Fiction

Treacle Walker

Treacle Walker

  • Downloads：5983
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-07 12:16:42
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Alan Garner
  • ISBN：0008477809
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

An introspective young boy， Joseph Coppock squints at the world with his lazy eye。 Living alone in an old house， he reads comics， collects birds’ eggs and plays with his marbles。 When， one day， a rag-and-bone man called Treacle Walker appears， exchanging an empty jar of a cure-all medicine and a donkey stone for a pair of Joseph's pyjamas and a lamb's shoulder blade， a mysterious friendship develops between them。

A fusion of myth， magic and the stories we make for ourselves， Treacle Walker is an extraordinary novel from one of our greatest living writers。

Download

Reviews

David ，

Sincerest thanks to those intrepid readers who went before me and paved the way。 It helped to know that this little echo of ancient tales would be all but inaccessible if I wasn't prepared to do some research along the way。I've always loved wordplay， riddles， and puzzles， so this was quite satisfying in that regard。 And it was a pleasant surprise to discover countless new words; many of which， upon first encounter， had struck me as nonsensical。 The protagonist， young Joe Coppock， doesn't have in Sincerest thanks to those intrepid readers who went before me and paved the way。 It helped to know that this little echo of ancient tales would be all but inaccessible if I wasn't prepared to do some research along the way。I've always loved wordplay， riddles， and puzzles， so this was quite satisfying in that regard。 And it was a pleasant surprise to discover countless new words; many of which， upon first encounter， had struck me as nonsensical。 The protagonist， young Joe Coppock， doesn't have internet access and so was not as fortunate。 Witnessing him mistake "Axis mundi" for "Ask this Monday" and "psychopomp" for "cycle pump"， I was able to feel intellectually superior to a fictional character。。。which provided yet another layer to the comedy。For all his feistiness， Joe is ill。 And despite his gift-giving， Treacle Walker has come to take something precious。 And although I think I figured several things out， I know I left part of this fable unexplored。 。。。more

Sid Nuncius ，

I loved Treacle Walker。 It is brief， strange， atmospheric and compelling – and extremely hard to describe。We meet Joe Coppock， a youngish lad alone in an apparently isolated house。 From the dialect （and what we know of Alan Garner）， it appears to be in the Cheshire area。 A rag-and-bone man appears – the eponymous Treacle Walker， who knows Joe’s name。。。and then a mixture of everyday and strange， mystical things happen as Joe’s “lazy eye” develops a curious kind of vision。 An ancient sleeper in a I loved Treacle Walker。 It is brief， strange， atmospheric and compelling – and extremely hard to describe。We meet Joe Coppock， a youngish lad alone in an apparently isolated house。 From the dialect （and what we know of Alan Garner）， it appears to be in the Cheshire area。 A rag-and-bone man appears – the eponymous Treacle Walker， who knows Joe’s name。。。and then a mixture of everyday and strange， mystical things happen as Joe’s “lazy eye” develops a curious kind of vision。 An ancient sleeper in a bog awakens， and Joe begins to learn…It really is rather odd， but there’s a compelling， ultimately rather satisfying narrative even though much is left unsaid。 The things Garner has always done so well are well in evidence here: the evocation of the power of ancient myth， the sense of deep， ancient mystery and powers in the landscape and also the brilliant language in his use of local dialect， in old rhymes and sayings and in touches of invented language， too。 To me， these things carried echoes of The Owl Service， Red Shift and The Stone Book quartet， which I first read many years ago and have stayed with me ever since。 I think Treacle Walker will do the same。 I read it almost in one sitting， somehow quite spellbound。 I think it’s exceptionally good and is very warmly recommended。 （And I hope it wins the Booker， too！） 。。。more

