Dorothy

Author: Neil Rathmell

Publisher: Valley Press

Available: 18^th May 2023 in Paperback

Thank you to Anne Cater, Random Things Tours, for my gifted copy and for having me on the blog tour for this book. My review is based on my experience of the book and any thoughts expressed here are solely mine alone.

Book Details

“One evening

when they are sitting quietly together

she breaks the silence

and starts to talk”

Dorothy tells the complete story of a Yorkshire woman, in verse, from her birth early in the last century to her death in the first years of this. Like so many of her generation, she lived a life both ordinary and extraordinary; shaded by grief, troubled by family dynamics, and restricted by the realities of class, location and gender. Hers was a life where survival itself, the simple act of continuing, was a victory to be celebrated – but one where the reminders of why we continue, the blinding moments of sunshine when the clouds part, were that much sweeter because of it.

Tender and insightful, harrowing and uplifting, Dorothy is a stunning act of empathy from a son towards his mother. Her story, told through the author’s assured, unpretentious verse, is both specific and universal enough to resonate with all who encounter it; to challenge some, heal others, and leave a lasting impression on the world Dorothy came to love.

My Thoughts:

I don’t know about you but when I hear or read the word poetry, I am immediately transported back to my school days and the process of critical analysis required to pass GCSE and A level English exams, where the elegance and eloquence of poems that we studied was shredded in favour of placing the authors inflections and intensions into neat little boxes for examiners to mark! Poems are a realm of literature, that many readers overlook, for a myriad of reasons; for some it is incomprehensible, for others it isn’t an easy form of entertainment in the same reading a story is, for some it is considered outmoded, a relic of our literary past consigned to the purview of dusty Professors in hallowed academic halls!

It is my belief that Neil Rathmell has, in his book Dorothy has obliterated these old morays. This book is clearly a labour of love, both of literary verse and of a loved one. I have never had the pleasure of reading a book constructed like this before. It is a biographical ode, melodious and melancholic, modern and masterful, recounting an ordinary and yet extraordinary life in versatile verse.

Dorothy is a unique reading experience and one I believe you should certainly try. I was amazed at how fluid it was to read, the language used is descriptive, evocative and sublimely simple. Neil has made his ode, easy to comprehend and the story of Dorothy’s life, her trials, traumas and triumphs come to life as you read, her thoughts and reactions too, are unequivocally Yorkshire, succinct and at times resolutely emotionally blunt, especially concerning her marriage and tragic losses, yet you can feel a sense of the woman and her expressions.

One of my favourite parts of this beautiful book, is Dorothy’s journey to India for her 90^th Birthday, now this is an epic voyage and one I am personally familiar with, as my brother-in-law is a British Indian and when he married my sister, we all travelled to India for their wedding, and this is not a journey for the faint hearted. I loved that Dorothy was courageous enough to undertake this voyage of discovery, considering her rural roots and that she had never really been anywhere before. Neil’s description of her acceptance of such new experiences on this adventure are vivid and poignant and they brought a tear to my eye, and this wasn’t the first or last time, I had to reach for a tissue while reading and I loved the presentation of a baked potato!

Dorothy is a modern mini Iliad, it is intimate, original and impressively wrought. This is unlike any book you will ever read (unless you are a devoted classicist). I am in awe of Neil’s ability to make poetic verse, so accessible and easy to absorb. I absolutely loved this book and Dorothy’s story, and I am grateful to Neil for re-introducing the concept of verse into my reading sphere. This book will not suit everyone but my goodness, it deserves to. For me, I believe this is a literary experience not to be missed and I do hope you buy a copy for yourselves and see what you think for yourselves!

 Happy Reading Bookophiles

About the Author:

Neil Rathmell was born in 1947 and grew up in Yorkshire. He read English at Jesus College, Cambridge. His first novel, The Old School, was published by Faber & Faber in 1976. His short fiction has been published in literary magazines including Ambit, Prole, Popshot and The Penny Dreadful. His plays have been produced by youth theatres and amateur drama groups in the UK, India and the Czech Republic. After a career in education which took him to Cheshire, County Durham and Shropshire, he  is now back in Yorkshire enjoying retirement with his wife, Jaspreet.

Please do read some of the other reviews on this blog tour.