A really lyrical read. Telling the story of twins Daniel and Cathy who live with Daddy, the book covers the themes of conflict over land, politics and being the outsider. The shocking conclusion ends a book which will stay with me for a long time.

This dark and unique tale really grew on me after a puzzling start where I struggled to get my bearings. It didn't do any of the things I normally think of as an effective opening, but quickly drew me in with its sheer originality and lyrical prose.
There are some chillingly violent moments but what stayed with me afterwards was the hope and the love in what could be seen as a morally barren world. The central family, unconventional and mysterious, are such compelling characters that they shine in the bleakness of the world around them. There a few answers here but the journey is mesmerising.

I couldn't get into this book at all. The italic sections were particularly off putting and a lot of the language seemed to be early 20th century rather than contemporary. The narrator' s prose was also very poetic for a poorly educated child. It felt as if the writer has potential however and I will be interested in her next book.

Elmet is a beautifully written novel. There is an atmosphere that draws you in, a sense of being in and of the landscape that feels both gritty and timeless, putting human beings onto a level with the animals and foliage of England’s wooded land. At the centre of this wood are Daniel and his sister, Cathy.
Daniel and Cathy haven’t had a stable upbringing. Their father and mother move in and out of their lives and they are cared for mostly by their grandmother. When she dies and their mother has moved out for last time, their father pledges to stay with them always and to build them a home where they’ll be safe. A home, it turns out, in the woods on land that once belonged to their mother.
Divided between an italicised account in which Daniel searches for a her that you soon realise is Cathy, and an account of the events that led him to this search, there is a taut line of telling that flexes over the bones of a story about relationships between people, land, family, community and society. It is bleak and it is raw - drawing attention to those who live at the edges of official society, those who are poor and easily exploited - but it is also thoughtful and articulate, weaving a kind of magic of the faery tale into the modern world. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a compelling read by an incredibly talented young author. The story explores family relationships and is just brilliant.

gorgeously written and immediately captivating, I very much enjoyed this and look forward to reading more from this author. Hard to believe this was a debut!

This is a story which makes many demands on the reader's emotions. It swings from being a gentle tale of a father bringing up his feisty daughter and more emotionally dependent son. It deals with important contemporary social issues then becomes seriously violent. It takes considerable talent to combine these extremes in one book but the author does it convincingly and with a style appropriate to each thread.

Elmet, the place, lies to the east of Doncaster and the south of Castleford and is where my mother’s forbears came from. In many ways Elmet is a mythic place. I confess the rural woodcut on the cover and the title lulled me into thinking Elmet would have mythic qualities. It does, sort of. Not in a mistily romantic way but in a feral, on the edge of twenty-first century society sort of a way. Violence threads through Elmet, the closeness of family and the beauty of the Elmet also weave in and out. Elmet is a book that gets you thinking from the first word, this is Fiona Mozley’s first novel and I look forward to her next.

Narrated by the younger brother Daniel, this tells of a tightly woven complex family who live in isolation from others and a father who lives on the wrong side of the law.

Living in a house built by the father on land they do not own, they are at the heart of bare knuckle boxing and feuds.

Daniel's narration is both charmingly innocent and perceptive creating an uneven pace adding to the atmosphere and violence throughout.

A perfect and simultaneously difficult read, a phenomenal book

I was unsure when I started this book whether I would enjoy it or not. The idea of a book written by a woman but narrated by a young boy is unusual but it captivated me very quickly.

Daniel, the narrator, lives in isolation with his sister, Cathy and his "Daddy" who he hero worships. their idyllic life together is threatened.

The book is wonderfully poetic and although the narrative style takes some getting used to, the characters become rich as the story grows and it's a very rewarding book.

I enjoyed this book. I found the story of this family and its difficulties compelling and original. The narrative is quite bleak, and violent, but also lyrical in its own way with an almost fairy tale quality at times.

Raw and powerful, but uneven throughout, this short, explosive tale is best read in a single sitting to get the most from the build-up of atmosphere, and to avoid the breaking of the spell which allows disbelief to enter.

Mozley has a heightened style of prose, a bit Wuthering Heights with its insertions of dialect and mythic landscape, a bit Ted Hughes (witness the title) as his most epic and self-conscious. The whole thing builds to an orgy of violence that we've been waiting for from the start.

Not the most subtle piece of writing, but forceful and compelling all the same.

