The Mating Habits of Stags
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Eye Books
Published:24th Jun '19
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
`A taut, spare story of survival that turns on its heel to become something altogether braver, rarer and more precious' - Melissa Harrison; 'A gritty Northern noir, it's a book about love, loss, grief, revenge and lust, and it's just got this brooding and intense atmosphere to it, so you can't stop reading it. Highly recommended' - Simon Savidge; 'A stunning novel. Ray Robinson is a wonderful writer. Raw, lyrical, and intensely moving' - Essie Fox
The lyrical new novel from the award-winning author of Electricity and Forgetting Zoë
‘Poetic and powerfully brutal...a one-off’ – The Times
The lyrical new novel from the award-winning author of Electricity and Forgetting Zoë
SHORTLISTED: Portico Prize
Midwinter. As former farmhand Jake, a widower in his seventies, wanders the beautiful, austere moors of North Yorkshire trying to evade capture, we learn of the events of his past: the wife he loved and lost, their child he knows cannot be his, and the deep-seated need for revenge that manifests itself in a moment of violence.
On the coast, Jake’s friend, Sheila, receives the devastating news. The aftermath of Jake’s actions, and what it brings to the surface, will change her life forever. But how will she react when he turns up at her door?
The Mating Habits of Stags is a journey through a life of guilt and things unsaid – and as beauty and tenderness blend with violence, Robinson transports us to a different world, subtly exploring love and loss in a language that both bruises and heals.
An early version of the story was released in 2016 as the short film Edith, starring Peter Mullan and Michelle Fairley, which was Bafta-longlisted for Best British Short Film.
‘A wonderfully empathetic account...full of candour, lyricism and compassion’ || ‘It’s a one-off. What makes it so special is Robinson’s descriptions of nature. Poetic and beautifully brutal — no “hello, trees” mimsy. The dialogue is no-nonsense Yorkshire demotic. A heady mix’ - The Spectator - Robbie Millen || ‘Ray Robinson’s novel of revenge and counter revenge, of reconciliation, and of love and growth in the thawing of an iron landscape, is a masterwork of unforgiving beauty’ - Yorkshire Times || ‘Rich, compelling stuff’ - Metro || ‘This extraordinary novel gets under the skin from the first paragraph. Robinson never goes for the trite or the neat. Hope and humanity emerge against the odds in a bittersweet and starkly beautiful tale that lingers long in the memory’ - Yorkshire Post
‘A wonderfully empathetic account...full of candour, lyricism and compassion’ || ‘It’s a one-off. What makes it so special is Robinson’s descriptions of nature. Poetic and beautifully brutal — no “hello, trees” mimsy. The dialogue is no-nonsense Yorkshire demotic. A heady mix’ - The Spectator - Robbie Millen || ‘Ray Robinson’s novel of revenge and counter revenge, of reconciliation, and of love and growth in the thawing of an iron landscape, is a masterwork of unforgiving beauty’ - Yorkshire Times || ‘Rich, compelling stuff’ - Metro || ‘This extraordinary novel gets under the skin from the first paragraph. Robinson never goes for the trite or the neat. Hope and humanity emerge against the odds in a bittersweet and starkly beautiful tale that lingers long in the memory’ - Yorkshire Post
‘A wonderfully empathetic account...full of candour, lyricism and compassion’ || ‘It’s a one-off. What makes it so special is Robinson’s descriptions of nature. Poetic and beautifully brutal — no “hello, trees” mimsy. The dialogue is no-nonsense Yorkshire demotic. A heady mix’ - The Spectator - Robbie Millen || ‘Ray Robinson’s novel of revenge and counter revenge, of reconciliation, and of love and growth in the thawing of an iron landscape, is a masterwork of unforgiving beauty’ - Yorkshire Times || ‘Rich, compelling stuff’ - Metro || ‘This extraordinary novel gets under the skin from the first paragraph. Robinson never goes for the trite or the neat. Hope and humanity emerge against the odds in a bittersweet and starkly beautiful tale that lingers long in the memory’ - Yorkshire Post
‘A wonderfully empathetic account...full of candour, lyricism and compassion’ || ‘It’s a one-off. What makes it so special is Robinson’s descriptions of nature. Poetic and beautifully brutal — no “hello, trees” mimsy. The dialogue is no-nonsense Yorkshire demotic. A heady mix’ - The Spectator - Robbie Millen || ‘Ray Robinson’s novel of revenge and counter revenge, of reconciliation, and of love and growth in the thawing of an iron landscape, is a masterwork of unforgiving beauty’ - Yorkshire Times || ‘Rich, compelling stuff’ - Metro || ‘This extraordinary novel gets under the skin from the first paragraph. Robinson never goes for the trite or the neat. Hope and humanity emerge against the odds in a bittersweet and starkly beautiful tale that lingers long in the memory’ - Yorkshire Post
‘Ray Robinson’s novel of revenge and counter revenge, of reconciliation, and of love and growth in the thawing of an iron landscape, is a masterwork of unforgiving beauty’ * Yorkshire Times *
‘This extraordinary novel gets under the skin from the first paragraph. Robinson never goes for the trite or the neat. Hope and humanity emerge against the odds in a bittersweet and starkly beautiful tale that lingers long in the memory’ * Yorkshire Post *
‘Rich, compelling stuff’ * Metro *
‘A wonderfully empathetic account...full of candour, lyricism and compassion’
‘It’s a one-off. What makes it so special is Robinson’s descriptions of nature. Poetic and beautifully brutal — no “hello, trees” mimsy. The dialogue is no-nonsense Yorkshire demotic. A heady mix’ -- Robbie Millen * The Spectator *
‘Ray Robinson’s novel of revenge and counter revenge, of reconciliation, and of love and growth in the thawing of an iron landscape, is a masterwork of unforgiving beauty’ * Yorkshire Times *
‘This extraordinary novel gets under the skin from the first paragraph. Robinson never goes for the trite or the neat. Hope and humanity emerge against the odds in a bittersweet and starkly beautiful tale that lingers long in the memory’ * Yorkshire Post *
‘Rich, compelling stuff’ * Metro *
‘A wonderfully empathetic account...full of candour, lyricism and compassion’
‘It’s a one-off. What makes it so special is Robinson’s descriptions of nature. Poetic and beautifully brutal — no “hello, trees” mimsy. The dialogue is no-nonsense Yorkshire demotic. A heady mix’ -- Robbie Millen * The Spectator *
- Short-listed for The Portico Prize 2019
ISBN: 9781785631511
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 22mm
Weight: 311g
224 pages