ManBookering discussion

This is a discussion thread for Solar Bones by Mike McCormack. Please be courteous of spoilers; if you are going to discuss them, give fair warning of page/chapter number or use the spoiler tag. Thanks! Happy discussing.

Finished this one yesterday, and I am surprised that nobody here is discussing it yet. On the subject of spoilers, there is something of an elephant in the room, in that some editions, including the original Irish version, had a massive spoiler on the blurb which was approved by the author, and knowing it makes the ending seem a lot less contrived.

The book is stylistically unusual in that the whole book is a single incomplete sentence, with no full stops or quotation marks but some commas and line breaks. Given those constraints it is a surprisingly easy read. Although the book could be read as a mid-life crisis novel, its range of subject matter makes it a lot more interesting than that might suggest.

I read this back in October last year when it was up for the Goldsmith's Award (which it won). I read the original Irish edition with the big spoiler on the back. Initially, I was cross with the author/publisher for spoiling the book, but then I started to understand why they had done it and I eventually came to the view that it is a far better read when you know the spoiler going into it.

I found the opening and closing few pages the best. They are very poetic, very atmospheric. The section in the middle keeps the single sentence idea going, but only really in name. If you put full stops where you read "and" or other "joining words", then it isn't all that different to normal prose. But, that said, the single sentence brings a different rhythm to it, I think: it adds to the dream-like nature that is appropriate for the spoiler.

I know I enjoyed reading it. But, if truth be told, I don't have a hankering to go back and re-read it.

I'm currently reading this book, just over half way through and enjoying it a lot more than I expected to. I didn't know what the spoiler was before I started, as I'm reading a library-ebook, so didn't read the blurb at all, but I noticed it come up in my Goodreads feed, as it's in the first sentence of the book description. I've also heard that the author wanted people to know this before reading, but I kind of wish I didn't. I guess I'll have to consider how I feel about this spoiler/ not spoiler issue once I've finished.

A few of us on this site asked the author about the spoiler, at the drinks after a reading just before the Goldsmith award last year, and he confirmed he wanted the spoiler but did not want it to be in the text of the novel

That's interesting that he didn't want it in the text of the novel. I'm wondering if or how it's revealed in that case. I guess I'll have to continue reading.

Pink. Sorry not sure I explained that very well, he just didn't want it revealed up front in the text.

Neil re your comment on re reading, I have re read it for the Booker and found it a very enjoyable read second time around. In terms of the style, I agree the joining words could be replaced by full stops but I think the effect is to mimic the narrator's thoughts as they flip between topics and events, the joining words showing how his mind moves continuously from one thought to another. Reading interviews with the author, it's also related to the spoiler.

I've finished this and mostly enjoyed it. I really loved the format and writing, just some of the topics about civil engineering went on a bit much for me.

Just started; love it so far!!!!

Just finished - EXCELLENT. Don't let the one sentence gimmick put you off reading the book. If you're a fan of Autumn or Satin Island then do check this out.

As mentioned in the general thread, here is a brief comment from the podcast interview with Lila Azam Zanganeh (LAZ) and Colin Thubron (CT) on the longlist selections.

Solar Bones
LAZ: Solar Bones is a book I sort of fell in love with instantly because its style is incredibly beautiful. It’s almost one run-on sentence. It’s Joycean, which is very hard to pull off. I think all of us who are writers have read Joyce, of course, and, in a way, dream to emulate him, and very few can. And somehow, in his own completely original way, he’s channeled the Joycean in something lyrical and poetic that actually truly works and becomes a work in its own right.

I really enjoyed this one! Definitely in my top 6 right now. I was also spoiled for this one (I think I read it in an early press release or something after the longlist was announced), but I don't think it really spoiled the reading experience for me. In fact I think knowing the spoiler helped me view the book through a different lens which I really enjoyed.

The comparison made to Satin Island is spot on! Loved both books! The stream of consciousness is no babbling brook but the raging of a mighty river in Solar Bones. The stories and the moments touched me - only criticism: author has clearly never played Civilization!

Gumble's Yard wrote: "Pink. Sorry not sure I explained that very well, he just didn't want it revealed up front in the text.

Neil re your comment on re reading, I have re read it for the Booker and found it a very enj..."

I just finished it, and I really thought it was outstanding. In my mind, the single sentence is not a gimmick in any way, shape, or form, but rather it fits the theme of the book perfectly. I felt as though the book was, in many ways, about the relentlessness of real life. I loved how it focused on the small things - - the hassles at work, the daily relationships with ones adult children, and then the big things that come and wallop you while you still have to contend with all the small ones. The run on sentence exemplified that same feeling . . .as though there's no natural place to stop reading, and you (the reader) don't control the ebb and flow of the book, in the same way our control of life's curve balls and flow are necessarily limited. I am rambling, but honestly, the more I think about it, the more I really think this book is especially well done.

I am crossing everything that this wins! Although it is a single sentence monologue, it is still easy to read. Actually knowing Louisburgh (where it is set) quite well, this novel captures the atmosphere of the community brilliantly and McCormack's descriptive skills are exceptional. I found that situations that were getting Marcus frustrated were winding me up too as the reader. Parts of McCormack's style reminded me of Ali Smith, but perhaps less abstract. I also got the comparison to Satin Island coming through as well. Although I think Ali Smith may finally clinch the prize this year (and I am a fan of hers), I think this is more worthy as I don't think that Autumn is Smith's finest work. Fingers crossed...

Neale wrote: "Anita wrote: "Gumble's Yard wrote: "Pink. Sorry not sure I explained that very well, he just didn't want it revealed up front in the text.

Neil re your comment on re reading, I have re read it fo..."

Oh my gosh, that is the nicest comment I think anyone has ever said about anything I've written on Goodreads, Neale. Thank you. I really hope you feel it in the same way I did if you try it again.

David wrote: "I am crossing everything that this wins! Although it is a single sentence monologue, it is still easy to read. Actually knowing Louisburgh (where it is set) quite well, this novel captures the atmo..."

I haven't read all the books sadly, but of the nine I have read, I'm rooting for this one!