Crusaders by Richard T. Kelly

Publisher synopsis:

"Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Autumn 1996, and things can only get better - or  so believes the Reverend John Gore bound for the North-East after a  decade's absence, charged with the mission of 'planting' a new church  in the deprived West End of town. But on his return to a Victorian city  in the throes of 'regeneration', Gore finds his task complicated by  run-ins with three impressive locals, all of whom he needs to  successfully bring off his mission. Slowly these relationships draw him  into a moral maze, as he learns more than he wished about the secrets  people keep so as to live with themselves."

Themes for discussion:

An epic contemporary novel, set in the North-east of England, that explores themes of politics, religion and life in the North in a deeply serious but highly readable way.

What did you think the novel has to say about the role of religion in today's society?

Which one of the three main characters did you sympathise with most, if any?

What overall impression does the book give you of life in the North-East?

Does the novel offer you a convincing portrayal of working class life in the North, and give the reader a strong sense of place?

We look forward to reading your opinions. There are a few reading copies remaining, if anyone would like to read the book and join in the discussion.

Just email greg.eden@waterstones.com for your copy, but do be aware that the number available is limited.

Buy the book

Comments

[Neil Fulwood]

With the sheer size of the novel and social commitments over the Christmas break, it'll be a while before I finish it. Not that the prologue and first chapter give me any motivation to keep reading.
The prologue must rank as one of the most turgidly overwritten things I've come across in ages. Phrases like "keening easterly" and "sedentary horses" pile up against each other like falling rocks. Lumbering, top-heavy prose. I guess, with the hamfisted stab at quasi-religious metaphysics in the closing paragraphs, Kelly is aiming for the heightened, Miltonic prose of Cormac McCarthy. But falling a long way short.
The first chapter firmly establishes a sense of place - the Northern Republic of Cliche, where the characters all say "gannin'" and "you knaa". This is akin to having a Nottingham-based character end every sentence with "mi duck", or a Londoner come out with "gor blimey" at every opportunity.
Here's hoping chapter two lifts it out of the doldrums, otherwise I might be consuming two turkeys this Christmas.

[A.P.]

Wow! What with the size of the book and it being christmas it might take a while to read. May I wish Greg and my fellow book clubbers a merry christmas and happy new year.

[Clive Wallis]

I enjoyed Crusaders and read it fairly quickly. The way Kelly uses the Newcastle dialect was a distraction at first but once you get used to it it flows well.

My political leanings are similar to what I can gather of Kelly's so I thought it painted a very accurate and honest account of life amongst the working class in the north. The novel deals with the decline of heavy industry and the resulting social issues in a moving and engaging fashion.

I identified with Gore much more than I thought I would before I started. Despite not being religious myself I found the story of Gore's calling and his subsequent journey with his faith to be quite gripping. Of the three main characters it was Gore I could connect to most.

Some reservations: I thought that the book was slightly overwritten. The language was somewhat stylizied (for example the repeated use of "repast", references to "topcoats"). This made some sense when dealing with Gore but stood out when talking about Lindy or Stevie. Using parent's names instead of Mum and Dad or Mother and Father also bothered me. Again, one character might do this - all of them, especially in working class Newcastle, would not. The writing style made a little more sense when I read the acknowledgments and saw Kelly's mention of Dostoevsky. Hommage is fine; stealing an entire style and trying to fit it into contemporary Newcastle is pushing it!

[Lynsay Lambert]

I have to be honest, i didnt start this book very optimistically. I am not really one with a distinct interest in religion, so i wasnt really sure how much the story would entertain me... and its a big book!!

However, i was very pleasantly surprised, as i found the book very engaging, with fantastically written characters! I think the time period was very well captured (bearing in mind, i would have been a toddler at the time, I was very quickly drawn in and captured by the story!!

[Anne Cater]

It happens very rarely, but sorry I gave up on this one. I usually tackle a thick heavy book with glee, I love something to get my teeth into, but not this time.
I didnt like the writing style, agree it was over written. I didnt engage with any of the characters and just found it incredibly boring.
I dont know if the Christmas holidays had anything to do with it and my frame of mind. Maybe I'll give it another go at a later date.

[Karen Sykes]

This one very nearly beat me but I have made it beyond halfway and will no doubt finish it now I have made it so far. Like Anne I hate to give up on a book but it was a close call with this one. These are just my initial thoughts and the ones that I feel are most unlikely to change as I complete the final third of the text.

I agree with Neil's initial comments - the prologue and first chapter were almost enough to beat me! I will wait to hear what else Neil thinks as he makes his way through subsequent chapters. I think the only thing that has kept me reading is the fact that with the social goings on of the Christmas break I have picked it up for a short time in the evenings and just plodded through it as a matter of habit more than anything else.

