Review of David Almond and Alison Light by Hetty Touquet

Review of David Almond and Alison Light

by Hetty Touquet

On the 30th April I went to an NCLA organised talk featuring the authors David Almond and Alison Light, who were there to read from and discuss their new books ‘The Tightrope Walkers’ and ‘Common People’. The two complemented each other beautifully as each book’s inspiration had stemmed from their personal lives; Alison with her search into her family history, and David drawing inspiration from his childhood on Newcastle Quayside.

Alison spoke first about her book ‘Common People’, giving an introduction to the process behind it before reading from it. I was astounded by the dedication that it takes to chart your family history. Alison journeyed all across the country and even abroad to pin down the lives of her ancestors. I found it interesting that not only did Alison want to bring to life the plight of so many of her ancestors, she also wanted to highlight the fact that there is no such thing as fate. She made the joke that if she were to have an ancestral home it would be that of the Workhouse. She made it clear that she wanted her readers to understand that their circumstances were influenced by the situations in which they found themselves, just because it happened centuries ago does not relegate it to the hands of fate. Sometimes sad and brutally honest in her approach to unearthing her family history, the intrinsically linked historical and fictional roles within the novel move together in a compelling manner. Alison joked about how researching family history was about as addictive as porn and internet shopping- something which I imagine to be true due to the sheer mass of information which you could potentially unearth about your family, juicy hidden secrets and revelations!

David Almond mixed the workings behind the novel with readings from it. Through his readings and explanations it became clear that through this novel he wanted to explore the liminal space between adulthood and childhood. ‘The Tightrope Walkers’ seems to be a heady mix of gritty reality and romance. David drew upon his childhood, living in Newcastle Quayside and then as a young adult, cleaning out oil holders within shipyard to form the basis of the novel. He spoke about how important it was for him to incorporate a sense of reality into his book. His personal experience of Newcastle also lending itself to the use of the Geordie lingo within the book, providing insightful and authentic characters.

In the conversation afterwards, led by Linda Anderson, they debated the issue of authenticity; its importance to them and also whether they thought that it has a place in fiction writing. Both authors agreed that, for them, a sense of authenticity was important- allowing them to engage fully with characters, and in terms of ‘Common People’ representing the plight of Alison’s ancestor in a way which does them justice.

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening as I have read David’s novel ‘Skellig’ when I was younger, so I personally found it very interesting to hear him talk about his move into a more adult audience with ‘The Tightrope Walkers’.

This review was written by Hetty Touquet.