“Home Stretch" by Graham Norton — a testament to the author
*contains spoilers*
Graham Norton has been a weekend staple in my home for as long as I can remember, his talk show synonymous with that giddy Friday night feeling. Although a big fan of his, this is the first of Norton’s novels that I have read. I was eager to see how his easy conversational manner translated to the page; while his name and fame may help sell books, if anything it will make only harsher critics of his readers. There is often an element of begrudgery when it comes to books by ‘celebrities’ which can mean that the bar for attracting praise is set higher than for other, lesser known, authors. That said, I can truthfully say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a really lovely read, but it is also much more than that — it is the result of the author’s twenty plus years of observing people and how they interact with each other.
If the book has a main character, it is Connor Hayes. His actions and decisions set the plot of the book in motion. We first meet him as a lost young man, the driver in a tragic car accident which led to the loss of three lives and irreparable damage to countless others. Shamed and shunted in his small rural community, we then follow Connor as he makes the journey across the Irish sea to a life of relative anonymity in England. The book also follows characters connected to Connor’s story, most notably his sister Ellen, as she navigates the bittersweetness of Connor’s departure and moves into the next stage of her life as a married woman.
This is another multi-generational story with a plot that spans decades (see also my reviews of ‘The Family Tree’ by Sairish Hussain and ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ by Amor Towles). These books, if done well, will draw you in and make you feel like a part of the family. However it is no mean feat to introduce and sufficiently develop a full cast of characters. At times, I did feel like there were slightly jarring gaps in the character development in ‘Home Stretch’ (for example, Ellen goes from being a sister who is relieved when her brother leaves to one who cries tears of joy when he is found, Finbar is described as more or less selfish by his mother but yet jumps on the first flight home when told of a family crisis). Perhaps these can be explained simply by the passing of time, but even so it is important for the reader to witness that evolution as they turn the pages so that we understand the characters and their choices.
Norton’s writing is witty. At times, the reader can almost sense a hint the third party narrator judging the characters in their more morally dubious moments. His writing is also incredibly simple; his descriptions and dialogue not over-engineered or saturated with purposeless adjectives. As an example of simple language done well, in narrating the return of a character to Ireland:
This is what homecoming meant. Arriving in a place to discover you’re fluent in a language you’d forgotten you ever knew.
Perhaps because he has lived and worked in the UK for so long, I did not expect Graham Norton’s writing to be written in such Hiberno English and for the vernacular to be so innately Irish. The subtle peppering of simple phrases such as “in fairness” and “thank God” throughout the book makes the reader feel as though they could be walking through any Irish town overhearing snippets of conversation. Also littered throughout the book are details and occurances that are almost comments on the Irish pysche such is the perceptiveness of Norton’s eye. For example, the offer to make one cup of tea turning into the obligation to make four or five as more people congregate or, on a more serious note, a grieving mother being denounced as “mental” for seemingly excessive sorrowful wailing at her only son’s funeral.
I always try to avoid assuming that an author is writing from experience or drawing upon their own experiences in writing fiction; a good author can write any character and an author should be able to write freely without their characters' experiences being attributed to them. However there were points within this book at which, in spite of myself, I did wonder if Graham Norton’s writing of Connor and his life was informed by his own experiences as a gay man growing up in eighties Ireland. This is particularly the case when Connor worries about coming out to his family and when he feels shame about his sexuality in his younger years. Graham Norton has been vocal about his gratitude to those who stayed behind in the country from which he emigrated to fight for the rights of the Irish LGBTQ community, so it is no coincidence that this is a key theme in ‘Home Stretch’.
As someone whose entire career is founded on his ability to wrestle conversation and laughter from the most reluctant of guests, to detect and diffuse the slightest hint of tension, and to bridge awkward silences with witty remarks, I should not have been surprised by Norton’s capacity to craft good dialogue. What is truly impressive is his ability to sustain that strong dialogue over 359 pages and to pair it with a well crafted plot.
Graham Norton discussed this book on the penultimate episode of the High Low podcast (which I am still mourning). When asked if he prefers presenting or writing, he describes novel writing as his “new toy” but is conscious that a lot of his enjoyment of it comes from the fact that he writes in parallel with his other presenting and media projects. As a reader there is a similarly clear link between his career to date and his new venture into literature; it is exactly what makes Graham Norton a beloved presenter and media personality that makes him such a talented writer.
