novel that will stay with me for some time as I continue to ponder over it. Indeed, I may reread it, and see if I can glean any more out it second time round.The Many is a wonderful, eerie little novel – haunting and bleak, this is a brilliant debut, and I’ll be looking out for future works from Menmuir.Review originally posted on josbookblog.co.uk

Wow, this was bit bleak in its tone.I felt unsettled, haunted, and fascinated all at once.Everything appeared to be happening in a dream, or a memory, or in somebody's imagination. Nothing very much was revealed to us about any of the characters, only that Timothy moving to this strange remote fishing village generated animosity towards him from most of the residents apart from Ethan who appeared to tolerate him until he started asking questions about who Perran was, this was when the craziness started.Nothing is given to you in this book, but I think this is about loss, every kind. A great book, fabulously written. I still finished the book with questions and I will definitely read again to get the answers. I have considered the title and have wondered if it relates to the jellies and their tentacles.Highly recommended

This was a frustrating read; I can sort of enjoy dystopian novels and this felt like The Road but without any journey involved.The good bits were the setting in a kind of post industrial polluted fishing port (though it felt more like NE England than Cornwall) and the hostile community was palpable. The two main characters of Ethan and Timothy were well drawn though a bit too similar and predictable - introverted men with zero emotional intelligence who never think much ahead etc etc.The problem is the plot; it relies on the community's hostility being linked to something shameful having happened to Perran but this is never revealed and we never really know 'Who was Perran?' so there is no explanation for the hostility and violence. It was also confusing that so sooner was Timothy the community's saviour (by finding the weird fish )than he was then transformed into a hate figure.When everything gets cracks in it, the house miraculously recovers from being trashed and Timothy's stillborn is revealed to be Perran then you start to wonder about the premises of the book - is the whole thing a dream or a hideously unreliable narrator whose view is distorted by grief?There were too many random and unexplained events for me though it does have a nasty aftertaste which lingers with the reader.

Very much enjoyed this atmospheric and dreamlike novella set in a Cornish fishing village. An outsider, Timothy, moves into an abandoned house which he hopes to renovate. Ethan, one of the last four fishermen still working the bay is disturbed by his presence - the house used to belong to a close friend (or perhaps more than friend?) of his who was found drowned ten years before. Most of the fish are dead now, victims of overfishing and pollution, and the catch consists of jellyfish, dogfish, and the diseased remnants of a once bounteous catch. The fishermen are forbidden to venture buying a marker line of container ships on pain of prosecution. A mysterious women in a grey suit is always there to buy the complete catch, every last fish.Surprisingly few of the questions the book raises are answered, and I bet this will annoy the hell out of some readers, but I enjoyed the strangeness, and the atmosphere. (I'm a huge Twin Peaks fan so am perfectly happy with ambiguity!) The book this reminded me of most is The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley, also a modern gothic novel drawing on British folklore and superstition. Looking forward to seeing what Wyl Menmuir writes next.

I have just finished this book and I can tell it will be one I will be thinking about for a long time to come. The tension and suspense are subtle and gradually build up in this bleak story, but just when you think you know where it is going it surprises you and leaves you with questions to ponder. This book will draw you in and stay in your mind. Highly recommended.