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Book Reviews The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet, review: 'delicious drollery' Nicolette Jones enjoys a joyous literary satire that sends up book prizes, festivals and the excesses of JRR Tolkien 5 5 out of 5 stars Mal Peet Mal Peet Photo: Steffan Hill By Nicolette Jones 10:00AM GMT 09 Dec 2014 Comments Comments Mal Peet has won acclaim as a writer in what he has described as the “arbitrary bracket” of fiction for young adults. His sophisticated novel Tamar, about Dutch radio operators in the Second World War, won the librarians’ esteemed CILIP Carnegie Medal. The Murdstone Trilogy – not part of a trilogy – is his first adult novel. Philip Murdstone is an acclaimed writer for young adults whose work sells miserably. He is urged by his hard-nosed agent, Minerva Cinch, also his lust object, to write fantasy because it sells for advances “not far short of a bent banker’s bonus”. Philip hasn’t the least capacity for fantasy. In purple ink on a piece of scrap paper (the final page of Philip’s latest YA manuscript), Minerva writes him a formula, basically, with biting humour, the plot of The Lord of the Rings. Philip is left to unproductive despair, until he meets a gnomelike “greme” called Pocket Wellfair with uninhibitedly scatological speech, and makes a Faustian pact. The account of Philip’s subsequent literary success encompasses exhilarating send-ups of the Hay Festival (a “net exporter of rain”), naff American chat shows, a book prize ceremony and interviews with journalists who “eat writers’ heads for lunch, broiled, on a bed of thistles”. Through all these, Philip (like the reader) has a ball. But, as is the way of Faustian pacts, things don’t work out well. Reality and fantasy interweave, suggesting a writer’s submergence in his invention, as if the vivid intrusion of the fantasy world into Philip’s could be in his own mind. “Reality,” one grotesque from “the Realm” tells Philip, “is fluid. Slippery. There are two ways of stabilising it. The first is by the use of Magick… The second is with words.” Are words the only Magick in this story? Related Articles * The 85 best books of 2014 15 Apr 2015 * Mal Peet, writer, dies aged 67 03 Mar 2015 * The Socrates Effect: a new short story by Mal Peet 03 Mar 2015 * Tolkien's Beowulf: 'long-winded but potent battle scenes' 20 May 2014 * World Book Night: give a book to someone you love 23 Apr 2012 * 'Cursed' ring that inspired The Hobbit 02 Apr 2013 We are party to a joyously entertaining stream of Philip’s ribald, boozy, blokish, depressive thoughts. And Peet is a master of comic set pieces, including the reactions of local yokels to Philip’s fame. Most hilarious is the dialogue between mustachioed, thumb-sucking twin sisters disturbingly interested in Philip, but a vicar who swears and is called upon to perform an exorcism, a randy Croatian waitress and Himalayan monks all people scenes of delicious drollery. This novel is huge fun, a jeu d’esprit inspired by writers’ struggle to survive. Its weakness is that we hear, in synopsis, the story of Philip’s fantasy bestseller, and it reads, well, like a fantasy bestseller. But even that might delight the readers who would have made Murdstone’s fortune. [murdstone_cover_3127874a.jpg] The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet 320pp, David Fickling, Telegraph offer price: £13.49 (PLUS £1.95 p&p) 0844 871 1515 (RRP £14.99, ebook £7.79). Call 0844 871 1515 or see books.telegraph.co.uk [Books_540x147_3394077a.jpg] Book Reviews * Culture » * Books » * Book news » * Fiction Reviews » * Culture Reviews » telegraph book shop Telegraph Book Shop Related Partners * Love puzzles? 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