Jenny （bookishjenx） ，

Well…。

Stacey Chin ，

3。5 stars

Justin Beach ，

No idea how this got a Booker Prize nod。 I mean I *do* have an interest in English folklore （and folklore in general） and this was a hot mess。 I frequently got lost and had to go back to try to understand what was going on， and then when I did understand I found it uninteresting。 Also， for a very short novella， there seemed a lot of periods of inaction。 I admit， I got sucked in initially by the Uffington White Horse on the cover but I found nothing of value between the cover - a few interesting No idea how this got a Booker Prize nod。 I mean I *do* have an interest in English folklore （and folklore in general） and this was a hot mess。 I frequently got lost and had to go back to try to understand what was going on， and then when I did understand I found it uninteresting。 Also， for a very short novella， there seemed a lot of periods of inaction。 I admit， I got sucked in initially by the Uffington White Horse on the cover but I found nothing of value between the cover - a few interesting ideas， but not well executed。 。。。more

Carl ，

I did not get it。

Anna ，

DAFT， I CALL IT。⇝ 2。5 stars

Pippi ，

Strange， magical， lyrical。

Emma ，

I only read this as I was inclined to after spending 8。99 on it。 I don’t even know how to describe it。 Not worth it at all。

D Cox ，

Readable- diverting。Reminded me of The Alchemist; Waiting for Godot; and The Little Prince but not quite as good as any of them。

Matthew Ted ，

81st book of 2022。So with the Booker longlist out， the library reservation battles start again。 Typing titles into the catalogue， seeing what libraries they are in， checking how many reservations are already stacked， gauging how long it will take （an impossible feat， of course， how fast is a reader？）， and so on until they finally appear waiting to be collected。 Yesterday I picked up Bulawayo's Glory， and by the time I had taken it to the machine to check it out， someone else had reserved it。 The 81st book of 2022。So with the Booker longlist out， the library reservation battles start again。 Typing titles into the catalogue， seeing what libraries they are in， checking how many reservations are already stacked， gauging how long it will take （an impossible feat， of course， how fast is a reader？）， and so on until they finally appear waiting to be collected。 Yesterday I picked up Bulawayo's Glory， and by the time I had taken it to the machine to check it out， someone else had reserved it。 The man had to fiddle on his computer to get that person a copy from a closer library and I was free to take mine。 Better read this one first， he told me。 And I'm still waiting on some of the International books that I haven't been able to get my hands on。 Generally， the Man Booker doesn't interest me but this year I'd like to give the list a good go。 If you want my opinion， don't bother with this one。 。。。more

Carolina ，

Didn't understand much， so can't really rate it。。。 😬 Didn't understand much， so can't really rate it。。。 😬 。。。more

Aaron Myles ，

A veritable bounty of folklore， philosophy， history and all things Alan Garner。 There is so much to unpack and definitely deserves multiple readings。Infinitely better than Lanny by Max Porter （which I didn't like at all）， a novel that many will compare this too。 However， there just can't be any comparison。 Alan Garner is working at a totally different level to many authors。I just love the depth of tone with this， somewhere between existential folklore horror and a children's story， almost feels A veritable bounty of folklore， philosophy， history and all things Alan Garner。 There is so much to unpack and definitely deserves multiple readings。Infinitely better than Lanny by Max Porter （which I didn't like at all）， a novel that many will compare this too。 However， there just can't be any comparison。 Alan Garner is working at a totally different level to many authors。I just love the depth of tone with this， somewhere between existential folklore horror and a children's story， almost feels like reading a Tim Benson movie at times; there's so much fun throughout but there is immense weight to it as well。SO。MUCH。WEIGHT。What a bloody book， hope to see him shortlisted。 。。。more

