Fragmented and disjointed. I really wanted to like this book but just couldn't get on with it. Promising subject matter that deserved its space in the novel but unfortunately not a cohesive delivery.

Pity by Andrew McMillan is a compassionate book that’s as much about the town it’s set in (Barnsley) as it is about the people in it.

I can’t honestly tell you which parts I liked best: the thoughts of the miners as they trudged to the mine and worked there; the sociologists researching the history and decline of the town; and Simon, who works in a call centre by day and has a drag act in local clubs and bars at night. Each part blended with and gave explanations for every other component of this book, and explained the impact on the next generation.

Simon’s sections and the preparation for his show, where he would dress as Margaret Thatcher were particularly engaging. Her impact on ex-mining towns are clearly still apparent, and Simons alter ego, Puttana Short Dress, appears dressed as the Iron Lady with the slogan “This turn is not a lady!” - it’s a genius act!

I was left wondering where Simon and Ryan’s relationship would go, as Ryan seemed unhappy about Simon wearing his makeup on the journey home after his act had finished. Could he accept Simon - ALL of Simon?

This was a short read, that I would happily have read if it was twice (or more!) the length - it was all over too soon!

Recommended.

An intensly emotional, provoking perspective of 3 generations experiences, queer love, identity, politics & class within a North West mining community.

Expertly presented as a dense, short novel, in the form of layered vignettes.

It took me a while to really engage with this short novel, as it’s fragmented and disjointed and until you get a handle on what’s going on, quite difficult to grasp. Once I settled into it, however, I mostly enjoyed it, although I still think a little more coherence between the narrative threads would have been to its advantage. It’s the story of three generations in the northern ex-mining town of Barnsley. Through the Grandad we get a picture of what it was like to work down the pit. Through Alex and Brian, his sons, we find out what life was like after the closures and during the miners’ strike. Now middle-aged men they have had to come to terms with losing, to a certain extent, their identity and the need to find a new meaning in life. I wasn’t totally convinced by how one of them dealt with this, however. Alex’s son Simon is very much of the new generation who has to forge a career in a very modern way after the old certainties have disappeared, in his case as a drag artist, call centre worker and on-line sex worker. So all modern life is here and overall it’s a moving and empathetic exploration of northern working-class life. A polyphonic, empathetic and insightful multi-layered novel, it packs a lot in to relatively few pages. Masculinity, shame, family ties, fathers and sons, identity and the search for meaning link the different threads together, and it’s a book that lingers in my mind, perhaps rewarding a re-reading in due course.

With Andrew McMillan already being one of my favourite poets, I was very excited for this novel, and greatly enjoyed how he turns themes he often writes about (masculinity, class, sexuality and bodies) into a longer-form narrative, telling the vital stories of working class men with poise, humour and a love for language.

The novel also includes some fantastic moments of poking fun at political figures- a drag queen as Thatcher being a personal favourite- with some amazing moments, including truly inspired mining-themed drag queen names (Martha Scargill made me chuckle).

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This worked really well for me! It is a bit of a patchwork of a novel, telling different stories and blending different styles in short chapters, all relating to life in the North-English mining town of Barnsley.

It's very short, I read it in one day, but it packs a lot and combines interesting background with very good writing. The author could have dragged it out over 300 pages but I appreciated the restraint. I would be happy to see it on the Booker longlist come July.

Pity by Andrew McMillan is about different generations in a family and a town undergoing significant changes.

What a splendidly accomplished debut novel! Coming from a mining town myself, I was profoundly moved by it. Andrew McMillan's writing is nothing short of stunning.

Beautifully written and amazing to see a book about the mining towns in the north. Felt like the style was quite disjointed though, especially with the chapters being so short. Can’t wait to see what the author writes next!

I'm a big fan of Andrew McMillan's poetry so was thrilled to read his debut novel, Pity. It's a beautiful short gem of a book set in a former mining town, exploring questions of home, heritage and community. Gorgeously written - I loved in particular the repeated refrain of chapters flashing back to mine work, where McMillan's poetry credentials shine strongly.

Claustrophobic writing in the best way possible, this is an utterly incredible debut. Particularly resonant in light of this years news of possible Port Talbot steelworks job losses, McMillan has crafted a poignant tale of resilience, class, queer love and political identity. The books structure cleverly weaves together the different perspectives of a small former mining town, emphasizing the malleability of history and the impossibility of enforcing a single narrative on something so vast and multifaceted.

