The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine:

The lives of three Belfast women intertwine - Frankie, a care home kid now living a life of luxury.  Miriam, recently widowed and Bronagh a charity worker.  Their sons sexually assault a young girl and the crime is attempted to be brushed under the carpet.  

There is enough here for a powerful read, but sadly this isn’t it.  The first person narrative has been done to death but for my money only Anne Enright can do it with any verve or wit.  It’s pitched as a state of the nation novel, but the narrative isn’t clear enough to follow.  The writing is too opaque, figurative to actually inform the reader what is going on.  

I would also draw attention to the characterisation in the novel.  The women - although with ulterior motives - are seen as cold, driven, unhappy.  The only real male character in the novel is Boogie (a taxi driver, the mother of Misty, the girl who is sexually assaulted).  His depiction is pure poverty porn.  Plus Misty does camwork as a sideline and the concept of misogyny, with regard to sex work and male violence is muddied.  Misty’s main client is an American.  And although we could all throw shade at America, his depiction is pure Southern fried cliche. 

It’s a novel of caricature, obscurity and coldness.  It’s published by Hodder And Stoughton on June 19th and I thank them for a preview copy.  #thebenefactors.