God's Own Country

By Ross Raisin

Book Overview

Granta Best Young British Novelist and Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Shortlisted for NINE literary awards

'Ross Raisin's story of how a disturbed but basically well-intentioned rural youngster turns into a malevolent sociopath is both chilling in its effect and convincing in its execution' J. M. Coetzee

'Utterly frightening and electrifying' Joshua Ferris

'Astonishing funny unsettling ... An unforgettable creation whose] literary forebears include Huckleberry Finn Holden Caulfield and Alex from A Clockwork Orange' The Times

'Remarkable compelling very funny and very disturbing . . . like no other character in contemporary fiction' Sunday Times

In God's Own Country one of the most celebrated debut novels of recent years Ross Raisin tells the story of solitary young farmer Sam Marsdyke and his extraordinary battle with the world.

Expelled from school and cut off from the town mistrusted by his parents and avoided by city incomers Marsdyke is a loner until he meets rebellious new neighbour Josephine. But what begins as a friendship and leads to thoughts of escape across the moors turns to something much much darker with every step.

'Powerful engrossing extraordinary sinister comic. A masterful debut' Observer

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0141033525
• ISBN13: 9780141033525
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.6" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Strange and wonderful

I've never read anything quite like this book. Despite the vernacular the author uses for the protagonist's voice, it is entirely understandable. The reader is inside the protagonist's head, and it is a very discomfiting place to be. Somehow, this odd character becomes both sympathetic and scary; it's a subtle protrayal. I found myself thinking about it long after I finished it.

astonishing disturbing look at two characters

In Yorkshire lonely teenager Sam Marsdyke was strongly told to drop out of school when he was accused of attempted rape; he left the classroom and no charge, not even assault, was filed against him. He lives and works on the family farm along side his acrimonious angry father and his submissive silent mother. Increasingly the area and the central village are being gentrified by wealthy Southerners to the dismay of generational long timers like Sam's outraged old man. Sam sees fifteen years old Josephine Reeves, who has moved with her family from London onto the adjoining farm. Already hearing about Sam's scandalous incident, her father warns Sam to stay away from his daughter or else. Still the two teens becomes friends even as Sam stalks her sitting for hours on the nearby hill to catch a glimpse of his beloved. Jo encourages him to risk more. Finally she decides to run away and persuades Sam to accompany her; not that it took much. On their trek nothing goes right until Jo insists he let her go home, but he refuses. This is an astonishing disturbing look at two characters; one might be a sociopath manipulating the other, but who is the deranged one as Sam seems obvious but Jo seemingly has cleverly maneuvered him to her bidding, or has he been the one in control. The stunning stark cover enhances the sense of doom while the local dialect adds to the overall tension of an increasingly creepy feeling that this is not going to end well. Fans need to set aside plenty of time because this one sitting read will grip the audience with the obsess need to know who, if either or both, are left standing. Harriet Klausner