Treacle Walker
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- Create Date：2022-07-28 00:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alan Garner
- ISBN：0008477809
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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。
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。
Reviews
Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer
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‘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 yo ‘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。 I read this book due to its longlisting for the 2022 Booker Prize – one of only 4 of the 13 books I had not read pre-longlist， and one from an 87 year old author for whom my knowledge did not previously extend much past his name and role as a part children’s， part adult’s author。The book’s epigraph is from the Italian theoretical physicist and writer Carlo Rovelli translated “Time is ignorance” from his “The Order of Time” and （as Garner has explained in interviews） was inspired by a conversation with another theoretical physicist – his friend Bob Cywinski。 The conversation started with the two discussing the differences between the observable physical universe of the latter and Garner’s ideas emerging from （as it were） nowhere – but the next day leas to Cywinski telling Garner about a local character: Walter Helliwell known as Treacle Walker – an eccentric tramp “able to cure all things except jealousy” which sparked Garner into thinking about treacle’s Middle English etymology as a medicine used by apothecaries/herbalists。From there Garner seems to have thought more on the concept of time and the falseness of a linear， progressive view: “My [physicist] friend has read [the novel] and he says that he’s seen his subject through a novelist’s eyes and that， for him， it’s a new vision of quantum physics。 It’s not; I’ve not done anything except look in a different way at different states and put them into a story where time collapses， and the whole thing takes place in no time – or， rather， not in time as we see it。”;And then to have bought in ideas from:His own life - particularly and most obviously his childhood – many of the ideas seem to be drawn from his recent childhood memoir “Where Shall We Run To？”， but also I think on the prospect of death （one of course close to him given his age but which was always present – hence the idea of time collapsing – given his childhood illnesses）。His lifelong study of （particularly but not exclusively – particularly in this book - British and Irish） folklore， legend， song and literature: examples I was able to identify – and I think there are many many more – and some of which are important to understanding the plot and others of which simply lend a few words of vocabulary included: the Welsh legend “Mabinogion”; Samuel Johnson’s nonsense play “Hurlothrumbo”; Dr Robert’s Poor Man’s Friend Ointment from the early 1800s; the Grimm Brother’s “The Singing Bone”; the traditional mummers play “Pace Egg”; George Borrow’s “The Bible In Spain”; the Bonnacon from Medieval Bestaries; Native North American bone divination; the Irish mythological concept of a “thin place” between the physical tangible world and the “otherworld” of dreams and of the crane-skin magical possession bag， the “corr bolg”; bodies ceremonially buried in the bogs – like Tollund Man; the Finno-Ugric concept of the psychopomp or “conductor of souls” to the other world; His lifetimes work “It brings together everything I’ve written， in 15，000 words。” – I suspect this book contains copious easter eggs for readers of Garner’s wider oeuvreEnglish colloquial language （squiffy， blinking heck， twitting， daft as a brush， tickety-boo， taradiddles） and traditions （a good knowledge of rag and bone men as well as marbles taxonomy is a useful adjunct to reading） of a certain ageAnd （linking nicely to the author’s own childhood and one of the early influences on his imagination） the British comic “Knockout” and particularly the strip “Stonehenge Kit The Ancient Brit” and his enemy “Whizzy the Wicked Wizard” and his “Brit Bashers” （note that I suspect in the hands of most literary fiction authors – particularly those under 60 – this would be a heavy handed allusion to Brexit or Boris Johnson – here refreshingly I do not think it is）。In terms of the plot – and there is just about some in this allusion and idea-filled novella， the book opens with ostensibly a convalescing young boy Joe Coppock （although I think Joe could equally be someone at the end of their life or both really as this is a book where time is collapsed） who marks his time by a daily midday train Noony。 He has his house visited by a riddling rag-and-bone man Treacle Walker who in exchange for his ‘jamas and a bone from his treasure collection gives him a donkey stone （marked with a ancient horse） and leaves a jar of ointment。 Joe also plays a bone flute which seems to summon a cuckoo （but later turns out to have had wider impact）。 Joe wears a patch on one eye but starts to realise his bad eye can see things his good eye cannot – and is told by a bog dwelling man – Thin Amren - that he has a form of second sight。 