Pity by Andrew McMillan - Review

Oh my god, this book! I found it on a trip to The Bookish Type in March. I had vouchers to spend and I bought three books and this was one of them. I bought it because it's set in Barnsley, where I live, and it is queer, and it reflects on the Miners' Strike, which I like to read about. It is only a short book, a novella really, and it is told in little vignettes, which I also really liked. 

There are four main characters to the book. First of all, in the present time, there is Simon. He is a youngish man; he works in a call centre in Barnsley taking bets. He also does drag in the evenings, usually in Sheffield, but he has been asked to do a show in Barnsley in the club that he and his family frequent. He is gay and has started seeing a lad, Ryan, who works as security in the Alhambra shopping centre. Ryan is more straight acting than Simon and at times this causes conflict between them. Simon also does Only Fans, making a bit of money on the side. He lives with his dad, Alex, an ex miner. His mum left when he was younger. Simon is a great character - he's proud of who he is and where he's come from. 

Alex and Brian are the next characters. They are brothers. They lost their dad in a pit accident when they were just teenagers and lived with their mum after that. Brian has got involved with some researchers who are looking at the effects of the Miners' Strike - maybe 40 years after it happened - and who are very much outsiders looking in. Brian is attending some sessions to help them but he's quite taciturn. He was a miner himself through the strike, as a young man, but he remembers so much more. 

Alex was also a miner, in the exact pit that his dad died in. Alex has a complicated life and I don't want to ruin the story so I won't, but I really felt for him and his life. I would have loved more of his story but I utterly understand how it was more effective to not write too much about him. 

The fourth character is Alex and Brian's dad. He isn't exactly a full character - he's a ghost. All his parts are repetitive. He gets up, he goes to work, on the walk to the pit he catches up with his coworkers, he gets in the cage and goes down to the coal face, he works, he works, he works. These bits are almost poetic and they're so amazing, I loved them. It was such an effective way of telling his story. 

I also liked the shout out to Maurice Dobson and his partner Fred, who lived in Barnsley and ran a shop, at a time when homosexuality was illegal. We have so much to be proud of in this little town. 

I'm giving this five out of five and I now want everyone I know to read this book! I love it.