The Honours is a book that I bought upon the recommendation of Robert in Jarrold’s book department during independent bookshop week. It is a book that had caught my eye in the past – mainly the design of the oversized paperback with a half-sized dust jacket of the clashing green. I loved the overall appearance of this book.
So needless to say, with a recommendation from someone I trust, I went in to this book with very high hopes! It was one that took some time to get in to – I was still waiting for the ‘weird’ to kick in at 175 pages and I was starting to get frustrated, it has to be said. I almost gave up and then I went in to Jarrold’s and spoke with Robert and that really gave me the motivation to continue. I’m really glad I did!
This book follows Delphine, a slightly precocious 12/3 year old at the brink of WWII. Her parents and her end up at this manor house in the Norfolk countryside which is filled with outrageous characters. Delphine has a gut feeling that something weird is going on and noone believes her – she is seen as a nuisance by pretty much everyone. It starts off very slowly, it took me over half of the book before I was actually fully invested in it, I really struggled with the first half. Then it starts to get a little weird and, Robert was right, I liked it. There was this undertone throughout the first half that did give that hint that it was going to get a bit hinky, but then BOOM suddenly you’re thrown in to this mad, fantasy story. It did feel a little forced, maybe. I can’t quite put my finger on it…
Tim Clare is a poet. In parts of this you can very much tell that he is a poet. The writing is beautiful, it sort of sweeps over you and whisks you away in to Delphine’s world. It was rich and full of imagery and once I got in to it, an absolute pleasure to read.
So, while I loved the second half. The first half really pulls this down so it was very easy to give this book 3*, it has its good and it has its bad points so a nice “I liked it” suffices. I’ll definitely be checking out some of Tim Clare’s poetry in the future though because his prose is wonderful!
Love the cover. The story of a pre -teen moving into the brink of war, written in poetic prose sounds intriguing!
It is rather intriguing. It does get very strange from page 200, but then it all comes together very nicely. I’m not sure I would say it’s the most believable fantasy(esque) story I’ve ever read but it’s definitely a very readable one!