Thereafter Joe finds his ostensible day life， his dreams and the world of his comic book heroes merging and overlapping – and perhaps only late in the book really understands both his fate and destiny。 Overall I found this a fascinating addition to the longlist – one where I think many readers （particularly non-English readers） will I think understandably struggle with accessibility， but one that I really loved。Like many of the best books， but particularly appropriately here， reminded me of my lifelong love of reading （from childhood to late 50s） and， again particularly appropriately， reminded me of how the best books take you out of time and place – making you simultaneously the child reading a book in bed and the adult using literary fiction – however apparently cryptic - to help to make sense of the world。 ‘Fair do’s。 Treacle Walker？’‘Joseph Coppock。’‘What is it you want for you？ What is it you want most？ For you。 Not some wazzock else。’‘Never has a soul asked that of me。’‘What’s the answer？’ Treacle Walker leaned his head against the timber behind him and looked up into the stack。‘To hear no more the beat of Time。 To have no morrow and no yesterday。 To be free of years。’ He closed his eyes。 ‘Oblivion。 Home。’‘That’s not daft。’‘It is everything。’ 。。。more
Henk
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A rather unaccessible choice from the Booker Prize jury。 Seeing and sight， cuckoos and mirrors， plus myths and time in general are definite themes， but overall I found it hard to get my bearings in this book。An unique pick， but if I need to compare this book with anything Can Xue her work and the recent Green Knight movie come to mind。 The titular character reminds me a bit of the natural world/spirit talking in Lanny and the writing， showing love for nature and myths， reminded me in solemness o A rather unaccessible choice from the Booker Prize jury。 Seeing and sight， cuckoos and mirrors， plus myths and time in general are definite themes， but overall I found it hard to get my bearings in this book。An unique pick， but if I need to compare this book with anything Can Xue her work and the recent Green Knight movie come to mind。 The titular character reminds me a bit of the natural world/spirit talking in Lanny and the writing， showing love for nature and myths， reminded me in solemness of Tolkien。 。。。more
Ruben
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After Small Things Like These this is another little fairytale on the Booker longlist。 I enjoyed it！It is best read in a single sitting and for non-native English speakers I recommend having a dictionary by your side （I learned lots of new fantastic words， Corr Bolg， Bonacon）。 I also think that native speakers will have more fun with this。As to the plot best to go in blind， I would say。 Big thanks to the jurors for selecting it， I most certainly would not have read this otherwise as I usually do After Small Things Like These this is another little fairytale on the Booker longlist。 I enjoyed it！It is best read in a single sitting and for non-native English speakers I recommend having a dictionary by your side （I learned lots of new fantastic words， Corr Bolg， Bonacon）。 I also think that native speakers will have more fun with this。As to the plot best to go in blind， I would say。 Big thanks to the jurors for selecting it， I most certainly would not have read this otherwise as I usually don't read fantasy （and when I do I like it to be short as the time I am willing to go along is limited - this was nice and short）。 Last year I read Piranesi and I think people who liked that we appreciate this as well。Shortlist material？ Very hard to say。。。I liked it and it will probably end up somewhere in the middle for me。 。。。more
Adina
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Longlisted for the Booker prize 2022DNF at 40% and completely lostThe blurb did not attract me but it was the shortest title on the longlist and I found the audiobook on Scribd。 I should have followed my instinct and stayed clear of this book。 The short novel made no sense to me whatsoever。 I probably hit a language* and cultural barrier。 The pages are full of old English and invented playful words。 Moreover， there are quite a few English myths and folklore inserted and I do not know anything on Longlisted for the Booker prize 2022DNF at 40% and completely lostThe blurb did not attract me but it was the shortest title on the longlist and I found the audiobook on Scribd。 I should have followed my instinct and stayed clear of this book。 The short novel made no sense to me whatsoever。 I probably hit a language* and cultural barrier。 The pages are full of old English and invented playful words。 Moreover， there are quite a few English myths and folklore inserted and I do not know anything on the subject。 Finally， it seems that the novel includes a few correlations with the author’s earlier work， again something I am not familiar with。 To be honest， the book could have been written in Chinese and it would have been the same for me。 If， like me， you are not expert in linguistics and English myths and folklore， please do not bother with this one。 You will only get frustrated。 *I think it a good moment to remind people that English is not my 1st language so I am bound to make mistakes。 You are more than welcome to correct me。 I will modify my reviews， but please be polite。 I do not tolerate trolling and insults。 。。。more
