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Joe Rat by Mark Barratt (view source)
Revision as of 15:47, 1 September 2020
, 15:47, 1 September 2020no edit summary
There is a claustrophobia to the story (naturally, given the settings – but one slightly lost in the final third, if I really try hard and nit-pick), a grit, a strong sense of drama and twisty surprise, but above all a realism to the book. It is perfect for the 10+ age group, but if filmed might well rank as a 12A, with the shock, surprises, blood and sewers forced down our throats as only Hollywood can. Of course there is a distinctive element to the book from the setting our hero works in – ducking his head under sewerage and risking life and limb in numerous ways – but this is portrayed surprisingly subtly. Elsewhere, if the author needed much research into the life and times of the underclasses of London, you just cannot see the joins.
I cannot finish without saying to whomever whoever might be out there that I still don't know what the last two paragraphs mean, but I can't think of not giving this book five stars. Just as Dickens can at times break into the teen audience, so this Victorian saga should break out of the teen audience and be picked up by all. I think the world, so well defined, and the story so dramatically entertaining that is set in it, combine perfectly here, in what I would hope would become a modern classic.
The Red Fox part of Random House have has a brilliant book here, which we most definitely recommend. We thank them for sending us a copy to review. We also have a review of [[The Wild Man by Mark Barratt]].
[[Scarper Jack and the Bloodstained Room by Christopher Russell]] is a slightly different beast, but shares similarities in historical setting, and characters, and is also recommended.