Mina Widding ，

Jag tyckte om den här， men dels kände jag mig lite lost i den， som att jag inte var inbjuden och det typ var lite av ett kapitel i en bok jag inte har tillgång till （extremt lite bakland， jag skulle säga noll， som hjälper mig placera Joe i någon som helst kontext， funkar väl i en novell men kändes som att det skulle vara något annat - läsarkontraktet blev fel för mig）。 Dessutom hjälper det väl inte att det är slang/dialekt， så att det är väldigt många ord jag inte förstår， även om jag kan gissa。 Jag tyckte om den här， men dels kände jag mig lite lost i den， som att jag inte var inbjuden och det typ var lite av ett kapitel i en bok jag inte har tillgång till （extremt lite bakland， jag skulle säga noll， som hjälper mig placera Joe i någon som helst kontext， funkar väl i en novell men kändes som att det skulle vara något annat - läsarkontraktet blev fel för mig）。 Dessutom hjälper det väl inte att det är slang/dialekt， så att det är väldigt många ord jag inte förstår， även om jag kan gissa。 Några är kanske bara hittepåord， men som går förstå om man har tillgång till dialekten。 Men det sagolika， det knäppa， metaberättandet， det symboliska osv， allt det är top notch。 。。。more

Erin ，

Do yourself a favour。 If you read this book， read the Treacle Walkers dialogue out loud and you will hear your tongue trip。To be honest this one’s a toughy for people who are not British or were not raised with a lot of colloquialisms from the Brits。 If you read Beano， he is helpful here。Garner does whimsical things with language kind of like Max Porter’s Lanny （shortlisted a couple of years ago）。 Or kind of， referencing the Jabberwocky poem from Alice in Wonderland？ Why is it so suspenseful if Do yourself a favour。 If you read this book， read the Treacle Walkers dialogue out loud and you will hear your tongue trip。To be honest this one’s a toughy for people who are not British or were not raised with a lot of colloquialisms from the Brits。 If you read Beano， he is helpful here。Garner does whimsical things with language kind of like Max Porter’s Lanny （shortlisted a couple of years ago）。 Or kind of， referencing the Jabberwocky poem from Alice in Wonderland？ Why is it so suspenseful if I can’t figure out what the hell is going on？ I love a quest。 Even if this one makes no sense to me。 My fear is that as an 87 year old man this book is what everyone is saying it is。 A farewell。I don’t know how Garner did this but it seems like a trick。 One worthy of the shortlist。 。。。more

Sidharth Vardhan ，

Probably not for me。

Shubhanshu Dubey ，

Not for everyone。

Lee Razer ，

‘What’s happening？ What the heck’s up？’That question voiced early on by the book’s protagonist， Joseph Coppock， understandably is also the question of many a reader of the book。 I’d never read Alan Garner before and apparently it follows on to a great extent from his earlier work， but it also reminded me of a novel I read earlier this year by J。 Robert Lennon， Subdivision， in that it seems to take place in a sort of bardo realm influenced by our conception of quantum mechanics， and in which the ‘What’s happening？ What the heck’s up？’That question voiced early on by the book’s protagonist， Joseph Coppock， understandably is also the question of many a reader of the book。 I’d never read Alan Garner before and apparently it follows on to a great extent from his earlier work， but it also reminded me of a novel I read earlier this year by J。 Robert Lennon， Subdivision， in that it seems to take place in a sort of bardo realm influenced by our conception of quantum mechanics， and in which the protagonist has to overcome challenges that draw on mythological concepts as they gradually come to an understanding and acceptance of the current state of their personhood。 Only this one uses much more archaic northern English dialect and the tone is closer to twee than malevolent。I enjoyed the writing and the dialect and the words I had to look up， and am glad to have been introduced to Garner; it has made me interested in reading his other， presumably meatier novels。 This one was just too short and not filled out enough for what it was trying to do for my preference， but it was a fairly frolicsome trip。 。。。more

