Nature Trail by Benjamin Zephaniah
invention. Yet, while there are some good comic passages, and the central theme – the destructive power of money and its disregard for human values – will meet with approval from many readers, the novel veers too often into what is fanciful rather than imaginative. The register is inconsistent. There are too many scenes which simply don’t work and this makes for an impression of incoherence. A severe editor might have suggested revision which would have cut many passages and improved the novel by eliminating much that seems self-indulgent.
Mozley is very talented and there
concerned that Pexton’s activities have poisoned the water and the soil; that there are crop failures and a high rate of infant mortality. The father of the central character, Thula, travels to the city to plead their case, and never returns.
The novel has a fascinating structure. It opens with a kind of Greek chorus, using the first person plural. It then ranges through the voices of the young
Thula, her uncle, her mother, her is much that is enjoyable here. But the novel is badly structured and incoherent. At moments it is a comic extravaganza; at others it promises to deal with genuine emotions and real questions, then draws back. Mozley hasn’t fallen at the second novel hurdle, but she hasn’t quite cleared it and so stumbles before regaining her balance.
I have no doubt that she will write better novels, ones which more fully engage with the realities of experience. This book may then be recognised as a holding action, a staging-post on what should be a distinguished career.
grandmother and her brother, each time interspersed with “the children.” Imbolo Mbue uses a clever “past future” tense; the chorus will refer to events yet to be narrated that they did not know about at the time.
There are a few off-key notes. More than one section about sexuality, desire and abuse seems shoehorned in, but overall, How Beautiful We Were is necessary, powerful and achingly humane.
Poet Benjamin Zephaniah’s latest book, illustrated by Nila Aye, taps into the feelings many of us have had during lockdown. We’ve found new joy in nature – and anyone trapped in a flat or self-isolating will fully understand the heartfelt cry at the end of the book: that we all deserve a garden of our own. This beautifully illustrated picture book is a joy to read with small children, with lots of charming creatures like beetles in feather boas and hedgehogs playing cards, and the poetry makes it a delight to read out loud. It encourages you to look at nature, and notice everything from the snails searching for food to the caterpillars waiting to turn into butterflies. The illustrations make it very inclusive, so children will be able to see themselves reflected in the pages.