Meike
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Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022This sounds AWFUL， but let's start this year's Booker journey！！ :-） Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022This sounds AWFUL， but let's start this year's Booker journey！！ :-） 。。。more
atothemcg
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What seems to be the shortest book in the 2022 Booker longlist， considering I started reading this when it was announced only an hour ago， Treacle Walker has definitely started off as a mixed bag for me。The novel is short， in fact I would honestly consider this a short story。 It is also very simple。 Looking at reviews for his other books （and this one） Garner seems to write in a plain style， something you would find on a Pot Noodle package。The story itself is seemed to be inspired by children's What seems to be the shortest book in the 2022 Booker longlist， considering I started reading this when it was announced only an hour ago， Treacle Walker has definitely started off as a mixed bag for me。The novel is short， in fact I would honestly consider this a short story。 It is also very simple。 Looking at reviews for his other books （and this one） Garner seems to write in a plain style， something you would find on a Pot Noodle package。The story itself is seemed to be inspired by children's folklore， something that I don't really have an interest in。 It also doesn't really leave a mark at all。 No emotion is really triggered。Honestly I am gonna boil this one down to being out of my taste zone。 Seems to be for a younger audience。Booker 2022 Longlist: 1/13 。。。more
J。S。 Watts
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Lyrical， mythical and tricksy。 Multi-layered and steeped in myth and history。 If I'm honest， not my favourite Alan Garner。 I think I would have enjoyed it more as a child than an adult。 There is， nevertheless， much to admire。 Lyrical， mythical and tricksy。 Multi-layered and steeped in myth and history。 If I'm honest， not my favourite Alan Garner。 I think I would have enjoyed it more as a child than an adult。 There is， nevertheless， much to admire。 。。。more
Carly
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How did I miss this coming out？ If I’d known at the time I would have ordered it for day of publication！ I loved Boneland， his last， but that was years and years ago。 I didn’t read any of the reviews or even the blurb for this one so didn’t know what the book was about or what I would find。 Would I actually like it？ No idea， I hadn’t loved quite all he’d done before。 But Garner has always been worth reading。Anyway， this didn’t disappoint。 There was very little on each page （strangely laid out， I How did I miss this coming out？ If I’d known at the time I would have ordered it for day of publication！ I loved Boneland， his last， but that was years and years ago。 I didn’t read any of the reviews or even the blurb for this one so didn’t know what the book was about or what I would find。 Would I actually like it？ No idea， I hadn’t loved quite all he’d done before。 But Garner has always been worth reading。Anyway， this didn’t disappoint。 There was very little on each page （strangely laid out， I mean） like they were trying to stretch a small book over as many pages as they could。 This felt unnecessary， but didn’t detract， or distract。It IS a short book， yes， but a perfect one。 At least， I think so。 I’m guessing many people will just think， eh？ and that’ll be that。It kept on wrongfooting me in a really unusual way。 I think it must be a sign of having read too many bad/predictable books and getting to know conventions and the like， so with this one quite early on I was thinking oh， it’s going to be like this， or such and such is going to happen， or he’s done that for this or that reason。 But he kept proving me wrong。 Everything was very precise， everything had it’s reason。 An example （that shouldn’t give anything away）:A small thing but on flicking through the book at the start I saw some bold all-caps odd font thing， occuring in little bursts， on several pages。 I didn’t read it， but it made me think “oh dear， someone’s being playing with the fonts， and looks like they’ve used Comic Sans without knowing how bad it is”， only to get to that part of the book and think “oh！ it’s actual text from a comic here， an old fashioned one， in which case… this font is strangely ideal， no matter how ugly it looks。”As I say， it was little things like that - I’d have some sort of preconception， and then the book would show I’d got it wrong。 I was in effect， I suppose， expecting how others might write this book， not letting this book tell itself in its own particular way。 And the book is indeed very particular。 And strange。 Do I even now understand it？ No， not really。 It’s a book that doesn’t perhaps want， or need， to be understood。 And that is a rarity。I do hope Garner has another book in him。 [I think I read somewhere that he may consider himself too old。] He is himself a rarity。 But if not， well， I can always read this one again， along with all the others。 。。。more
