Frustrated by the suffocating cultural apathy of her 1930s northern pit community, teenager Nancy dreams of pursuing an emancipated life in London.
When her escape strategy derails, Nancy is forced to confront the questionable moral fabric of her sheltered world, and carve an alternative path to freedom that challenges her place as a young woman in a changing world.
Swept into a heady bohemian London lifestyle, Nancy soon learns that a life lived without restraint comes at a price. As the consequences of her actions mount, she faces a future defined by her past and by life choices made that will reverberate through time.
Unapologetic in its exploration of free will within a framework of religious and societal constraint, The Coal Boat is a coming-of-age novel that probes the deepest reaches of aspiration and personal responsibility.
The Coal Boat is definitely one of the most underappreciated books of 2018, a hidden gem in its truest sense. Unapologetic, fun, thought-provoking, and heart-breaking, Nancy's story is simply fascinating.
As many coming-of-age novels, it is a rather slow-paced read; despite the story spanning over the course of four or five years, and despite the difference in place, the plot unravels slowly, which naturally allows the characters to shine through and properly develop. Nancy is, undeniably, a fascinating character. Complex, intelligent, and morally ambiguous, she is not a character that can easily fit into a single category. I did not always agree with her actions and decisions; but I could always see and understand the reasoning behind them, even if I myself would have acted differently. She was a fully fleshed, if not always likable character, which made her even more so human.
The supporting cast of characters was also quite interesting, albeit a bit more stereotypical. We have Norman, the hard-working orphan; Eve, the beautiful, charming, and slightly manipulative bisexual; Queenie, the gay artist; Arthur, the angry poet; and Daggers, the manipulative, cunning bastard. Out of all of them, the most interesting - and the most dangerous - was Daggers, a character so horribly villainous that I despised him from the very beginning. And yet, I could see why Nancy would be charmed by him; and he himself was often so charming that the initial feeling of disgust and mistrust his appearance provoked would often be forgotten.
I deeply enjoyed the writing, the timing, the setting. It was a deeply atmospheric book, and even though it often became pretentious I loved every single bit of it - especially the pretentious parts. If I'm being honest the book itself often acknowledged its pretentiousness in a wonderful, subtle way, which not only urged me to actually think about the topics discussed instead of simply dismissing them as pretentious bullshit, but made me enjoy the book a whole lot more. It was wonderful to see the bohemian way of living in London in the 1930s, in all its pretentious, messy glory.
Overall, a great, honestly enjoyable book that I wish would get more recognition and appreciation.
**An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.**
