“Cross imaginary boundaries, let go throw paint, sing cut a tree and empty it out, plant again find something hard but delicate, watch spaces for tension, be near it, but not in it, think. Design, redesign, build from what you have, you have so much already.”
My thoughts on this year’s Booker longlist aren’t really a secret at this point – I’ve found it rather lackluster. I realized today why that is when I finished Elaine Feeney’s How to Build a Boat (Vintage 2023); the majority of the books I’ve read thus far from the list are missing heart. That is undeniably why I gravitated toward Western Lane and The Bee Sting, and why Feeny’s offering is head and shoulders above some of the other entries. How to Build a Boat has a bruise and a heartbeat, and how she breathes.
Thirteen-year-old Jamie is neurodivergent, but it’s not really a plot point or the focus; Jamie is just Jamie, and the people he lets in are the people who just let him be Jamie. There are some issues with the head of the school, Father Faulks (who is the true villain of the story), as well as some other students, but it’s not the singular trait that carries his character development.
Jamie’s teacher, Tess, is also neurodivergent. It’s not as obvious with Tess, but it is there. She is also struggling with her mental health, infertility, failing marriage, and growing attraction to the rough and ready shop teacher, Tadhg Foley. Tadhg has his own demons, but it’s Tadhg who brings Jamie into the shop and convinces him that the Perpetual Motion Machine that he wants to build, that he thinks can bring him closer to his dead mom, should be a boat. And the building of this boat is healing for not just the three of them, but all who join in the efforts. Including Jamie’s father.
The Epilogue of the novel showcases Feeney’s prowess as a poet; it’s beautiful and in constant motion, like a boat on the water or a mother’s lullaby.
Read this book.
Booker count: 9 of 13
**One of the 2023 judges is a Shakespeare scholar. I’ve decided to keep track of the novels that name drop Shakespeare or his works. Jamie loves a good Shakespearian insult and Hamlet makes an appearance, so this is 6 of 9.
A Girl Named Tommi 