The constant use of dialect was irritating from the start and I have not found, like Clive did, that it flowed better as I progressed through the story. I find myself having to re-read much of the dialogue making it an extra tedious read. I have not found the characters to be at all likeable which is a further hindrance. There are plenty of words on the page, but I don't find that they do anything to give me a feel for the characters - to either like them or dislike them, or a feel for the place either.

I am originally from the north myself, though not that specific area of the north. I don't dispute that places like Hoxheath exist in the north (I have never come across one myself thankfully!) I am quite sure that they exist in every other part of the country too. It is possible that the story is an accurate reflection of life on such estates wherever they are in the country but to say that they paint a realistic picture of life among the working class in the north in general I would say is unfair and inaccurate.

[S Jackson]

"With the sheer size of the novel and social commitments over the Christmas break, it'll be a while before I finish it. Not that the prologue and first chapter give me any motivation to keep reading."

I have to agree with Neil here and would go on to second Anne's comment and say I had to give up on this book.

Not sure if it was the size and look of the book combined with the time of year, which made it difficult for me to get into it.

Having read some of the book I have to second some of the opinions and say that, the writing style, subject, size and look of the book failed to draw me in I'm afraid.

With that said like to wish a happy new year to all of the book group and also to Greg!

[Denise Powell]

I read this in mid-December and then completely forgot to post my comments, so hopefully I can remember enough about it!

I was quite intimidated by the size of the book at first, but I am interested in the politics/social history of the 1980s and 90s (rise of New Labour etc) so that kept me reading.

Of all the characters I suppose I sympathised with Gore the most - I found his naivity quite touching. I thought that Stevie was a bit of a characature.

Overall though I found it quite bleak and I certainly don't agree with David Peace that it's 'The Great British Novel of this Decade'.

[Clive Wallis]

I've read the comments so far and whilst I can sympathise with those that didn't make it to the end I would say to anyone else do stick with it. It takes 50 or so pages to get into, but then it takes a while to get going with any new author. Don't give up!

[Clive Wallis]

P.S. I don't think it's 'The Great British Novel of this Decade' either. Does anyone have any ideas what is?

[Adele Winston]

Apologies for criticising a brave attempt but shouldn't a Faber editor have pointed out that the sheer length was over-ambitious, and that "from whence" is a mistake?

[Adele Winston]

Is there a list of nominees for Great British Novel of the Decade? If so, may I nominate Sarah Waters' "Affinity"?

[Caroline Watts]

I seem to be feeling the same as others, the prologue and first chapter certainly have discouraged me from reading this book. I am trying desperately to battle with the book, I really do hate to give up on a book! Those who have finished it, is it as good as the jacket says?

[Georgina Tranter]

Okay so I am only halfway through so far, but pleasantly surprised. After reading the 'blurb' on the back cover, I really didn't think this would be my sort of book, but it has turned out, so far, to be quite an enjoyable read.

The characters are well-formed and believable, and I can imagine Newcastle as it is painted through the book. The only downside (apart from its length!) is the constant going back and forth through time. I have been struggling with that somewhat and have had to keep going back to the start of the chapters to remind myself what era I am meant to be in. That said, halfway in and I will finish this, but I'm not quite sure when!

[Steve Grice]

This one nearly defeated me as well, but I managed to plough through it until the end.

From the jacket blurb, I expected the story to focus more on the lead up to the Labour election victory, trying to capture the spirit of change and renewal that I remember in the air at that time. I was disappointed to find none of this, and the cameo from Blair was pretty unnecessary.

The central story of John Gore, his relationship with Lindy and her ex-partner Stevie would have made a decent novel in itself. The Pallister storyline was superfluous and the labour history got a bit too dry at times. If there'd been a decent editor for this book, it could have trimmed down to a good thriller.

[Karen Sykes]

Well, I have finished it finally and I am no more impressed at the end than I was at the beginning. I am not sure it was worth trawling to the end and half wished I had given up like several others after the first few chapters.

I do tend to agree with Steve that a much trimmed down version focusing on the characters of John Gore, Lindy and Stevie would have resulted in something much more readable.

[Clive Wallis]

Nomination for Great British Novel of this Decade (GBNoTD): Saturday by Ian McEwan.

[amw]

Having been away over Christmas and therefore only actually receiving the book in the New Year I was worried that I'd have missed the boat as far as the discussion goes.
However I also am having difficulty getting to grips with this book, but having read other posters' comments I will battle on a bit longer as from the jacket blurb I think the content has potential.

[A.P.]