Tom ，

Old school fantasy meets quantum physics。 And so well written！

Susan ，

I am afraid that I struggled with ‘Treacle Walker’ and found if hard to follow。 I was concerned for the boy Joe， home alone with a strange rag and bone man and weird things going on。 I expected him to wake up and find he had been dreaming and at one point he did but only to head into more of the same。 Lots of odd things happen - falling through mirrors， being chased by characters from a comic and summoning weird creatures。Although I found it hard to follow， I enjoyed Treacle’s sing song way of s I am afraid that I struggled with ‘Treacle Walker’ and found if hard to follow。 I was concerned for the boy Joe， home alone with a strange rag and bone man and weird things going on。 I expected him to wake up and find he had been dreaming and at one point he did but only to head into more of the same。 Lots of odd things happen - falling through mirrors， being chased by characters from a comic and summoning weird creatures。Although I found it hard to follow， I enjoyed Treacle’s sing song way of speaking and it’s musicality， even though the words did not make much sense。 。。。more

dot。 ，

Well kids， I am not sure what happened here， I didn't even understand most of the dialogues （at times， it felt like reading Jabberwocky and I was very grateful for the dictionary function on my e-reader）， but I can tell you I enjoyed it A LOT。 Incredible imagination， fuelling this mix of folklore， science and comic books makes it a great read， if you're willing to suspend your will-to-understand-everything。 Very happy to see it on the Booker longlist。 Well kids， I am not sure what happened here， I didn't even understand most of the dialogues （at times， it felt like reading Jabberwocky and I was very grateful for the dictionary function on my e-reader）， but I can tell you I enjoyed it A LOT。 Incredible imagination， fuelling this mix of folklore， science and comic books makes it a great read， if you're willing to suspend your will-to-understand-everything。 Very happy to see it on the Booker longlist。 。。。more

Aisha （thatothernigeriangirl） ，

I don’t have a lot of ideas on what this book was trying to do but I sorta vibe with the way it messes with time and space and sense of reality。 I won’t be giving it any rating because of the former reason， but I can see why it made the Booker long list

Sam ，

3。5

Lee ，

（4。5）Delightful （and very sad） sign off， so it seems。'The choice was yours。 You chose the glamourie。 You could have chosen shimmerings。 You did not。' （4。5）Delightful （and very sad） sign off， so it seems。'The choice was yours。 You chose the glamourie。 You could have chosen shimmerings。 You did not。' 。。。more

