Treacle Walker

Written by Alan Garner

Narrated by Robert Powell

‘Playful, moving and wholly remarkable’ Guardian ‘A small miracle’ New Statesman ‘Mastery of craft, resonance and deep feeling on every page’ Telegraph

An introspective young boy, Joseph Coppock squints at the world with his lazy eye. Living alone in an old house, he reads comics, collects birds’ eggs and plays with his marbles. When, one day, a rag-and-bone man called Treacle Walker appears, exchanging an empty jar of a cure-all medicine and a donkey stone for a pair of Joseph's pyjamas and a lamb's shoulder blade, a mysterious friendship develops between them.

A fusion of myth, magic and the stories we make for ourselves, Treacle Walker is an extraordinary novel from one of our greatest living writers.

‘All the exuberance and eccentricity, all the deep thought and resounding mythology of [Garner’s] best work’ Observer

‘Spare and allusive… luminous and understated’ Rowan Williams, New Statesman

‘Cryptic, evocative, sparely told and deceptively simple’ Carolyne Larrington, TLS

A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR • A TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR • A GUARDIAN BEST FICTION BOOK OF 2021

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Oct 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9780008478155

Alan Garner

Alan Garner was born and still lives in Cheshire, an area which has had a profound effect on his writing and provided the seed of many ideas worked out in his books. His fourth book, ‘The Owl Service’ brought Alan Garner to everyone’s attention. It won two important literary prizes – The Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal – and was made into a serial by Granada Television. It has established itself as a classic and Alan Garner as a writer of great distinction.

Reviews for Treacle Walker

[mae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Phantastisch!!! Selten eine so mitreißende phantasievolle gelesen! Geben Sie der Geschichte eine Chance und genießen Sie!!!

[jennybeast · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Weird little bite of a book that is basically an infinity loop of early British folklore imagery chasing itself through mirrors and time. It's well done. It's not my cup of tea. It's not awful, but also why did I even bother? I should know better than to think I would enjoy this. I find literary fiction annoying. Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

[Andrew Farnsworth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A good way to spend a few hours. A nice bit of whimsy.

Nice narration by Powell.

[Toria Richards · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's, Amazing, charming, thought-provoking, childlike and adult. Read it now.

[eyejaybee · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

As a primary school pupil I read and reread Alan Garner’s book Elidor, in which a group of children from a disadvantaged area of Manchester find themselves transported into another world. I was fascinated by it and loved the way that the author conveyed the strangeness of the child protagonists’ new surroundings.I was eager, therefore, to read this new novel from Garner, now well into his eighties, especially after reading the gushing reviews that proliferated across the press after the book was longlisted for last year’s Booker Prize. Well, I seem never to learn. Once again, I have allowed rampant expectation to lead to crushing disappointment.I found the book utterly impenetrable, and the only positive aspect I can offer is that it was mercifully short, coming in at around 150 well-spaced pages. Still not short enough for my taste – I would have preferred 150 fewer pages, which would have enabled me to devote my valuable reading time to something more rewarding.

[carltonc_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a really dense read for such a short book and I will have missed many of its allusions, even though being British and of a certain age I had familiarity with many. The language is mythic, timeless, and playful.I have only read Garner’s early books for children about forty to fifty years ago, and I suspect that readers who have followed his subsequent books will find much more to enjoy.But overall the book didn’t “work” for me as it was too immersed in Garner’s specific background, and I was spending time trying to fathom meaning, rather than immersing myself in the storytelling.

[castlelass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is an odd little book. Treacle Walker is a rag and bone man. He appears on a horse-drawn cart and interacts with a young man, Joseph Coppock, who lives near a bog. It reads like an allegory and is filled with symbolism. The language is playful, inventive, and occasionally old-fashioned. The author employs a series of magical realist elements that tell a fragmented story, leaving much to the reader to figure out what is going on. Time is a major theme. On first read, it is apparent that an understanding of British folklore is necessary to fully enjoy it. It is a short book, so I researched and re-read it to better comprehended the symbolism. I think it will appeal more to those already familiar with the works of Alan Garner.

[j.s.watts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A mythical, multilayered tale of childhood and mystery.

[spaceowl_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Find myself agreeing with SChant a bit. Incomprehensible rambling from a once great author which at least has the decency to go after 150 or so pages. Not my thing at all.

[schant-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Terribly disappointing after the wonder and charm of his earlier works. This is like an old bloke in the corner muttering gibberish about "the good old days" - dull, pointless and somehow pitiful.