Grace Williams Says it Loud [Paperback]

I bought this book after listening to Emma Henderson on the radio. If you want an easy and unchallenging read then this is not for you. The author dazzles you with the experiences of the profoundly disabled Grace with her family at home and then at the Briar, a lumbering institution set in post-war Britain. Her world is one of monotony punctuated with jaw-dropping abuse and neglect, yet at the same time she lives in a blighted paradise of hilarity, of companionship, of tenderness and of love. With beautifully-wrought prose and an almost Asperger's attention to period detail, Emma Henderson grips you and shakes you, like Gunter Gras in The Tin Drum and Edgar Allen Poe in Fall of the House of Usher, and she will not let you go until you have finished, drained and so full of admiration.

This is an unsentimental account of a child with profound disabilities growing up and coming of age in institutions in the 1950s and 60s, and then finally settling into what is called `supported living'. It also details the impact that her disability has on her family. Grace, the narrator, recounts her story with no holds barred. She doesn't shy from letting us know about the messy practicalities of struggling with bodily functions and physical intimacy. Don't expect some coy or sanitised version of disability.

The physical, sexual and emotional abuse that Grace suffers is described graphically but in a way that is a million miles from the misery memoirs that utilise these things as their stock-in trade. Of course it isn't a genuine memoir though Emma Henderson makes a convincing stab at recreating one in what is, apparently, a creative rendering of the life of her own disabled sister.

The novel's matter-of fact tone renders it all the more powerful. Grace becomes almost inured to the casual cruelty she endures on a daily basis with little expectation of being treated any better, or of others recognising her intelligence or humanity. Fortunately she encounters a small number of people sensitive enough to see beyond her disability and these relationships help sustain her. Movingly, she discovers what it is to love and be loved.

Institutional life inevitably takes its toll on Grace and at times her behaviour appears to others to be challenging and bizarre, but mostly it is borne out of sheer frustration and pain.

In terms of awareness-raising it's a very worthy and worthwhile novel, but is it any good? Yes, thankfully, it is. It is wonderfully descriptive and honest. The language fizzes with originality. I have been reading a lot of well-reviewed new writers recently and Henderson stands out as one of the best. Definitely one to watch. If I have any criticism it is that the memoir format renders it somewhat episodic without a strong narrative drive so it meanders a little weakly towards its conclusion. I wavered between a four and five star rating but on balance I think it deserves a five.

Can I put out a plea to reviewers not to use words like `handicapped' or even worse `retarded' as I have seen in several reviews. This is not a matter of political correctness. Words do matter and have the power to hurt and denigrate people as the novel demonstrates. I am taken aback by the fact that so many people glibly assume that Grace has a learning disability or describe her as `mentally impaired'. On what evidence? Where in the novel does she demonstrate any lack of understanding or limited awareness? Nowhere. Her physical appearance, her inability to articulate more than two words at a time - and often those are unintelligible,- and her drooling and dribbling, so vividly described here, are factors that lead doctors in less enlightened times to diagnose her as `a complete imbecile'. Some readers seem to have taken this at face value even though the medical profession are portrayed with so little credibility. How can you listen to the voice of this clear-sighted, observant, funny, sharp-witted young woman without seeing the intelligence that shines through? Inabilty to communicate does not equate with an inability to think and reason. Some people even seem sceptical that someone like Grace could tell her story so eloquently. Why?

Grace Williams says it loud but it seems not loud enough for some readers.

I wanted to adore this book, really I did- but I couldn't. I found it such a struggle to get into and nearly gave up on it several times. This book had the potential to be really fantastic, but for me it's distinctly average. After seeing other five star reviews on here, I do have to wonder if maybe I've read a different book from everyone else- but this book just really wasn't my cup of tea at all.

I liked the premise of the novel and in places it is well written- it's just for me the `good' bits are few and far between and don't compensate for the rest of the story. I do however think the author should be praised for tackling such a subject, and one which was clearly very personal to her.

I suppose my main problem with this book was that for me, the protagonists `voice' just didn't work; particularly as the plot jumps all over the place from present day to Grace as a child and then back again she recaps her memories so there's a *lot* for her to say. I found it very jarring and a bit disorientating if I'm honest, though I think even if the book had been a bit more linear it still would have made me feel this, as aspects of the prose used were clunky and disjointed. I felt the author was trying too hard to be poetic- she uses five words when one or two would have done instead. Sometimes Grace was also very loquacious, yet at other times lapsed into a more childish way of thinking, which didn't always make sense.

The book contains aspects of sexual and physical abuse from the medical professionals at the institution which was hard to read, as well as rather graphic descriptions of toilet habits, which the author certainly doesn't shy away from, so this book is certainly not for the faint hearted. It does make you think however, about how people in institutions were treated and the horrors that they went through, so clearly touches a nerve and feels very raw and real.

There is some very good characterisation in this book however, which is another positive. The romance between Grace and Daniel was poignant and touching and is for me, what prevents this book from being a mere two-star read. Some of the other secondary characters too, are wonderful- though as we see them from Grace's perspective I did feel a sense of detachment from them in places.

As so many other people have loved this book, maybe this is one you should try for yourself; as for me, I doubt I would read any books by this author in future.