Northern Writers

Book Review: Class, Violence and Female Friendship in Pat Barker’s Blow Your House Down

While so far, this column has been used as a space to spotlight and celebrate new books by Northern women, I’m excited to take a slightly different approach in the year ahead. Platforming fresh voices remains an integral part of these reviews, but I’m also interested in sharing some iconic books written over the last century that I think are essential to the Northern literary canon.

This month’s pick marks the first of those: Pat Barker’s Blow Your House Down. Best known for her First World War trilogy, the third instalment of which won the Booker Prize, and more recently her feminist takes on ancient tales, I find this book often slides under the radar. I’ve pushed this into many hands since reading it, and every one of those people loved it, so I decided it was time to give this book its rightful spot in the NRTH LASS library.

Blow Your House Down was published in 1984 and follows the lives of a group of sex workers living in the North of England. Loosely based on the Yorkshire Ripper murders, the story is driven by a killer who roams the streets and targets vulnerable women. Despite the risk of death now associated with their jobs, they have children to feed and rent to pay – life must carry on. Like most sensationalised serial killer sagas, documentation of Peter Sutcliffe’s crimes often focuses on the man himself and the brutality of his murders. While fictional, Barker’s narrative places priority on the victims of such crimes and restores agency to the women impacted by the violence inflicted.

The working-class women in Pat Barker’s books are powerful, tender and complex, and Blow Your House Down is no different. Her intensive use of dialogue captures this brilliantly, crafting conscious and believable conversations between the characters. She incorporates a distinctive Northern dialect without patronisation and creates women worth falling in love with on the page. Written in the midst of Second Wave Feminism, Barker’s novel speaks strongly to the idea that sex work is work, and women who partake in such activity should be viewed no less than any other. During the Ripper investigation, prostitution was vilified by police and the media, and Sutcliffe’s victims were blamed in part for their own death. Blow Your House Down represents the multiplicitous perspectives of women and exposes the bigotry of this narrative.

Despite the grim circumstances faced by the women in this novel, the fierceness of their friendship is undeniable. They are comrades in arms, there for each other at every turn and brought together to fight against a common enemy. The women understand the danger posed to them by a patriarchal society and go to extreme lengths to ensure each other’s survival. This is demonstrated when another woman is savagely murdered by the killer, and her lover embarks on a mission to avenge her death – whatever it takes. The characters in this book fear the worst, but in friendship, they become more powerful than ever.

Above all, Blow Your House Down is a deeply honest representation of what it is to be a woman in a society rife with violent men. It highlights how minority groups are exposed to further risk, how working-class women suffer at the hands of men and how sex workers are blamed when men act out. The impact of this book is immense, and despite being written in the 80s, its social commentary remains more relevant than ever.

If you’re a fan of literary crime narratives with a strong message at their core, you will adore this touching and nerve-wrenching novel. Buy it here to support the indie bookshop community.

Words: Beth Barker

Beth Barker is a writer and blogger from Blackpool, and co-host of Up North Books, a podcast celebrating books and writers from the North of England.

Beth wanted to contribute a monthly review to NRTH LASS in order to shine a light on Northern women writing great books. The North is very much underrepresented in publishing and she hopes a monthly review throughout 2021 will showcase the talent Northern women have to offer.

For more book reviews and insights on publishing in the North, follow Beth on Instagram and Twitter.

Anna Wood’s Yes Yes More More: Stories of Pleasure and Friendship

A not-so-sunny May marks the launch of the warm and eclectic short story collection by Bolton-born Anna Wood: Yes Yes More More. Published by The Indigo Press, Wood’s debut is a comical, heart-warming and introspective example of masterful short fiction — an absolute treat for readers and aspiring writers alike.

The book’s blurb promises ‘stories that explore the radical possibilities of pleasure’, something that was immediately apparent even in the first few pages. Delving into the decades of a woman’s life, Wood gives readers a look at unexpected situations, hilarious interactions and surprising characters, all while maintaining absolute clarity and creative use of language.

During her live book launch on Instagram, hosted by the brilliant Alice Slater, Wood shared some interesting insights about the collection and the process of writing it. Written over 10 or so years, Yes Yes More More is truly an example of how time and dedication really does produce precision — and arguably perfection too.

I was intrigued to know how the author’s Northern identity impacted her writing of the book, and asked how place is relevant to her work, particularly in stories like Rise Up Singing which is set in her hometown of Bolton. During the Q&A session, she described Yes Yes More More as very much a ‘northern book’, despite the majority of the stories being set in London. Northerness as a feeling is certainly present throughout; there’s a certain amount of joy, honesty and raw comedy that’s evidently reminiscent of culture in the North.

