Villager

A set of connected stories (somewhere between chapters and short stories) about a fictional village, although that doesn't do the book justice in the slightest. You can feel the damp, the mystery, the mythology, the pull of the land in each of these stories while also getting introduced to the wonderful characters that live and pass through Underhill. It's a nature book, in a way, but it's also about community and loneliness, about creativity, about interesting characters, even when they don't think about themselves. In the end I want more about Underhill and the characters, it vaguely reminds me of Tolkien (at least in Fellowship or maybe the Hobbit) and the included map doesn't hurt either, but he's created a world with deep mystery, mythology, and history that I want to read more about. Rarely is there a book where I want to start re-reading it the moment I'm done to go back and find all the various connections and threads that I missed the first time.Cox can really write - there are long stretches of prose that will slice through your mind and heart like a long note from a cello in an old barn, with resonance and emotion. But this book isn't for everybody; it's slow at times and you have to be willing to let him get where he's going at his pace, but if you give in and just absorb it, it's worth it. Also, anybody who is deep into music or record collecting and the ideas of discovering that long last album will have an extra appreciation for this book.

A gleeful romp, oozing with chaotic energy, magical realism, laugh-out-loud irreverence, dark warnings and so many insights that, if you’re at all like this reader, entire sections will be marked out and dog-eared for re-reading.In its essence a passionately-held treaty on our tremulous and vulnerable earthly communion, (an appeal to our collective conscience), there’s a playfulness to the writing that cannot help but get inside your head - sardonic, observant, hilarious, but also censorious - worried, genuinely hurting for the wrongs we as humans inflict on each other, on animals, the Earth, and Nature itself - the spirit of Nature, which ultimately is seeking to regain the balance we have tinkered with in ways too terrible to ignore.Stylistically, the writing is challenging (“truly and beautifully of itself”) and, by design, not for the feint-of-heart. But oh, is it worth the effort!An outpouring of stories (some vignettes and others longer, connected and more episodic), will take time and effort to make sense of, feeling fragmented initially - until you come across the first flash of insight, a quip or observation so keenly resonant or humorous that the world slows, and nothing becomes more important than your vivid appreciation of the insights unraveling in place in front of you.A theme of sorts, and what feels like the beginning at least, of an understanding, will, if you stick with it, emerge. This is, when all is said and done, a re-telling of the unfolding of life, in all its forms, in a very particular place but across the “ghosts of time” and all other ethereal boundaries - the “spirit” of a small moored village, Underhill (on the Tor), anthropomorphic in its very nature, telling us its story, - the story of the lives and worlds set down over time; absorbed, digested and roiling in its very essence; now clamoring for attention.The story-tellers, themselves a collage of odd and eccentric characters, creatures, spirits, and life-forms, - many centering around a folksinger from the sixties who unwittingly captures the essence of the Tor in what will eventually become a cult following of his music,This book is lush with supporting themes that run the gamut, but perhaps focus most keenly on the march of the “giant black legs” of technology, digitization, social atrophy, environmental catastrophe, corporate greed, ego vs convergence, and the underlying yearning for recognition of the primal connection that ties all of it, all of us and the world we experience, and are, together.As it absorbs us, we are urged, collectively, to “jump the sun”, to re-absorb the spirit of Nature around us that is, and will become again, our very essence.The “real and vivid “ world we construct, in our heads (which is all that really matters) and how we “repaint the world”, is up to each of us. All of us.“To do something too, to not just be here, standing still”.A brilliant read, with words, ultimately, of hope, this book is highly recommended for those readers who are prepared to invest in its wisdom. In the opinion of this reader, a journey of time not only well-spent but long overdue.A great big thank you to the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Tox Cox 'comes of age' with his best book so far.With this book Tom proves himself to be a master storyteller, weaving a complex tapestry of history, society, and popular culture that spans the ages of a west country English town.

Tom’s books are not your typical books, and therefore I’m not leaving a typical review. I don’t read a ton of books, and almost never novels, and I think one reason is because I find it hard to envision myself in the story, or I question why on earth someone would write about the topic, etc. For Villager, though, Tom’s description of the scenes, characters, dialog, specific time/places of the story are so distilled down to the most emotive details that I felt I was reading the retelling actual events. It’s not the volume of the detail, it’s the way he does it, in as few actual words as one could do. And, as in our actual lives, the story changes depending on the time and perspective you are viewing it from, and Tom beautifully represents each different point of view of the storyline that ties the book together in such a way that it makes you think about how occurrences in your own life might have been viewed differently by the others that experienced them, or how the ripple effect changed the futures of those involved. Reading Tom’s nonfiction books makes you think about yourself, our world, and your own choices, meanwhile having a good chuckle at his wit and wisdom. Villager does the same, but also weaves an intriguing tale that sucks you in and keeps you anticipating the next moments you’ll have to be alone and read it. I’m purposely avoiding all references to the plot, you’ll just have to buy it and read it for yourself!! 😆. I will say that if you enjoy the underlying visual aesthetic/social attitudes of the late 60’s and the quirks of small town country life, that’s an added bonus.

This is a green gift of a book. I love Cox’s nature writing in particular and struggle with his short stories because he is a writer of depth and breadth and short stories don’t do that justice. I was apprehensive approaching this book for that reason. He has the patience and the talent for the long haul and this book shows that in the beautifully written descriptions, particularly of Dartmoor. I felt immersed in the greenness of Dartmoor it reminded me of a time I was invited by a friend to a Wiccan ceremony, I can’t even remember which one, but a summer one, I left that night feeling connected to time out of ages as if it was all one and it came home with me, that deep connection. This is the feeling I was left with after reading this book. This book that deepened with every successive chapter. If I have a reservation it’s that the beginning was thinner, it would have been nice to have the same depth rewritten at the start, likewise the narrative voice. In the early chapters it bothered me inordinately that I didn’t know who was speaking and that, in part, distracted me from the words themselves. I also feared being excluded from the book by the musical references as I’m not big on music except radio 3 in the car. However, I am big on creativity and that is essentially what the music in this represents, how we and the world create and are changed by what we do, the almost painful reflections on why some of us ‘make it’ and others do not and does that make the creating any the less valid? Thoughts I’ve been pondering over for a very long time and given voice to here. Thanks to Tom Cox for this very thought provoking and feeling book.

I have read about just over 100 pages and gives up on this book, I cannot make any sense of it, but that might just be me.

Not read this author before, probably will not dip into his other works. Well worked, but a bit off the wall.Not mainstream, probably goes down well with a niche following.

Really tried to get into this book but struggled with the disjointed plotting and lack of a coherent theme. Amusing in places which kept me engaged longer than it should. Just wanted my life back eventually and gave up on it half way through. Probably a fine work but it didn't work for me.

Excellent book, often extremely funny. I particularly enjoy the juxtaposition of the mundane and the magic. Particularly loved the online village bulletin board part.. I'll read it again in a couple of months. Keep writing, Tom, your books are unique.