The Kin [Paperback]

On the cover of my paperback edition, the author Philip Pullman describes "The Kin" as "a magnificent work". This it certainly is, although it is this "magnificence" that may make it something of an acquired taste to many readers.

The plot of the novel is simple: a tribe of early humans, living roughly 200,000 years ago, have been separated from one another and must search for a new life in the inhospitable African plains. Therefore, the setting of the book is spectacular - the landscapes described are almost worthy of a Tolkien novel, yet they are set recognisably on Earth. Actually, I would have found a map helpful in many ways. During the journey, adolescent members of the tribe must learn to be leaders and are forced to change promptly from "children" to "adults".

The book itself is divided into four stories, each told from the point of view of a different character. The four books have been sold separately, but I found that this "compilation" improved the flow of the writing and plot in some ways. In each book, we see a previously "innocent" child realise that they cannot afford to remain innocent in their environment, and by the end of each, the characters in question have learned a lesson about life that is often applicable to the modern world. The characters are excellent - in some ways, they are less recognisably "human" than the protagonists of "talking animal" books such as Watership Down, but this has allowed the author to concentrate on creating excellent descriptions of their simpler emotions. Dickinson can convey fear, for example, in a way that might be lost if he was writing about more modern, streetwise characters. Therefore, we can empathise with characters who are in situations we are never likely to encounter ourselves - one mark of a good, well-written book.

Dickinson certainly "brings home" the primitive nature of the Kin's world. The only technologies available to the tribe are fire and some amount of woodworking and stoneworking. In this world, humans are nowhere near the top of the food chain and must rely on their wits to survive. This makes "The Kin" a refreshing change from books with a more "modern" feel.

The writing in "The Kin" is simple; I would expect an eight-year-old to cope with the book. This is to be expected in the dialogue, because the urgency and simplicity of the characters' emotions must be conveyed. However, I found that the simplicity of the writing in some action scenes actually slowed the book down at times, hindering the flow of some passages. This style of writing is certainly "different", but it may annoy many readers.

Another thing that may irritate readers is the nature of the plot. There does not seem to be any central "thread" to the plot of the Kin - instead, the book reads like a serial, describing different events and difficulties which the characters must overcome. Again, it is possible to expect a nomadic plot in a book about nomads, and therefore this is not necessarily a drawback, but it can irritate at times. There was no major theme which had to be resolved by the end of the book, and many sub-plots were never resolved, leaving a number of unanswered questions.

The theme of animism is also brought into this book. This is possibly one of the hardest elements of the plot to understand, but it is clear that the tribe itself does not clearly understand the nature of its deities, having built its traditions around them and gone on to "accept" these traditions rather than question them.

I enjoyed this book, and found it an interesting diversion from many slightly more mainstream books. The plot premise was spectacular, the characters and setting were superb, and many parents might appreciate the moral themes. However, as I was fifteen at the time of reading this book (which, I believe, is possibly at the upper end of the author's target audience), I am in more of a position simply to give my verdict as a reader.

This was an unusual piece of writing, and I am sure many authors would have been proud to so successfully create a fictional civilisation built on no historical evidence. Some parts of this ambitious idea certainly succeeded, while others possibly failed, and I am sure that many readers would not find this book to their tastes. As it is, I would recommend it simply to find out whether or not you think it works, and would welcome other books like it.