Sorry I have been defeated and I don't take defeat easily! I spent quite a lot of the 70's and 80's protesting about or supporting various political activities so was looking forward to this book,but I lost the will to keep reading just past the half way mark. I really did not care what happened to any of the characters.I found the way the book kept going backwards and forwards in time did not help in getting the characters to gell in my mind and found that I had to repeat pages as I was not sure who I was following.I agree with Steve Grice a decent editor was needed.I shall put it to one side and MAYBE on a sunny summers day try again, but I'm not promising!

[Neil Fulwood]

The over-riding theme of this discussion seems to be annoyance at having to give up on a book. A month after I'd originally posted and I've slogged my way through no more than another 12 pages, sometimes only reading a couple of paragraphs a night before tossing the book aside in frustration (everything about it irritates, from the overwrought prose to the characters to the clunky use of dialect) and picking up something else.

As far as 'Crusaders' is concerned, it truly is a case of "life's too short".

Steve Grice and A.P. are bang-on in saying that the novel would have benefited from a thorough editing.

Great British Novel of this Decade? Off the top of my head, 'The Night Watch' by Sarah Waters or (ignoring the jokey title - an incisive and often quite serious novel lies behind it) 'Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks' by Christopher Brookmyre.

[Shirl Hopkinson]

I didn't start reading this as soon as I received it as I had flu and I couldn't cope with the size of it at that time.

I'm now attempting to read it but like many others I too am struggling with this one. I've decided to persevere with it a bit longer to see how the characters develop.

[Elaine Dingsdale]

I approached this novel with more than a little trepidation, and found it a bewildering and challenging read. It was "alright"/reasonable, but I won't be rushing to read any more of this author's work! I suspect his gifts may be better used for factual books-this being his first novel-but as a writer of fiction, he seems to wander around, at times aimlessly, both with plot and character development. Initially I was interested both in the location and the central character-and if there’s any redeeming features in the novel, they are to be found there. Like Clive, I did find Gore’s journey and calling interesting, and wonder if that alone would have sufficed for the content of this work. I wasn’t too concerned about the shifting timescales, although did need to pay close attention to which era we were in , but other than that, as a narrative, the changes in time worked reasonably well for me.
Overlong, and rather pretentious in aim, but it has a few things to commend it. Such a shame that the scope was far too ambitious to succeed ,and appeal to a wide audience. “Novel of the decade”? I think not!

[Steve Grice]

One other thing I thought before I actually read the book, was that it was going to compare the C11th Crusaders' zeal with that of the Labour Party c.1997, whilst contrasting with the lack of zeal of the modern day church. I was sorely disappointed, but was I reading too much into the title?

Anyone seen the review by Adam Mars-Jones in the Observer today? It largely echoes Neil's and Clive's comments on the overwrought language used in the book.

[Michael Scanlon]

I agree that the opening 50 to 100 pages are very difficult to get through. The language is very dry, the north-east dialect becomes difficult to read at times and the introduction of the main characters, in my opinion, is overdone. Which all goes to slow the story down to barely walking pace when perhaps a bit more momentum is needed.
Having said that I've just finished the book and it's well worth perservering with.
A lot has been said about the size of the book but that's one of the things I admire about it. Kelly is clearly a very ambitious writer in the way that American writers like Mailer or DeLillo are, and for that I will not criticise him.
Once the story does get into its stride it is completely absorbing. There is a definite sense of morality being tested and lines being drawn or crossed as the plot unfolds. The situations that arise throw up very complex moral dilemmas. I'm not saying it's completely successful, it clearly falls short in several areas, but it's refreshing to read something with genuine weight to it. A film director once decribed his films as putting a man up a tree, throwing things at him, then bringing him down again. I was reminded of this several times while reading the book. Simple but effective.

[sharon rowe]

I too looked at the book and thought it really wasn't my sort of book. I nearly did give up! It took me about 150 pages before i could say i got into the plot and what was really going on. The best bit was the end, I really didn't think Gore made a very good vicar and i wonder at his placement.
It is not a book for the faint hearted and i agree with other posts that it could have done with some editing!

[Michael Scanlon]

I'd be interested to know, from those that managed to finish the book, what they thought about the depiction of 'working class' life in the book. I cringe whenever I hear the phrase, but I thought one of the redeeming features of the book was Kelley's depiction of the landscape and the peripheral charactrers that make up the north-east; the so-called 'working class'. Depicting any group of people north of Coventry can often sound like an idealised, romanticised view of things that seems to hark back to DH Lawrence. I don't think Kelley falls into this trap. His descriptions of characters and place never felt like parody.

[Steve Grice]

I thought that the depiction of working class life was somewhat cliched. Drugs, broken marriages, alcohol and fighting were commonplace; gender roles were firmly stuck in the seventies.

Also, I did not really get a sense of place from the book. Maybe it was the authors intent to represent a soulless place, but this does a dis-service to the North East.

