02 October 2009 - Yvette Hawkins - Reader in Residence

The first thing that grabbed me about Their Mountain Mother by Edmund Prestwich was the sheer physicality of the book - an unusually square book, with big thick, meaty pages. In this age, where the world is turning to e-books and scanning daily digests of the world’s top stories on Google Reader over a cup of super strength coffee, it seems that the physical presence of the old-school version is all that’s keeping us from turning completely digital. I agree that the convenience of the new e-readers have some merit, but the loss of having the ritual of turning pages in the bath (trying not to get them wet), smelling the crisp pages of a freshly bought novel, or the discoveries found in second hand shops (I found a pressed flower in the front of The Hobbit and a shopping list at the back) could never be compensated with the handiness of carrying a memory stick of novels in my handbag.

Prestwich delivers an intensely compelling story of one mans journey to help his people cross a land rife of massacre, despair and solitude where cannibals born out of hunger and other human perils lie ahead. The focus lies upon Moshoeshoe and his peoples trust in his wit and bravery to lead them to a new land. What I enjoyed about this book was Prestwich’s beautiful ability to lead us into another world, rich in culture, history and language. For much of the book I forgot I was reading a poem, each line drifting into the next, engaging with the pace of the drama with no time to linger, yet each line is met with an elegance that can only be found in poetry. Aside from this structure we also find some superbly executed lino etchings by Emily Johns which evoke the drama and powerful narrative found in Prestwich’s epic poem. A gorgeous book, which no matter what you prefer, needs to be experienced first hand, in your hands, without batteries.