Name: Goblin
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
ISBN: 9781911332305

Ever Dundas

Ian McEwan’s Atonement meets Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth in this extraordinary debut.

Goblin

A novel set between the past and present with magical realist elements. Goblin is an outcast girl growing up in London during World War 2. Having been rejected by her mother, she leads a feral life with a gang of young children amidst the craters of London's Blitz.After witnessing a shocking event she increasingly takes refuge in a self-constructed but magical imaginary world. In 2011, a chance meeting and an unwanted phone call compels an elderly Goblin to return to London amidst the riots and face the ghosts of her past. Will she discover the truth buried deep in her fractured memory or retreat to the safety of near madness?In Goblin, debut novelist Dundas has constructed an utterly beguiling historical tale with an unforgettable female protagonist at its centre.

Moray Lyle McIntosh

Goblin is the only name by which we know narrator, a reader-in-residence at Edinburgh Central Library whose best friend is a homeless Scot whose life goal is to eat (yes, eat) literature. In alphabetical order, of course. But news of a grisly discovery in London which dates back to the early days of the Second World War and Goblin's own difficult East End childhood. The news hits Goblin hard and she falls ill, with only Ben and his dog Sam to care for her. When her strength returns it is only to discover that the contents of the makeshift grave; animal bones, broken toys and a camera among them, have placed her at the site and identified her a the photographer. Eventually she must return to London to face her past, even while the riots of 2011 bring the city into chaos. Her journey in memory takes us even further, from the bombed-out streets of the Blitz, to a less-than-idyllic evacuation in Cornwall, a travelling circus, the canals of Venice and the tenements of Edinburgh.

The blurb is somewhat deceptive. While much of the novel hinges on that liminal area between dream and reality, imagination and the real world, Goblin is not magical realism in the way that that term is usually understood. Instead, Dundas teases us with unsettling penetrations of the impossible (and often nightmarish) into the light of day. Goblin's companion Monsta is unexplained for a long time, described only by a few confusing and and unpleasant features but its constant presence on the periphery adds suitable unease. The final reveal is both touching and troubling, a winning combination that Dundas manages with impressive flair.

This is not an easy read. It is dark and sometimes distressing (the aftermath of the pet massacre of 1939 sets the tone) with themes of war, delusion, abuse, neglect and violence. But it is also bold and baroque. Dundas has a real feel for imagery which is sometimes grotesque but always affecting and really put me in mind of Baudelaire's ability to disgust and invite at the same time. Some of the events are quite far-fetched but they are grounded in wonderful, warm characters and a vivid evocation of place in the wider context of Dundas's peculiar gothic atmosphere they do not feel out of place. Underpinning all of this is a deep understanding of the period of Goblin's childhood. Britain has a tendency to romanticise its wartime experience and expunge some of the darker tendencies of the Home Front experience. Evacuees did not always receive the warm welcome and kind shelter that CS Lewis's Professor gave to the Pevencies, the civilian population were not immune to excessive and violent reactions in time of panic and the need to pull together certainly did not erase all crime or overcome all divisions. Dundas acknowledges all of this without denying that there was also plenty of courage, kindness and sacrifice. It's a clever touch to contrast all of this with the London Riots of 2011. The comparison was made at the time (we always fall back on the rose-tinted idea of the "Blitz spirit) but in Goblin it is far more subtle and credible.

I loved Goblin. Despite all the potential pitfalls of a fantastical plot and monstrous (in every sense) characters it demonstrates Ever Dundas's confidence and a sure knowledge of herself-as-writer that is remarkable for a debut novel.

Goblin

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