Book Review - The Schoolboy by Holly Howitt

‘The Schoolboy’ is the latest

offering from Cinnamon Press and is the first novel from Holly

Howitt, who has previously won awards for her microfiction.

Touted as a psychological thriller in the vein of ‘A Clockwork

Orange’ the book tells the story of Nick, a 16 year old boy seemingly

obsessed with sex and violence, and with an apparently loose hold on

reality. Nick should be an unlikeable character, abhorrent even, and

yet it is disconcertingly easy to empathise with him, so that by the

conclusion I was struggling with logical and emotional discord. Perhaps

that is down to the naturalistic prose and the familiar, if

stereotypical, psychology – if you can remember being 16 you will

appreciate the accuracy of so many small details – the style smacks of

realism and pulls no punches in terms of language and graphic sexual

scenes, but manages to acheive this without crossing over into

excessive profanity or crudeness. In fact whilst reading it occured to

me how bizarre it seemed that this was a book written by a

woman in her twenties, I had to keep reminding myself that it was indeed fiction.

The Schoolboy, then, is a genuinely gripping read. Being a relatively slim tome

you wouldn’t expect it to take too long to read, but I tore through

it in one sitting – not finding any point at which I felt I could stop for

air. The plot tantalises as you read further, unfurling slowly by means

of half-conversations, subtle references and implied notions. The

further you go the harder it is to stop – I shall deem this the ‘Venus

Fly Trap’ of novellas. And not to forget the initial snap of the jaws,

the very first line did that job hypnotically well, drawing you

straight in with the kind of macabre poetry demonstrated in Howitt’s

previous works of microfiction (Dinner Time - also published by Cinnamon and available from the author direct).

Overall this is an electrifying piece of work, brutal, honest and

chilling, which could sit easily between ‘Lord of the Flies’ and ‘The

Wasp Factory’. If you like your fiction to wrap you in a warm fuzzy

duvet, it may not be for you, but if you prefer something smart and

insightful with wit and punch then it’s definitely a book you should be

rushing to get your hands on. Howitt is a very exciting new writer and clearly one to watch.

The Schoolboy is published by Cinnamon Press and is currently available at the special pre-order price of £6.00 on their website as well as the author's, where you can also find out more about  Holly Howitt.