What I did enjoy was the ending - the final Stevie Coulson chapter was gripping and unexpected. It left John Gore in a very uncomfortable place.

My nomination for GBNotD - Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson.

[Helen P Siddall]

I hadn't the foggiest idea what I was getting into with this book. Unfortunately for me, I had read several good reviews on the novel before I started so I was really looking forward to a decent read over the holidays. All I can say is, I was bitterly disappointed. Yes, the book is well written but maybe the prose is a little over the top in places and I too felt the dialect a bit cumbersome. There's no doubt where the setting is and it is definitely a book about its time. However, what put me off was neither the politics nor the religious aspect, but the character John Gore himself. I couldn't relate to him. He was portrayed as a man of the cloth but his human frailties came too much to the fore as far as I was concerned. By the end of the book I saw him as a selfish, self-righteous pratt who caused more harm in the neighbourhood than any good. I liked Lindy Clark and felt Kelly portrayed her truthfully. The politician Martin Pallister worked as a character too as did Stevie Coulson but to describe this book as 'The reat British Novel of this Decade', forget it. I persevered to the end but wouldn't recommend it as enjoyable reading over any holiday.

[Clive Wallis]

I'm with Michael in that I thought the depiction of the working-class life was well handled. Lindy working multiple jobs, relying on friends and family for support and trying to manage a relationship with Steve all rang true to me. (That said, I live in Surrey, but in my defence did spent four happy years in Yorkshire). It was one of the redeeming features for me.

[Michael Scanlon]

I can't agree that the depiction of the people and places in the book are clichéd. Yes the 'working class / it's grim up north' story has been done over and over and to a degree Kelley is adding to this but I think he invests his story with something new and fresh as well. If something is so familiar and overused, yes it can feel like a cliché, but sometimes familiar is also the truth and therefore is necessary. The character of Lindey, for example, is a cliché on the surface; single mother with several jobs, struggling to get by because life is so hard. But Kelley only uses this as a starting point and then adds layer upon layer to her character as the book progresses. Her relationship with Steve become more complex and throws up all sorts of moral dilemmas. As does her relationship with Gore. She may appear to be a northern stereotype when we first meet her but she finishes the book being much more than a cliché.

[R Sangha]

I have been dreading posting because I really could not get into the book. I have tried numerous times to start reading the so called 'great British book of the decade' but I have not got very far. I certainly agree with other posters about the unnecessarily over-worded sentences which really detract from the storyline as I forget the whole point of the paragraph! The subject matter is not something that would normally interest me but if written well, I think it could have been fascinating. However, this book beat me and as soon as I pick it up to try again, my concentration completely go and brain switches off!

[Laura Sandy]

Hmmm, I'm still not really sure about I feel about this novel. I actually found it reasonably easy to read but agree that it needs a better editor and that Kelly has a very strange way with metaphor and generally over-writes (though I think he may have been going for a kind of biblical resonance to the language, which I don't really think he pulls it off). Coming from the North East perhaps gave me a different perspective on the book and thought it was generally refreshing to read of somewhere other than London, but did feel that the book tended to fall back on North-East cliche. It would be good to read a book about the North written without such a heavy hand.

As for the GBNotD- I think we should stop looking for a definitve statement. I really object to the cult of the "Great American Novel" as it seems like such an old-fashioned idea to suppose that modern experience can or should be contained in this way. In my experience books which strive to achieve this- such as the Crusaders- this tend to somewhat miss the point.

[Amanda]

Although the size of this book was a bit daunting, I thought the topic sounded interesting and was really looking forward to reading it. The Newcastle dialect which is used throughout definately gives the reader a sense of place, although I wasn't particularly keen on the style of writing which was used - quite 'wordy' in places.
I have enjoyed reading the chapters concerning Gore and Stevie but have just finished the chapters focusing more on politics and Pallister and have struggled to get through these. I agree with some of the other comments that these chapters were perhaps not necessary and could have been cut down.
However, with only 100 pages to go now, I'm hoping to find out if Gore succeeds in bringing religion to his community and how his relationships with Lindy and Stevie pan out.

[Livia]

I will be honest - I am having a lot of trouble getting through this book. When it arrived, the size of it wasn't 'daunting' or anything, so I got stuck into it...or so I thought. I'm not sure how long it'll take me to read. So far, I'm finding it very slow-moving, and not too exciting, but I guess that's just because it's introducing the characters and settings.
Fingers crossed I can get through it before the next book arrives. If not, I guess I'll try my best to finish it as soon as I can.
I'll post more on my opinions once I get through a bit more of the story. :)

[Amanda]

Well, finished the book last night - at last! Glad I managed to get to the end and wasn't expecting that ending!! Felt sorry for Lindy and was hoping that things would turn out differently for Gore, but suppose that would have been too easy!