Sally Gardner - Maggot Moon

I wasn't sure what to expect from Maggot Moon. I didn't know Sally Gardner at all as an author, and the blurb on the back kept the plot details to a minimum. Rather than investigating the book online via existing reviews, Carnegie press releases etc, I decided to go in blind and see where it took me.

 

I'd finished the book a few hours later.

 

In part, this is because Maggot Moon is a fairly easy read - Gardner (who suffered from dyslexia so severe as a child that she was considered 'unteachable') keeps the chapters short and sweet - many not going beyond a page or two. This brief, staccato style serves both the voice of our protagonist, dyslexic Standish Treadwell, and the page turning elements of its dystopian plot well. Gardner proves adept at creating a convincing alternate universe without needing to resort to overly detailed exposition or descriptions of Standish's world. This is a world that feels complete, well thought out and believable without having to try too hard.

 

The book is set in an alternate England during the 1950's. The all-knowing 'Motherland' (strongly hinted at as being a victorious Nazi Germany, but never explained) has divided the country into 'zones'. Standish lives with his grandfather on the fringes of society, in Zone 7. His parents have disappeared mysteriously, and his dyslexia makes it hard for him to explain the world around him in great depth. 

 

This is precisely what gives the book its power. We are restricted to only seeing the horrors and nightmarish oppression of the Motherland through Standish's eyes, a boy who has never known anything different and would find it difficult to articulate even if he had. Gardner uses this device to ratchet up our increasing tension and revulsion at the world Standish inhabits - we accumulate knowledge through simple, succinct, casually observed detail - far more affecting than a straightforward summary of the events prior to the novel or it being revealed to us in one big splurge of information.

 

Maggot Moon is best read with as little knowledge of the intricacies of its plot as possible, so I won't go into heavy detail here, other than to state it includes the uncovering of a conspiracy, standing up to the oppressive regime, and the oddly affecting relationship between Standish and his best friend, Hector. Thinking through the basic plot elements a few weeks after finishing the book, it seems rather like a hodgepodge of over-familiar dystopian fiction tropes - but Gardner makes it work through its unique viewpoint, credible fictional universe and tight, spare, emotionally honest writing.

 

Thought provoking, unflinching and moving, Maggot Moon has all the elements that make a worthy Carnegie winner.