Andrew
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I quite enjoyed this slice of easygoing whimsy which is the first Alan Garner I've read。 It would be simple to label this as a kind of Northern Alice Through The Looking Glass story， albeit populated with fewer mad characters and with the gender reversed， but it's more of a febrile fantasy。 It's very slippy， and unless you are of a certain age or placement， the distance between book and reader might prove too great。 I fell somewhere inbetween。 It's fine， but I didn't engage with it as much as so I quite enjoyed this slice of easygoing whimsy which is the first Alan Garner I've read。 It would be simple to label this as a kind of Northern Alice Through The Looking Glass story， albeit populated with fewer mad characters and with the gender reversed， but it's more of a febrile fantasy。 It's very slippy， and unless you are of a certain age or placement， the distance between book and reader might prove too great。 I fell somewhere inbetween。 It's fine， but I didn't engage with it as much as some of my peers seem to have done， and I fear I will forget it very quickly。 。。。more
Marco Etheridge
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What a strange， lovely little book。
Snoakes
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Weird and trippy， Treacle Walker sits somewhere in the hinterland between a folk tale and a dream。Joseph Coppock， a young lad sporting an eyepatch to correct a lazy eye， is at home reading comics when the rag and bone man comes by。 Hurriedly he grabs both a rag and a bone and runs to meet the enigmatic Treacle Walker。 The wanderer speaks in mysterious riddles and Joe's world will never be the same again。Highly evocative of the Cheshire of Alan Garner's childhood， Treacle Walker uses dialect， myt Weird and trippy， Treacle Walker sits somewhere in the hinterland between a folk tale and a dream。Joseph Coppock， a young lad sporting an eyepatch to correct a lazy eye， is at home reading comics when the rag and bone man comes by。 Hurriedly he grabs both a rag and a bone and runs to meet the enigmatic Treacle Walker。 The wanderer speaks in mysterious riddles and Joe's world will never be the same again。Highly evocative of the Cheshire of Alan Garner's childhood， Treacle Walker uses dialect， myth and folklore to create a beautiful and otherworldly story of curiosity， memory and time。 。。。more
M
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Dream like and brief
Toons
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This was a little above my literary head。 Supposedly an examination of myth and quantum physics but apart from a strange dream time quality to the writing， I didn't get that。 In fairness no one else seems to know for certain what's going on in the book。 That all said I've added another of his more accessible works to my reading list。 This was a little above my literary head。 Supposedly an examination of myth and quantum physics but apart from a strange dream time quality to the writing， I didn't get that。 In fairness no one else seems to know for certain what's going on in the book。 That all said I've added another of his more accessible works to my reading list。 。。。more
Anthony Peter
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Tricky to summarize， but if you’re a fan of Alan Garner， then this novel seemed to me to be more easily grasped than， for example， ‘Strandloper’ or ‘Boneland’。 For sure， things happen that are beyond explanation， but that does not make them， in Garner’s storytelling， less credible。 There are rare moments when power unaccountably emerges from unknown places in a whirlwind of force， or where old agencies stir with a steady， seemingly irresistible menace。 Garner’s prose is as scrubbed and honed and Tricky to summarize， but if you’re a fan of Alan Garner， then this novel seemed to me to be more easily grasped than， for example， ‘Strandloper’ or ‘Boneland’。 For sure， things happen that are beyond explanation， but that does not make them， in Garner’s storytelling， less credible。 There are rare moments when power unaccountably emerges from unknown places in a whirlwind of force， or where old agencies stir with a steady， seemingly irresistible menace。 Garner’s prose is as scrubbed and honed and terse as his hero-lad Joseph Coppock’s donkey-stoned threshold， and his characters have a style of speech all their ancient-tree-and-root-and-rock own。 A delight to read。[Just for the record， I think 'Thursbitch' is Garner's most unsettling novel。] 。。。more
Anna
