When We Were Romans
by Matthew Kneale
published by Picador
price 7.99
I said ‘what’s wrong mum?’ and she went really quiet, she said ‘what d’you mean?’ so I said ‘somethings gone wrong, I can see it in your face.’ She closed her eyes a bit, she said ‘oh Lawrence, I don’t want to upsit you with all of this’ and she sort of squinted her eyes. I thought ‘she will tell me now’ so I said ‘all of what mum?’ and she did a little moan, she said ‘I don’t know what to do, its so awful, we just can’t go on like this.’ I really hated it when poor mum went sad like that. I thought ‘what can I do to help her?’ but I couldn’t think of anything, I tried and tried, I thought ‘this is bad’ until suddenly I had an idea.
In this beautifully executed, immensely ambitious novel, Kneale demonstrates his considerable talent as a ventriloquist. Laurence’s narrative – pitch-perfect and painfully convincing – displays the fragility of family relationships and the devastatingly contagious element of the paranoia that comes with mental illness with an astonishing lightness of touch.
WHEN WE WERE ROMANS is an unbearably unsettling and sensitive portrayal of the unravelling of a woman’s mind, as understood by her son.
‘Heartbreakingly moving. This is a poignant, haunting and lovely novel.’ Joanna Briscoe, Guardian
‘Brims with ambiguity and builds to a heart-in-the-mouth finale.’ Mail on Sunday
Comments
Great read
31 October 2008
This book was so gripping and often very funny. It was so poignant it left me with a lump in my throat - family relationships are rich subjects and Matthew Kneale has done himself justice with this account.
Hauntingly memorable
31 October 2008
Lonely and lovely with a heart-stopping ending.
Fine book - good story well told
31 October 2008
This is a really tender book retold in the voice of a small child as he travels across Europe with his mother. The journey is a forced one, fleeing the cruelty of a loveless father and husband. Very well written, sensitive and not overly worked. Mathew Kneale is a fine writer.
A tender and very readable
11 November 2008
I got completely into this book immediately - I thought I would find the style annoying as it is written as it would be spoken by 9 year old Lawrence, but it made the story very real. The predicament of the family is an awful one but it is handled with great sensitivity and humour makes the bleak moments bearable. A very good read.
A really challenging read
30 December 2008
Although I considered it a good story overshadowed by a dominating style of narration, it definitely has potential for book club discussion.The young boy narrator's necessarily limited vocabulary and phonetic spelling I at first found disconcerting, then challenging then slightly tiring. However, about two thirds way through the book the story gathered momentum and took over from the style. The drastic effect a mother's mental imbalancehas on her youg son became gripping,and it was imperative to know the outcome.It was acceptably realistic in the family's relationship with one another, and the people around them in a very fraught situation. Both the story and the style would provoke plenty of lively discussion in a book club.
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