#notthebooker review no.1: ‘Chains of Sand’ by Jemma Wayne

*Note: I’m trying to read and review the shortlist for the Guardian’s #notthebooker prize

There are lots of really excellent things to say about ‘Chains of Sand’ by Jemma Wayne.

Conceptually the novel is interesting and for the most part engaging. Israel / Palestine but not through high-level politics. Instead it asks what the conflict means for those on the ground, what it means for Udi and Daniel. The former born in Israel, Jewish, but of an Arabic background, the latter also Jewish but born in North London and yearning for Israel.

It’s a personal look, a nuanced examination of how the ongoing conflict affect both those inside the region but also those viewing it from afar.

The two men provide a nice contrast in viewpoints and lived experiences. Daniel in particular seems to give the writer a good chance to gently prod the idea of how possible it is to understand a complex situation from the outside.

Beyond this, I was impressed by the way in which the novel explored the romantic lives of Udi and Daniel, both young men, making clear that the political background did not define them, although it did play an important role in all their thinking.

So why was ‘Chains of sand’ ultimately disappointing?

The problem in the first place seems one of technique. The writing is too often flat, dull, the style not living up to the substance of the storyline. For example, early in the novel when Daniel moves over to Israel he’s scared of guns, bombs and ultimately of feeling like a stranger in a place he wants to feel at home. You’d expect the writing here to set a tone of edgy uncertainty, of never quite knowing where you are. Think ‘A bad day at Black Rock’. Instead it felt more like Wayne was describing a child’s first day at school, a little worrisome but ultimately no big deal. She seems almost disinterested.

There was disappointment too in the characterisation beyond the two protagonists. Too often you find yourself wondering where a character has come from, why they are here and what their purpose is. Too often they seem to appear to make a single polemical point then disappear. The additional characters were also too undifferentiated internally, unlike Udi and Daniel they seem to not have separate internal rhythms and thought-patterns.

Finally, there is a structural issue with the novel. Sections of the novel are told in flashback. But these flashback sections are clumsy, clunky, they don’t fit seamlessly into the main plot, they jar the reader out the flow and then fail to adequate show their relevance to the main storyline. Personally I would have preferred either fewer flashbacks or more focussed flashbacks that looked less at minutiae and more at the substance of the central character’s views.

Many people, particularly those very interested in the subject matter, will enjoy ‘Chain of sands’. And for the casual reader it has much to recommend it. It is certainly not a bad novel. But it could have been much more.