Paul Fulcher ，

'Treacle Walker？' said Thin Amren， 'Treacle Walker。 Me know that pickthank psychopomp？ I know him， so I do。 I know him。 Him with his pots for rags and his bag and his bone and his doddering nag and nookshotten cart and catchpenny oddments。 Treacle Walker？ I’d not trust that one’s arse with a fart。’Treacle Walker opens with a boy （or is he still a boy？） Joseph Coppock in his house when he hears the cry of a rag and bone man。'Rag and bone' said the man。 'And you shall have pot and stone。 That's fa 'Treacle Walker？' said Thin Amren， 'Treacle Walker。 Me know that pickthank psychopomp？ I know him， so I do。 I know him。 Him with his pots for rags and his bag and his bone and his doddering nag and nookshotten cart and catchpenny oddments。 Treacle Walker？ I’d not trust that one’s arse with a fart。’Treacle Walker opens with a boy （or is he still a boy？） Joseph Coppock in his house when he hears the cry of a rag and bone man。'Rag and bone' said the man。 'And you shall have pot and stone。 That's fair。 Or isn't it？'Joe gives the man， the frustratingly enigmatic Treacle Walker， an old pair of pyjamas and a lamb's shoulder blade from his 'museum'， largely a collection of birds' eggs。 In turn he is invited to take his pick from a magical treasure chest of ornate cups， saucers， platters and jugs， but picks the most plain:Joe took out every piece and laid them on the cart。 ‘This，’ said Joe。 ‘That is the least，’ said the man。 ‘It’s the bestest。’ Joe held a round jar no bigger than his hand。 ‘It is small，’ said the man。 ‘I don’t care。’ ‘Of little price。’ ‘I don’t care。 It’s grand。 Grand as owt。’ The jar was white， glazed， and chipped。 Under the rim was painted in blue: ‘Poor Mans Friend’， and beneath， ‘price 1/ 1 ½’。 On the other side was: ‘Prepared only by Beach & Barnicott， SUCCESSORS TO THE LATE Dr。 Roberts， Bridport。’[link to picture]And he is given a donkey stone （used traditionally to scour stone steps）:The man opened his bag and took something out。 ‘Here。’ It was a stone， rough and grey， the size and shape of a bar of soap。 ‘Blinking heck。’ He put the stone into Joe’s hand。 One side was plain; on the other was cut the outline of a horse， legs and tail outstretched， head forward， long。 ‘We are equal。 The trade is done。’ ‘And what am I supposed to do with this effort？’ said Joe。 ‘Use it。’ ‘How？’ ‘As you have need。’ ‘You’re twitting me，’ said Joe。 ‘I’m going in。 I mustn’t catch the sun。’ ‘You would be swift to outrun that one，’ said the man。 ‘The craven nidget who flees the dark and will not come back till morning。’[link to picture]（The donkey stone pictured actually has a lion branding， from Eli Whalley & Co， who at their peak in the 1930s manufactured 2。5 million such stones a year and who were the last manufacturer of the product in the world， ceasing business in 1979。 The motif on Joe's stone is based on the Uffington White Horse， also shown on the novel's cover）And these two items prove key to the adventure that follows， one that involves， inter alia， the characters from the 1940s comic Knockout coming to life:Knockout was the best comic， better than The Beano or The Dandy， because it had daft ideas。 And the best in it was Stonehenge Kit the Ancient Brit， who was always fighting Whizzy the Wicked Wizard and his chums the Brit Bashers。 Whizzy wore a pointed hat。 This time， Kit was falling out of a tree， and he dropped thump woof bam crash on Whizzy， who was having forty- one winks in a hammock， which is a lot of holes tied with string， and Kit bundled him up in the hammock to take him as a prisoner for King Kongo and swap him for two cigarette- cards。 He met a Brit Basher disguised as a milk maid。[link to picture]Joe is， at times， as confused （and exasperated） as some readers seem to be with the novel， but wonderfully the seemingly nonsensical paragraph below actually makes complete sense when reading the book:‘What’s amiss？’ said Joe。 ‘I’ll tell you what’s amiss。 I shall。 I shall that。 You come here， you and your box and your pots and your donkey stone， and fetch in enough to make me frit to death。 You’re on about bones and all sorts; and then you’re off， some road or other， and I can’t tell where I am。 I’ve got a pain in my eye。 I can’t see proper。 And I go down the bog and get stuck; and this chap with no clothes on and a daft silly hat， he sits up in the water and he makes no more sense than you do。 He says I’ve got glammeritis， and then Stonehenge Kit， he’s gone， and so’s my best dobber; and Whizzy’s with a Brit Basher and they’re after Kit and the mirror’s all wrong then he’s back in the picture。 And there’s this here。’ Joe pulled the crumpled paper from his pocket and lobbed it across the fire basket。 ‘What’s happening？ What the heck’s up？’Now I must admit to my almost complete ignorance hitherto of Alan Garner's life and works。 I am sure for those familiar with both there are many more layers to this novel， such as those highlighted on the Strange Horizons blog。 Garner himself commented in the Guardian on the autobiographical nature of the work: Joseph Coppock is the me I could have become if I’d not had the severe academic training that I did。 Treacle Walker is what I could have become if I hadn’t jumped ship at Oxford and got off the road to academia。But for novices such as myself， the novel （with some modest Googling） is sufficient unto itself， and a truly magical work。4。5 stars rounded to 5 and one I would love to see win the overall prize。 。。。more