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Reading letters that are not there， magic words， a bone to make music with， a comic that comes alive with its characters jumping out of the pages， this is the magical world Treacle Walker conjures up for Joe Coppock to lose himself in。Poor Joe！ He has a hard time trying to figure out the weird things that happen to him and around him and who could blame him for that？ When everything settles and all is well again， Treacle Walker tells his friend Joe what his wish is。 ‘To hear no more the beat of Reading letters that are not there， magic words， a bone to make music with， a comic that comes alive with its characters jumping out of the pages， this is the magical world Treacle Walker conjures up for Joe Coppock to lose himself in。Poor Joe！ He has a hard time trying to figure out the weird things that happen to him and around him and who could blame him for that？ When everything settles and all is well again， Treacle Walker tells his friend Joe what his wish is。 ‘To hear no more the beat of Time。 To have no morrow and no yesterday。 To be free of years。’ He closed his eyes。 ‘Oblivion。 Home。’ And Joe tells him‘That’s not daft。’ ‘It is everything。’ Who would not agree？I did not find it an easy read。 I found it difficult to make sense of it but the story was intriguing enough to keep me going。 It helped that it is only150-odd pages。 I had to look up a few words unknown to me。 Checking the word “glamourie” led me to the wonderful book Glamourie by Alice Stanmore and Jade Stanmore， a feast for the eyes！ Shame I cannot knit！ 。。。more
Richard Howard
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'Alan Garner's writing his memoirs: I guess that's the end of his writing。"Then。。。 Wham！。。。 Treacle Walker， as difficult， enthralling and weird as anything else he has written。 I read it through and then immediately read it again just to try to impose some sense on it。 There's folklore， childhood， history， myth and the physics of time all in there somewhere along with a good dose of shamanism。Who is Treacle Walker and what does he represent？Who， similarly， is Thin Armen？Is Joe an avatar of Garne 'Alan Garner's writing his memoirs: I guess that's the end of his writing。"Then。。。 Wham！。。。 Treacle Walker， as difficult， enthralling and weird as anything else he has written。 I read it through and then immediately read it again just to try to impose some sense on it。 There's folklore， childhood， history， myth and the physics of time all in there somewhere along with a good dose of shamanism。Who is Treacle Walker and what does he represent？Who， similarly， is Thin Armen？Is Joe an avatar of Garner？ Alan Garner nearly died of childhood disease and spent much of his recuperation in his room reading comics。 Biff！ Bam！ Thump！There are definite echoes of Elidor， Boneland and Thursbitch and the time-twistiness of Red Shift too。Garner is very much a Marmite writer and this was reflected in the reviews of 'Treacle Walker'。 I fell in love with his 'children's' books and was later drawn in to the unique world of his 'adult' books。Treacle Walker is as exhilarating and exasperating as any of those。It's also wonderful。 。。。more
Debbie
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I struggled with this children's fable I struggled with this children's fable 。。。more
Al
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I don’t know what just happened。
Mary Victoria
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Strange， hallucinatory journey that I was initially wary of， but ended up loving。 Why wary？ I worried that this slim book might be too thin， anorexic， starved of narrative。 Most of the 'action' is conveyed through tracts of dialogue with barely a speech tag。 Instead， I was surprised by how how well it held together within its own frame of reference。 In fact， it was pleasingly tight， the narrative as coiled and wound up as a spring。 Garner is the master of giving his readers just enough and no mo Strange， hallucinatory journey that I was initially wary of， but ended up loving。 Why wary？ I worried that this slim book might be too thin， anorexic， starved of narrative。 Most of the 'action' is conveyed through tracts of dialogue with barely a speech tag。 Instead， I was surprised by how how well it held together within its own frame of reference。 In fact， it was pleasingly tight， the narrative as coiled and wound up as a spring。 Garner is the master of giving his readers just enough and no more。 His spare style suits the fable-like tale。 I'm reminded of George Saunders' 'Lincoln in the Bardo'。 。。。more
Linda
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Beautiful language。 Great rhythm to the words。
Yellowoasis
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Garner’s world is the land of myths and fairies， mixed together with characters from British comics – it’s quite a rich brew。 I loved the language， full of regional expressions。 It’s about the power of imagination and folklore， a fever-dream drawn from the landscape。
Peter
