In Search of Solace

Reviews / Votes

Accomplished ... Although the characters are a fascinating bundle of quirks, archetypes and meticulously original characterisation, Mackie's unique narrative voice is the real highlight ... A nuanced look at identity, memory and modern Britain, In Search of Solace is a novel in the vein of Iain Banks at his best. The List This is a cautionary tale about the way we live now, and the importance of being rooted in one identity ... Mackie uses time loops to build a complex and intriguing mystery around Jacob, who although flawed, is incredibly compelling ... An accomplished, fresh and darkly comic second novel Stylist Emily Mackie was brought up in Scotland and the characters she draws in the small town are strong and believable ... she writes beautiful, clever, often funny prose that challenges conventions ... It hops about, forwards and backwards, diverting from third-person to first-person, from years ahead to years before, until the reader is almost dizzy from trying to keep up with the sequence of events. But it is only then, having disorientated the reader that Mackie begins subtly, layer by layer, peeling away the preconceptions that she herself has introduced and revealing the truth of the matter. Daily Express The reader is pulled in by this book's strange charm, so that, by the end, it's likely you'll have started thinking about the concept of identity - including your own. It's not a comfortable read - disturbing, rather - but confirms Mackie, whose first novel was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, as someone to keep an eye on. Daily Mail "With me as your guide," says the narrator of this extraordinary novel, "you will see the awkward uncomfortable, the gruesome grotesque, the rancid bilious retching of life." This is undoubtedly true - but you'll also see humour, scary amounts of imaginative energy and writing that crackles with talent. Saga [Mackie] delights in bringing to the page the unusual and the unobserved ... her writing feels fresh and alert to nuance, is emotionally sympathetic and compelling ... It is as meaningful as those ancient quests always were, and it is in the hands of a master manipulator who is comfortable enough in her own workings to let us see exactly what she is doing. Scotsman Emily Mackie is only just past 30 and already publishing her second novel. Her first book, And This Is True, created an eccentric, closed world of drifters and outsiders; In Search of Solace, with similar panache and aplomb, maps a small Highland town with one pub, one panini shop and a lot of time on its hands ... Like all shaggy dog stories, this novel forces the reader to find enjoyment in the telling of the tale rather than its resolution - and there is plenty to relish here, particularly in the character of Lucy and the imagining of the tense little town. Guardian