A Dirty Death by
Rebecca Tope
pbk out October 99
(Piatkus)
at £5.99
A Dirty Death is the first novel by accomplished short story writer, Rebecca Tope and provides a fascinating insight into farm life and how the BSE crisis has affected dairy and beef farmers.
Guy Beardon, an unpopular farmer, is found face down in the slurry pit (whose use was never explained to us non-farm readers) by his twenty year old daughter, Lilah. After a second, more obvious murder, the Beardon family become aware of how, even after fourteen years, they have never quite been accepted by the strange local community. Tope produces character studies which allow us to see her villagers through the eyes of the naive Lilah as, freed from the over-protective influence of her father, she begins to evolve from child to woman, aided by the attraction of Den, the local constable and a one-time school crush.
The study of the un-Christian vicar as he decides what to omit from the funeral service of Guy Beardon to stop the women crying and show his dislike of the man in a subtle manner is a delight as is the weak Jonathan Mabberley who, surprisingly, comes from a generation of farmers. Tope does have stereotypes but she also surprises with her accurate reading of weak-willed men and selfish women all of whom will do anything to satisfy themselves or avoid problems.
The language is simple, reflecting the simplicity of farm life where everything has a season and a mistake could result in death. Guy was murdered as much by outside forces (revealed tantalisingly in the last few pages) as his careless refusal to follow the rules governing the mysterious slurry pits. The reality of farming and its hardness is faced up to, most poignantly, in the fate of male calves (saved from the pain of becoming veal with long protest-inducing journeys) to 'be despatched at a tender age, to become Pedigree Chum or Kit-e-Kat' (p142).
The mystery increases as Lilah starts to see her beloved father as others would have seen him, a bully and a harsh father and the bodies start to pile-up until village life smells as pleasant as . . . slurry and the Beards as popular as grockles.
A Dirty Death does not quite live up to its potential which is a shame as the structure is there but too much of the characterisation is two-dimensional and the book is marred by stupid, avoidable mistakes including Roddy opening the door of the farm when he was, in fact, in Alton Towers. That said, I will be reading her next book to see if she fulfils the promise apparent in this first novel.
A Dirty Death by
Rebecca Tope