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This was a short read。 Alan Garner's words are like poetry。 You aren't quite sure what everything means， but the story has a heavy considered-ness to it。 Each word and phrase carefully chosen and shaped with absolute surety to make the whole。 There is a real nostalgia to it as well。 It has a Sunday afternoon pre-21st century feel to it， where there's just comics to read and outdoors to explore。 But also a folk and fairy tale feel， where the characters that Joe meets - Treacle Walker and Thin Amr This was a short read。 Alan Garner's words are like poetry。 You aren't quite sure what everything means， but the story has a heavy considered-ness to it。 Each word and phrase carefully chosen and shaped with absolute surety to make the whole。 There is a real nostalgia to it as well。 It has a Sunday afternoon pre-21st century feel to it， where there's just comics to read and outdoors to explore。 But also a folk and fairy tale feel， where the characters that Joe meets - Treacle Walker and Thin Amren - are like Faerie Folk or Folk Lore figures， who have existed forever and are trying to teach Joe something subtle about time and himself。 And in the end we are not sure whether anything is real or a dream or a parallel world or an afterlife。 It was distilled brilliance。 。。。more
Steve Nixon
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A strange little book。 Enjoyable， but weird。 For some reason I could only ever read a couple of chapters at a time。 The book seemed to need contemplation at that point。 Worth a read， it won't take you long。 A strange little book。 Enjoyable， but weird。 For some reason I could only ever read a couple of chapters at a time。 The book seemed to need contemplation at that point。 Worth a read， it won't take you long。 。。。more
Annette Morris
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Alan Garner has created a novel for adults that's as wildly imaginative as any child's dreams。 It's exuberant， eccentric and totally unlike anything else。 Completely bonkers！ Alan Garner has created a novel for adults that's as wildly imaginative as any child's dreams。 It's exuberant， eccentric and totally unlike anything else。 Completely bonkers！ 。。。more
Lucien Ross
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Everything。
John D。
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I'm really not sure what to make of Treacle Walker。 It's short， pithy， with interesting characters。 But it's also confusing as hell。 It has a mazey， circular plot， as well as language which leans heavily on old-fashioned words the meaning of which is not always clear。 At the end of the book， I was really none the wiser about what I had read， and I'm not clear that re-reading would help。 It's a book you either love and understand， or miss out on completely。 Put me in the second category。 I'm really not sure what to make of Treacle Walker。 It's short， pithy， with interesting characters。 But it's also confusing as hell。 It has a mazey， circular plot， as well as language which leans heavily on old-fashioned words the meaning of which is not always clear。 At the end of the book， I was really none the wiser about what I had read， and I'm not clear that re-reading would help。 It's a book you either love and understand， or miss out on completely。 Put me in the second category。 。。。more
Nigel Thornton
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A tour de force of comic strips and myths， choices and visions， Joe Coppock and Thin Amren and Treacle Walker。
Sadie Slater
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It's hard to find the words to describe Garner's latest novel。 Treacle Walker is poetic， absorbing， profound in places and extremely funny in others。 On the surface it seems slight - the story of an encounter between a young boy recuperating from an illness and a mysterious rag-and-bone man - but its depths go down for miles， and I don't think a single reading got me even halfway down; I was so wrapped up in the glorious way Garner uses words that I don't think I had much space for plot。 Absolut It's hard to find the words to describe Garner's latest novel。 Treacle Walker is poetic， absorbing， profound in places and extremely funny in others。 On the surface it seems slight - the story of an encounter between a young boy recuperating from an illness and a mysterious rag-and-bone man - but its depths go down for miles， and I don't think a single reading got me even halfway down; I was so wrapped up in the glorious way Garner uses words that I don't think I had much space for plot。 Absolutely wonderful。 。。。more
Sanne
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Nog steeds geen idee wat ik precies gelezen heb， maar de fantasie en het ritme van het boek is heerlijk！
Carolyn Drake
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Fantasy writer Alan Garner's novella is a dreamlike fable， just 150 pages long but packed with rich language and ideas and myths and weirdness。 The child hero Joe is drawn into a mirror world after meeting two strange and magical characters， Treacle Walker a rag and bone man， and Thin Amren， a man living in the marshy woods。 Like a fevered folk tale， it's eerie， atmospheric and original。 Fantasy writer Alan Garner's novella is a dreamlike fable， just 150 pages long but packed with rich language and ideas and myths and weirdness。 The child hero Joe is drawn into a mirror world after meeting two strange and magical characters， Treacle Walker a rag and bone man， and Thin Amren， a man living in the marshy woods。 Like a fevered folk tale， it's eerie， atmospheric and original。 。。。more
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