Disputed Land

'Disputed Land' was a Book Club selection which was thoroughly enjoyed by our members; so much so that we all chose to read the author's previous novel, 'Landed' as an additional read. I am awarding 4 stars for 'Disputed Land' because although 'Landed' tackled a darker subject, it had that extra 5 star edge. Incidentally, the artwork on the covers of both novels is amazing. Tim Pears, or 'tinned pears' as he became known, was an unfamiliar author to our group, but has now become a firm favourite.Set some 50 years in the future, amongst the rolling landscape between Birmingham and the Welsh borders, Theo, the novel's middle-aged narrator, reflects upon a series of personal & social events which took place over the Christmas period of 2008 when he was thirteen years old. His grand-parents had summoned the family together, inviting them to place stickers on any items they wished to inherit. What an explosive topic!Unlike others, I felt that Pears had produced a fabulous cast of family characters and was adept at drawing out the foibles and grudges among them. He has a sharp eye for the poignant domestic detail and his feel for the family home and surrounding countryside through time and change is both skilful and atmospheric.In this most engaging novel, Pears asks, 'If a single family cannot solve the problem of what it bequeaths to the future generation, then what chance does society have of leaving the world intact?'This is a very worthwhile read.

Theo's family is gathered together for Christmas at his grandparents house so that they can all "lay claim" to the various pieces of furniture around the house.Using a teenage boy as the narrator works well as he can stand back and observe as if an outsider, often the way that teenage boys feel.I had a few problems with some of the sentence structures. Sometimes the text didn't flow and I needed to reread the occasional section in order for it to make sense.Very quickly you begin to realise how cliched the characters are, even the narrator who is the teenage oddbod (and an only child to force home the point). This seems a wasted opportunity as the book holds a good story but is overshadowed by the unbelieveable characters that appear in it.There are some very typical and well observed family interactions, particularly good is the talking about other family members that goes on being closed doors.Where the book fails for me is that it is trying to make a serious message but does not do it successfully, ie about what world we leave behind to our descendants. Simply recording a family Christmas may have worked much better. Still worth a read though as it does have a lot of good qualities.

"Disputed Land" is Tim Pears's seventh novel and, as in "Landed", he has chosen the countryside around the Welsh border, specifically Shropshire, for its setting (the epigraph is from Shropshire's own lad, Housman, "On Wenlock Edge"). A family gathers for Christmas at the home of the narrator's - 13-year-old Theo's - grandparents. We are soon made aware that some sort of closure is imminent - all the adult children are instructed to label any items of furniture they may wish to inherit. Each character, as always with Pears, is carefully and skillfully drawn, warts and all, and the grandparents particularly so. This is fitting, as one of the novel's themes is how the past always manages to pervade the present. Pears again excels at describing nature and the surrounding landscape, and despite the rather bleak future that seems to await us, according to what the narrator, a much older Theo, tells us from time to time, this is a wonderfully warm novel, confirming yet again that Pears is one of England's finest writers.

Rosemary and Leonard Cannon summon their children and grandchildren to their home for Christmas. When everyone is settled they proceed to stun their family with a rather unexpected request, they ask that their children should take a good look around the house and its contents and put stickers on any items they wish to inherit.The story is told through the eyes of Rosemary and Leonard's grandson Theo, a thirteen year old boy observing the chaos around him as his family attempt to share the holiday in harmony.Although I appreciate it was well written I did not get where this novel was going, in my opinion it was quite a dull and cliched read.

Terrible book but delivered in record time