Slammerkin
Historical fiction and I don’t really mix, at least that’s what I’ve always thought until I read Wolf Hall and was immersed in the world of Thomas Cromwell and the Tudors. And when I heard that Emma Donoghue’s Room
The title itself is intriguing – slammerkin isn’t exactly a word I’d heard of. It means a loose gown or a loose woman. And such an apt title it is. Mary Saunder’s mother works her fingers to the bone as a seamstress in 1760s London. They manage a decent enough living, food on the table, schooling for Mary, that sort of thing. But Mary feels unfulfilled, as her life is colourless:
“The bread the family lived on was gritty with the chalk the baker used to whiten it; the cheese was pallid and sweaty from being watered down. If the Digots had meat, the odd week when Mary’s mother finished a big batch of quilting on time, it was the faint brown of sawdust.”
“That Immortal Soul the teachers harped on so much – Mary knew she’d swap it quick as a blink for the merest inch of beauty. A single scarlet ribbon.”
Her hunger for colour leads her down the wrong path and eventually into a life of prostitution. It is raw, brutal and ugly, but Mary manages to find a little satisfaction in her independence, in the colours she now gets to wear. A misstep sends her to Monmouth, where her mother used to live.
The narrative of the second half of the book (in Monmouth) is divided among a few characters, and distracts the reader from Mary’s story. At the end of it, I wondered if it would have worked better to have stuck with just Mary’s point of view. Nevertheless, it was an interesting story, and while the beginning of the books hints of the ending, I was still shocked by the desperation, the harshness, the unpleasantness of it. It’s the kind of book that can easily put readers off. The kind of book that might be thrown across the room. These are characters that aren’t easy to like, perhaps not even likeable at all. Which made me wonder if one can like a book that is filled with characters you don’t like? In the case of Slammerkin, I was torn. I felt like I could understand where Mary was coming from, living in a world of browns and greys, abandonment and desperation, but the ending, arr, it was gut-wrenching, it was ugly. I didn’t regret reading this book, although I wouldn’t say that it was one of my favourites either. But it did make me think about the characters, especially Mary, quite a bit. And it is a story that will stay with me long after I return the book to the library.
Have you liked a book whose characters you couldn’t stand?
I love books where the characters get underneath my skin. Both good and bad. Bumping this up on my tbr list. Great review!
Thanks, Linda! I hope you enjoy it.
I was quite struck by this one as well; I love the way she incorporated the historical detail of the story. I’ve found that I quite often dislike Lionel Shriver’s characters, but I think she sketches them brilliantly.
I’ve only read Shriver’s We Need To Talk About Kevin, and that was quite a while ago. But yeah, I do remember being rather frustrated by the characters though. Will have to check out her other books – thanks for the reminder about Shriver!