Truly remarkable and original; a book that almost sends shivers down my back writing about it now. Think of the work partly as a poem, a homage to city life; its noises, rhythms, communities that can form yet remain anonymous and more. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things has two overlapping narratives: the action of one memorable day and one of the characters (now pregnant) reflecting on that day three years on. The event around which the novel centres occurs in August 1997 on the same day that Diana died. There is a clear poignancy, since several of the characters are students and their lived experience mirrors with my own. (The author was also born in 1976.) Beyond the dynamic of how each character witnesses the crucial moment around which the novel is set, there is also the idea/recognition of transience, per the title of the novel. As the protagonist at the centre of the three years or sections finds, if nobody does indeed ‘speak of remarkable things’, then they can plausibly become forgotten. This idea is also overlaid with the construction that even in a small community — one street of terraced housing (in Bradford) — it is possible both to know and not to know at all (let alone remember) one's neighbours. McGregor does a superb job in drawing out the tension to the climax, and there are several unexpected twists. If there is a letdown, then it would perhaps be the somewhat heavy-handed use of simile, albeit this is McGregor's first novel. (I very much enjoyed Lean Fall Stand earlier this year.)
By Jon McGregor