Set in Barnsley and covering the story of three male generations of a family. The parts about mining are especially moving but I did find the book a bit too disjointed for my personal taste and hard to follow at times.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Immensely enjoyed this book, very poetically written and unusual structure and place. Took me a while to get into the characters and when it was set as it jumps around a bit but really enjoyed the reflections on the way towns change as well as the central narrative.

I really loved this short but powerful book.
A look at collective memory, how community history and tragedy can shape its people.
A story about love, family, community and accepting who we are, the people we love and expressing ourselves, in whatever form we need.

Hyped as one of the books to watch out for in 2024, you always reserve just a little trepidation not knowing if the words between the covers will live up too the hype. No need to worry, Pity was perhaps one of the best novels I have read in a very long time. It’s short, the narrative economic, full of meaning, full of characters that will stay long in the mind.
You could say the main character was the Yorkshire mining town McMillan chose as his setting, once bustling, now desolate, depressed like many of its occupants.
Simon, trying to make it as a drag act, his dad, Alex drowning in alcohol and a complex past suppressing his true self. Brian, Alex’s brother reminisces, remembering the town as it used to be, his father one of the many men on their way to the pit day after day. It was these interspersed descriptions of the journey underground, of the heat, the coal dust, black faces that emerged at the end of the day that stood out.
Tragedy ensued, shaped the lives of those connected, its tremors felt all the way to the present.
In short Pity was superb McMillan the poet transitioning with ease to that of novelist.

Set in a Yorkshire pit town, this short debut novel follows 3 generations of a mining family as they wrestle with their identities.

The author is a poet and you can really tell from the beautiful writing. The structure takes a while to get used to, with short passages from each man, plus reports from a group of academics who are doing an art project in the town, as well as parts of the story told through surveillance cameras. Some reviewers felt that this gave a distance to the book, but I didn‘t think so at all; for me, it added perspective.

I thought this was an excellent read , it is a short novel but it certainly gets you thinking. Three generations of men in Barnsley and their lives, we have snippets of the times in the coal pits , living through Thatchers Britain and the destruction of this industry. It’s a book about male sexuality , we meet Simon who is a drag queen at night and also has an OnlyFans account where he makes explicit sex videos. We meet Alex who is Simons dad and has a secret of his own . Ryan works for a surveillance company watching the cameras. Brian is helping academics to understand the history of Barnsley. It’s a very poetic and moving account of the daily activities and the struggles of this town., what it’s like to meet prejudice because of your sexuality and who you are. I particularly liked the sections that go back to describe the mines , so poetic and I could feel the claustrophobia these men must have felt.

Brilliant, bold and extremely beautiful, this book should be read by everyone who has ever felt like an outsider, ever loved someone, ever been caught up in youth and promise. Amazing.

Barnsley is a town that was defined by its pit. Men are men and that's the way it has always been. For Alex it's been a repression of his feelings, for his son Simon it is a dead-end job and the escape of OnlyFriends and a drag persona and for his brother Brian it is the work with researchers about his town. Over time the pit has closed and the town has become less of itself, failing schools, lack of jobs but the people still have their pride.
Having worked in the Barnsley area many years ago I recognised so many of the characters in this book and the circumstances they find themselves in. I love the juxtaposition of the run-down shopping centre, the fact that McDonalds left the town (although there are a couple on the outskirts) and the boutique, Pollyanna. selling high-end designer clothes out of reach of the majority. The theme of the book is change but also about sexuality and it works well on all levels. It's a poetic little gem

Despite being a short novel (less than 200 pages), this was impactful and provocative.

Taking an experimental approach, with different narrative perspectives, styles and typefaces, the reader is exposed to a town (Barnsley) defined by its now defunct coal mines and a tragedy that befell it some years prior.

We get the perspective of three generations of men - grandfather Brian who worked down the mines, his sons Alex and Brian who grew up in the shadow of (though were largely unaware of) the mines but still affected by the fallout of their closure and the accident, and grandson Simon who has a burgeoning career in drag with regular club appearances and a sideline OnlyFans page.

What defines a town and who gets to tell its story? What is community and how does a community move on from tragedy? What impact do traditional male values have on expression of self, sexuality and identity? All of these and more are explored in this interesting and beautifully written little political novel that’s tipped to feature on prize lists. Thought-provoking and memorable. 4/5⭐️

*Many thanks to Canongate books for the arc via Netgalley. As always, this is an honest review.