Doug ，

Ok， first the good news: I did like this marginally better than I did when I first read it back in 2019， when it was longlisted for the Booker under the title Lanny。 And it only took a little over an hour to read， so I didn't waste TOO much of my time on it （although how this and the Keegan novellas qualified as 'substantial' is beyond me - at least it makes getting through the longlist quicker）。 The bad news is that I was lost and confused as often as I was beguiled and enchanted。 Apparently ha Ok， first the good news: I did like this marginally better than I did when I first read it back in 2019， when it was longlisted for the Booker under the title Lanny。 And it only took a little over an hour to read， so I didn't waste TOO much of my time on it （although how this and the Keegan novellas qualified as 'substantial' is beyond me - at least it makes getting through the longlist quicker）。 The bad news is that I was lost and confused as often as I was beguiled and enchanted。 Apparently having a Ph。D。 in English folklore/mythology helps decipher this - but such is beyond my ken。 As one goes along， one can sometimes glean what the odd words and phrases （Noony， dobber， etc。） actually mean; others required extensive Googling to comprehend （Corr Bolg）。 Ultimately， although I kinda/sorta got the gist of what the whole thing was trying to say， probably much of it flew right over my head 。。。kind of like the giant cuckoo that rends the sky in the final scene。 The other good news for fans of this is that it currently occupies the 13th spot in my Booker rankings， and until the past two years， in which I championed the ultimate winner， that coveted spot had guaranteed it winning。PS 。。。 would also appreciate someone telling WTF that is on the cover - haven't a clue there either！ It looks like a chicken being anally raped by a stick to me。。。 。。。more

La BiblioFreak ，

Folklore and myths; realities colliding; a lonely， imaginative child。 The perfect recipe for a great story， or so you would think。 Treacle Walker， written by the oldest Booker nominee yet at 88 years old， was a short but painful read。Honestly， I was pretty confused as to how this made the Booker longlist and then I looked more into the author。 Alan Garner is one of the most loved children’s authors you’ve never heard of。 I feel this nomination is more of a tribute to his many years of service to Folklore and myths; realities colliding; a lonely， imaginative child。 The perfect recipe for a great story， or so you would think。 Treacle Walker， written by the oldest Booker nominee yet at 88 years old， was a short but painful read。Honestly， I was pretty confused as to how this made the Booker longlist and then I looked more into the author。 Alan Garner is one of the most loved children’s authors you’ve never heard of。 I feel this nomination is more of a tribute to his many years of service to literature， rather than an appraisal of this novel alone。 Even long-time Garner fans will tell you that this is not one of his better works。I haven’t read any of Garner so my judgment of Treacle Walker is unclouded by my views on the author or his previous works。 Unfortunately， my opinion is not a pretty one。 Treacle Walker was worse than unedited， it felt unfinished。 It was as if Alan Garner had written the entire thing in bits and pieces， waking up in the middle of the night with a good idea only to fall back asleep without finishing his thought。 Plodding through it felt like a chore， except without the reward of having accomplished something at the end。A disappointing start to the Booker longlist but， on the other hand， it can only get better from here （hopefully）。 。。。more

Gemma W ，

This went completely over my head。 I guess it’s not really my genre anyway。 I sometimes enjoy fantasy but it has to have fairly reasonable world building for me to get into the story。 It has some fun turns of phrase， and language play， but even then I got distracted by the word daft used on nearly every page。I can see this was a little like Lanny， which I really enjoyed， but Lanny also had a more comprehensive plot and characters you could get to grips with。 For me this felt more like League of This went completely over my head。 I guess it’s not really my genre anyway。 I sometimes enjoy fantasy but it has to have fairly reasonable world building for me to get into the story。 It has some fun turns of phrase， and language play， but even then I got distracted by the word daft used on nearly every page。I can see this was a little like Lanny， which I really enjoyed， but Lanny also had a more comprehensive plot and characters you could get to grips with。 For me this felt more like League of Gentlemen， I kept expecting someone to turn up saying “you’re my wife now Dave”。 At least it was short。 It feels like a strange choice for the Booker longlist， but then I guess what’s nice about following these lists， is reading things you wouldn’t normally。 。。。more

Claire ，

Absolute， indecipherable nonsense。 I can only presume that there’s some kind deeply niche knowledge required to make any sense of this which I evidently don’t have。 Strong no from me。

Scott Baird （Gunpowder Fiction and Plot） ，

I may have rounded up the rating。 This is a writing exercise not a novel。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Treacle Walker

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Treacle Walker&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Treacle Walker&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0