At once grim and lyrically beautiful. This tale of Cathy, Daniel and their Daddy is as grim as it is northern. Daddy is both a bare knuckle fighter, a towering giant of a man and a gruffly tender caregiver. Raising his children alone in a house that they have built themselves on land they don't own makes for a complex tale of debts, revenge and blackmail. Cathy is a strong girl, fearless and with a determined independence whilst Daniel is a gentle soul, carefully treading his way through the world walking to the beat of his own drum. Written using the northern vernacular is something I found very appealing and authentic and it put me in mind of the honesty of writing by authors such as Sillitoe and Hines. I can well understand why this book made the journey from the wild card of the Mann Booker longlist to the shortlist..

I started to write a review of this book and realised that couldn't really improve on all the other reviews which have been published. This really is a superb book by a very accomplished new writer and I am looking forward to reading more in the future.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. what a wonderful surprisingly delightful and well written book.

It's hard to believe this is a work by a debut novelist. This is such a vivid and challenging work that it's no wonder this has been short-listed for many of this year's awards.

Elmet is the story of Daniel, his father and sister and their isolated lives away from others. Throughout the story, you feel there is so much being unsaid that you feel drawn through the narrative to understand more about why the characters have come to live away from society the way they do.

This is not an action-packed story, but it is a wonderfully constructed one that explores the characters in close detail which is perfect for me as I am someone who enjoys a character-heavy story rather than a plot driven one. I am really intrigued to see where this writer will go next!

Danny and his family live on the edge. In their self-built cottage in the woods they are detached from mainstream society, almost invisible to it, self-contained in their self-sufficiency and innocence. But the margins are where it all starts to disintegrate and, as Danny discovers, living on the edge is insecure and ultimately dangerous. This is an unusual novel. The setting seems to be more or less contemporary, but it also feels primeval and unlocated in time. The writing is very distinctive and, appropriately, slightly detached. Even when the violence explodes, the visceral yet clinical descriptions have a fatalistic, dream-like quality which is unsettling. It’s probably fair to say that this is a brutal and bleak book, but it’s also a powerful and lyrical one that reverberates in the memory like a tragic folk ballad.

It is almost hard to believe that this is the author's debut novel - it is so beautifully written and put together with real skill. It tells the story of Daniel, his older sister Cathy and their father - always referred to by the narrator as 'Daddy' - as they try to build a life together without interference from the outside world. As the book develops it becomes clear that there are a lot of sinister influences that their father is trying to protect them from, The innocence of Daniel, the narrator, throws the harsh reality of their lives into sharp relief. In fact, it's a real novel of contrasts, There is softness and beauty - the gentle love of their father, and a really touching scene with some Christmas tree lights. But there is also hard, bloody violence. It's a story of great rage, told with real tenderness, and I look forward to reading more of Mozley's work.

I

A haunting story, beautifully written, of a family living on the edge of society. Daniel and Cathy live with their father and have a dysfunctional family history. A sad tale of a family who cannot escape their past. Highly recommended.

Daniel, who is 14, lives with his sister, Cathy, a year or so older, and his Daddy, on the edges of society. The mother, who was only ever an intermittent visitor, has not been seen for years.

Daddy builds a rough-hewn house on land he does not own, in an attempt to provide a settled life for his children. This venture is precarious at best and dangerous at worst. The landowner, Mr Price, soon comes knocking. He is willing to sign over the land, but at a cost. Daddy, a giant of a man, takes part in illegal fights and once worked for Price as a heavy and a debt-collector. He is unwilling to be 'owned' by Price again.

At first things seem relatively normal - within the parameters of their unusual lifestyle: Daddy manages the copse, chops wood, catches food, does odd jobs; Vivian, a neighbour who has known Daddy in the past, home-schools the children erratically from her own diverse and personal range of books. Cathy runs wild but Daniel is of a quieter disposition.

By turns prosaic and poetic, the narrative (told by Daniel) gradually reveals the secrets of the past. Rooted in the land, formerly known as Elmet, the novel depicts a life mud-splattered, hand-calloused and steeped in silence. A sense of unease soon turns to menace and the denouement is shocking.

A certain amount of poetic licence must be allowed as Daniel's narrative style seems too flowery and knowledgeable for a boy with little formal education. I didn't find this a problem though, and accepted it readily. However, the start felt a little slow to me and I almost gave up. I am glad I didn't, as I was soon drawn in to the strangeness of the story.