September 11, 2023
English author Garner, known primarily for children’s fantasies such as Red Shift, offers a hypnotic and surreal adventure in this Booker-shortlisted outing. Joe Coppock, a child of unspecified age, wears a patch over his lazy eye and spends his time reading comic books. One day, he hears a rag-and-bone man named Treacle Walker calling through the window and trades Treacle his pajamas and a lamb bone for a pot and a donkey stone. After Joe accidentally gets some of the paste from the pot on his good eye, he has a series of strange encounters, including one with Thin Amren, a naked man in a bog, who explains how Joe can see magic. He finds the power distressing and asks for guidance from Treacle, who often speaks in riddles. As details from Joe’s life bleed into his comic books, he longs for his previous, simpler existence, and near the end he takes a bold fantastical leap in hopes of returning. Garner blends accessible prose with elliptical references to Northern England mythology (“put the clout to the glamourie and use the glim that’s in the mirlingoes”), which will send curious readers down a rabbit hole. This is alluring and elusive in equal measure. Agent: Karolina Sutton, Curtis Brown.
April 1, 2024
Beloved fantasy writer Garner offers a literary exploration of death and dreams wrapped inside the structure of a children's tale. Tracing the story of young Joseph Coppock's encounters with the rag-and-bone man Treacle Walker, Garner's metaphors are firmly grounded in the folklore of the United Kingdom and echo back to even his earliest work, 1960's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. Robert Powell's theatrical narration simultaneously lends the book deep drama and childish wonder, underlaid with an air of practicality. His Joseph fully embraces the uncanny world Treacle Walker's medicine reveals while still marveling at the "daft" strangeness of it all. The dingy normality of Coppock's home and routine slowly fracture, inviting listeners to puzzle at the inconsistencies of this uncertain landscape. Powell's storytelling prowess makes the magical feel normal while tinging Joseph's life with an uncanniness that bleeds into the extraordinary. This juxtaposition of literary fiction and middle-grade fantasy may not work for every listener, but it's an interesting endeavor with a density and a short run time that invite relistening. VERDICT Garner's latest evokes Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy with the joining of philosophy and childhood perspectives.--Matthew Galloway
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.