Rise Up Singing explores a day in the life of two Boltonian teenagers, Janey and the book’s protagonist, Annie Marshall. It’s set in the 90s and they’ve taken acid before their English class — the perfect inciting incident for any great story.

The way the author captures their friendship in glittering moments of dialogue and familiar camaraderie was certainly memorable, something that can be seen throughout the collection. As well as poignantly representing friendship, the story is a whirlwind of place and setting. From lingering in Toys R Us to kissing miscellaneous men in night clubs, Wood has a very unique ability to really bring an age and a location to life.

In Chronicle of a Baffled Spinster, the author documents a year in the life of her protagonist. Each month is captured in small moments: rejection by a man she likes; joy in the presence of music; sexy dresses and smear tests. Reading this story was like seeing life through a series of postcards, the most memorable message of all being that pleasure can be found wherever you choose to acknowledge it. If nothing else, this chronicle brimming with life was just another confirmation that Wood’s collection is pure brilliance.

Yes Yes More More is completely unique. Finding short stories that glow with insights on life, all while causing you to laugh out loud can be quite the feat, one Anna Wood has quite clearly achieved with this masterful debut.

Yes Yes More More was published in May by independent publisher, The Indigo Press. You can purchase it here.

Words: Beth Barker

Beth Barker is a writer and blogger from Blackpool, now working in Manchester. She also co-hosts Up North Books, a podcast celebrating books and writers from the North of England.

For more book reviews and insights on publishing in the North, follow Beth on Instagram and Twitter.

True Crime, Trauma and Hope: Girl A by Abigail Dean

Abigail Dean’s Girl A is set to be one of the biggest books of 2021, a prediction that can be concluded as completely well-deserved upon reading it.

The story is narrated by Lex Gracie, better known as the girl who escaped from the House of Horrors, a location of crime made infamous by headlines in the novel. Lex and her six siblings were victims of abuse, held hostage and starved, a fact made even more harrowing when the perpetrators are revealed to be their own parents. Now a lawyer in New York, she is faced with the death of her imprisoned mother and the house left behind in the UK, forcing her to reconnect with her siblings and come to terms with the childhood they shared. Through a carefully-crafted and weaving narrative, Lex tells the story of her escape, her suffering and the way such trauma and abuse is processed.

A key element of Girl A which makes it stand out amongst other books of similar content is Dean’s effort to avoid explicit reference to the abuse itself, a refreshing take which allowed more thoughtful reflection and at times, a more focused reading experience. In an interview with The Bookseller, Dean explained her interest in writing a book that ‘deals less with the intricate details of the terrible things that do happen, and more with how trauma is processed’.

This intention definitely came to fruition in the novel. Lex’s position as narrator allowed a reading journey reminiscent of any real crime story; outsiders can never possibly understand the experience of victimhood in its entirety. The narrator often felt cold and distant but also at times tender and intimate, marking a successful attempt by the author to demonstrate how trauma and recovery often manifests itself. This process reaches climatic heights in the novel’s powerful twist, both unexpected and completely brilliant.

Part of Dean’s inspiration for the book originates from a true crime story traced back to the Turpin family, California. The case saw a couple charged for imprisoning their children and subjecting them to a cascade of neglect and abuse, only discovered after the escape of their seventeen year-old daughter.

The links between Girl A and the Turpin case are stark, injecting Dean into a tradition of writers using true crime to inspire fiction, some notable examples also from the North of England include David Peace’s 1980 and Pat Barker’s Blow Your House Down. Both of these authors took true crime stories and utilised them as inspiration for iconic literary fiction — Dean could well be on the path to joining them with her intensely compelling debut novel.

If Girl A could only be summarised by one word, that word should be hope. The author builds a story full of characters who feel alive, pulsing with real feelings and experiences. Their reactions, dialogue and personalities all contribute to an overwhelming achievement in terms of characterisation, something which is often missed out on when horrendous crimes are allowed to take centre stage. The relationships in the novel were particularly absorbing, especially when childhood rivalries and loving bonds were tested between the siblings. Hope is at the forefront, despite the memories of pain, and it is definitely a testament to the strength of victims everywhere who have experienced such abuse.

As far as debut novels go, this one is an absolute accomplishment. Combining true crime, trauma and proof of hope, Girl A is as memorable as it is captivating.

Abigail Dean is a lawyer and author, born in Manchester and raised in the Peak District. You can buy her novel now, available here.

Words: Beth Barker

Beth Barker is a writer and blogger from Blackpool, now working in Manchester. She also co-hosts Up North Books, a podcast celebrating books and writers from the North of England.

For more book reviews and insights on publishing in the North, follow Beth on Instagram and Twitter.