28/04/2026
I've just finished reading 'Nearby' by Gareth Jackson, a novel halfway between history and fiction centred on Newton le Willows, a northern town halfway between Liverpool and Manchester.
It's an intriguing book. It's prose written in a poetic style, often in tiny segments unrelated to other parts of the text.
It somehow reminded me of an old super 8 cine camera, which would take one photograph, then another, then another at a rate of 18 frames per second which, when played back at the same rate, would provide the illusion of a moving image. This book does a similar thing, but the 'frames' of history it gives us are initially thousands of years apart. As the novel progresses the interval between the literary snapshots grows progressively shorter, ultimately speeding up to almost lifespeed - albeit fragmented - and inhabiting the present day.
It tells the tale of nature growing around people, who believe they are taking control and shaping events, founding a settlement which ebbs and flows, becomes larger and then shows a gradual decline - perhaps this is meant to be representational of society as a whole.
Characters live their lives in amongst the cyclic flourish and burgeoning decay, invaders arrive and leave, loves blossom and wilt, youth becomes age, hopes fade.
It's fairly accurate to historical progression, as far as I can ascertain, suggesting that the author did some detailed research prior to writing. There's a grim edge to the whole, a picture of the inevitability of everything eventually falling apart, and reading it gives a feeling of voyeurism, snatching glimpses of people striving for the best for themselves and their families despite circumstances conspiring against them.
Despite all this, I found reading the book fascinating, somewhat inspirational, seeing a view of how people can rise to survive against the odds, how they can make the best of things. Fleeting glimpses of characters sometimes left me wanting to know more, but others soon took their place and proved just as interesting. Strands of the story occasionally overlap, with people and places being referenced from different angles, and the overall picture builds in the mind's eye.
If I said this was a humorous book, I'd have to clarify by saying it's not overtly funny, but only obliquely - the characters are deadpan, but their actions and circumstance do occasionally give cause for mirth. Perhaps it's the sort of nervous laughter we usually reserve for stressful situations.
My favourite chapter, in its entirety, reads:
'Sprayed on the concrete panels of the back garden walls of the houses of the estate in large black capitals are the words HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH?'
I'm not sure that reading the book made me want to visit Newton le Willows, but I certainly enjoyed delving into its history. You can buy a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/NEARBY-Gareth-Jackson/dp/B0DXTRV989.
A novel about Newton le Willows, a northern town halfway between Liverpool and Manchester, documenting the vanishing narratives and small lives that have occurred there.
