Lucy English launched 'Selfish People' at Arnolfini Centre, Bristol
on. February 19th, 1998


Selfish People
by Lucy English

is published by
Fourth Estate, London 1998

 

Selfish in Bristol

An article by Jodie Wiltshire in Big Issue South West, February 2nd 1998

Alienation, destructive love, loved-up parties, homelessness, and self-flifilment -just some of the themes I'm discussing with Bristol author, Lucy English over coffee in the Watershed café.

Her new novel, Selfish People, has been snapped up by publisher of the year, Fourth Estate, and is Lucy's take on inner-city life in her home town.

Lucy has been writing for ten years as well as being a well-known face on the Bristol poetry circuit. Selfish People came out of doing an MA- after finishing the course, Lucy started submitting it to publishers. The novel's main character Leah is in an abusive relationship with her teacher husband, Al. She finally leaves him, taking the children and embarks on a destructive relationship with the dangerous Bailey, which almost finishes her.

The novel floats between gritty realism and dream-like thoughts that are not only Leah's means of escape but also that of the reader. Reading the novel, you become absorbed in the fragmented lives of the characters, becoming emotionally drained with the violence and the soul-destroying, dangerous love of Bailey and Leah. However, the observational humour towards the absurdity of life creates a comfortable balance. The poetic language of Leah's stream of consciousness separates the sometimes angry language of Al and Bailey. It is a novel that takes you from extremes of emotion to the familiar banalities of everyday life.

The issue of domestic violence is explored with truth and sensitivity. Lucy comments: "1 think what I wanted to do was to present how ordinary people get into difficult relationships, but how they are not monsters. It's how ordinary people can get drawn into these horrendous cycles of abuse and self-destruction. It's not people just living grim lives in dark inner cities - all people's lives can be a mess.

"The relationship between Bailey and Leah is a destructive one. They have both undergone cycles of abuse - hers domestic, his sexual. They are also survivors. Their relationship is one of concealment."

Lucy has perfectly captured the empty relationship of Leah and Bailey. She touches on the psychology behind them. There is a more sinister side to their reasons for being together. They see something that forms a connect ion and it will also destroy them. They both know each other's darkness, and that's the problem. Bailey cannot under-stand Leah, and that excites him. Their conversation is often mismatched, Leah expressive, Bailey reductive - he does not comprehend her words, but he wants them.

The characters in this novel are intense - you really are interested in their lives, and care about what will happen to them. And all this character building is'' done in the vividly depicted setting of pub and city life in Bristol.

Another major theme of the book is homelessness at all levels. Lucy explains: "Anyone can be alienated due to circumstances. I can see how easy it is for people to slip out of what is called mainstream. Something can happen in your life - you lose a partner or a job and then you are out.

"I wanted to reflect on the whole idea of homelessness. I wanted to look at it because Leah is just a ledger - it's not her home. She lives with Axe who is living in a caravan. It is the hidden homeless, where people are kipping on friend's floors, or having to move back home with parents. One minute you are successful, the next you're not-Anyone can be homeless. It happened to me. I've had to go back to my Mum's with my kids; and once without them. I didn't have anywhere to live."

The novel is not all doom and gloom, though. A spirituality is reflected in the lyricism of the images and language. Lucy comments: "Spirituality is a word that turns many people off. I wanted to present how important it is for everyone to connect with the world around them in some sort of emotional way. This happens to Leah and Axe. They come to some sort of peace."

The novel does not end on recovery but is left at the point where things will get better "think I wanted to show how things can shift in life, from being absurd to poignant to quite dramatic. I personally don't enjoy books that just focus on tragic or just the comic. I find life is a whole range of experiences"

Lucy English launched 'Selfish People' at Arnolfini Centre, Bristol
on. February 19th, 1998


Selfish People
by Lucy English

is published by
Fourth Estate, London 1998

Also from Lucy English
"Children of Light" March 1999
"Our Dancing Days" May 2000