Pity
A poignant exploration of identity and resilience
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Canongate Books
Published:8th Feb '24
Should be back in stock very soon
This debut novel explores the lives of a mining family in Northern England, highlighting themes of identity, community, and resilience. Pity is a profound narrative.
In Pity, Andrew McMillan, an award-winning poet, delves into the complexities of community, masculinity, and the effects of post-industrialization in Northern England. The narrative unfolds in a town that once thrived on industry, where men labored in the depths of the mines, their work both perilous and meaningful. As the town's significance dwindles, the story questions what it means to belong in a place that has lost its purpose.
At the heart of Pity are brothers Alex and Brian, who navigate their identities against the backdrop of their family's mining legacy. Alex, now in middle age and grappling with the fallout of his personal life, confronts aspects of himself he has long kept hidden. His son Simon, a product of a world untouched by the mines, finds solace in his side hustle and drag performances, illustrating a generational shift in values and aspirations.
Through the lens of three generations of a South Yorkshire mining family, McMillan crafts a poignant narrative that serves as both a tribute to a bygone era and a celebration of resilience. Pity invites readers to reflect on the intricacies of love, loneliness, and the potential for transformation in the face of adversity.
Tender and true. It explores with brilliance and deep empathy how our lives - and our secrets - are always intertwined with those who went before us -- DOUGLAS STUART
The poet's deft first novel conveys the personal and political pain felt by three generations in his home town . . . This is not a novel specifically about the strike and its outcome, although its embittered legacy is skilfully threaded through its pages . . . the narrative is impressively ambitious . . . a novel of huge compassion * * Guardian * *
A deeply felt and rich enactment of love, loneliness and personal triumph that leaves an indelible mark on modern Queer life. With the poet's precision and capacious resistance to resolution, wherein doubt is transformed into force, McMillan's first foray into fiction is a magical one -- OCEAN VUONG
McMillan proves himself a gifted storyteller -- JACKIE KAY * * The Times * *
We already knew that Andrew McMillan could turn a phrase. With his debut novel, he also shows us a rare gift for storytelling. Pity digs deep into the heart and history of South Yorkshire and brings out the black gold of love, longing and loss. A triumph -- JON McGREGOR
Pity pays a great poet's tough but tender attention to the unspoken layers and historic fissures which lie beneath the wounded town of the self. This beautiful book about the marks that are left on people and places in turn leaves a deep empathic mark on the reader -- MAX PORTER
A magnificent kaleidoscope of a novel: sad, wise, enlightening and empathetic * * Independent * *
An astonishingly good book . . . I know already Pity will be one of my books for 2024. It's that good -- VAL McDERMID
As befits the work of an award-winning poet, not a word is wasted in Pity, Andrew McMillan's slim, spare, sparkling story about three generations of men in a Barnsley mining family . . . uplifting and mournful, full of hope and regret * * Financial Times * *
Pity is as tough, glittering and multilayered as the coal upon which it rests. With lyrical prose and deep tenderness, Andrew McMillan beautifully explores the complex hauntings of love and grief across generations -- LIZ BERRY
ISBN: 9781838858957
Dimensions: 220mm x 144mm x 22mm
Weight: 313g
192 pages
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