Little Green Man

by Simon Armitage

Little Green Man , Simon Armitage's first novel, draws on the author's gritty Yorkshire upbringing to produce a vivid story of childhood nostalgia and adult disillusionment. Armitage's protagonist is the feckless Barney, thirtysomething, divorced, and alienated from his autistic son. His only passion are his mates, "the old friends, the ones you were brought up with, who go further back than you remember, who've been there since the beginning. You didn't choose them--they're like family. Like blood." When Barney unearths what turns out to be a priceless relic from his childhood days--the "little green man" of the novel's title--he gets back in touch with his old Winkie, Pompus, Stubbs and Tony Football. Desperate to "turn back the clock" and relive their childhood escapades, Barney proposes a game of truth or dare. Each member of the gang "dares" another. Failure to complete a dare leads to disqualification. The winner walks away with the priceless little green man. As the stakes get higher, friendships begin to dissolve as hairy women are seduced, sheep are slaughtered and excrement eaten. In the process the gang reveal some of their deepest secrets, from abuse to impotence, and as the game begins to get out of hand, Barney himself has to confront the responsibilities of adulthood. The problem is that the novel's brutally frank portrayal of both Barney and his gang is so convincing that it becomes difficult to feel any sympathy for anyone. Little Green Man is a tough, uncompromising debut novel, but many fans of Armitage may feel it lacks the originality of his highly acclaimed poetry. -- Jerry Brotton

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Modern

246 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Simon Armitage, whose The Shout was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, has published ten volumes of poetry and has received numerous honors for his work. He was appointed UK Poet Laureate in 2019

Armitage's poetry collections include Book of Matches (1993) and The Dead Sea Poems (1995). He has written two novels, Little Green Man (2001) and The White Stuff (2004), as well as All Points North (1998), a collection of essays on the north of England. He has produced a dramatised version of Homer's Odyssey and a collection of poetry entitled Tyrannosaurus Rex Versus The Corduroy Kid (which was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize), both of which were published in July 2006. Many of Armitage's poems appear in the AQA (Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) GCSE syllabus for English Literature in the United Kingdom. These include "Homecoming", "November", "Kid", "Hitcher", and a selection of poems from Book of Matches, most notably of these "Mother any distance...". His writing is characterised by a dry Yorkshire wit combined with "an accessible, realist style and critical seriousness."

Reviews

[Plum-crazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the nostalgic 70's read I was half hoping for but a good read nevertheless. In a nutshell, Barney re-unites with his childhood friends after discovering that the little green man they used to play with is in fact a jade statue worth £750K. He reinstates their old game of dares but now the winner takes all.....or at least the statue!

Petty squabbles & rivalry ensues as the dares get increasingly nastier - the less said about one of them the better - & the story shifts between the gangs teenage years & current time. I didn't like the ending - though I don't think I've correctly understood what the author was intending by it - & for me it spoilt what otherwise was quite a good read.

[Dark Lord · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok until the awful, awful, lame ending. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to waste the several hours I spent on it.

[Nick Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, in the main, some uncomfortable aspects nevertheless. Armitage isn't impressive in his language (not flowery, for a poet - my assumptions, I acknowledge) but here he writes a sensitive and convincing story. Our protagonist is a separated father who does a few odd jobs, comes over a little aimless, young autistic son, and he tells the tale of his teenage years with a group of friends, and bringing them back together in a strange 'dares' game associated with a small jade statue. I got quite a few enjoyable reminisces about 70s/80s life as a lad, I thought many of the more modern 'adulting' bits were also touching. It felt mainly a bit 'lad lit' but there were darker undertones and some themes which were genuinely saddening. It didn't completely work IMHO but I got through it in one day and appreciated it.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard, harsh read showing that sometimes the past is best left there, this is compelling novel that drags you forward even though it's hard to have any sympathy - or even empathy - with the characters. Richly written, this is highly recommended.

[Ian Mapp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has sat on my shelf for a staggering length of time. I have subsquently seen the author, in his poetic guise, on the Book Show on Sky Arts.

This is very good blokish book, that is better than the premise - 70's nostalgia gone man. Its a bit of a cliche used by poor stand up comedians to list loads of discontinued 70s sweets for a cheap laugh. Armitage uses this exact plot, although there is a far more sinister undercurrent at play here - the broken promise of adulthood.

Barney is a 30 something man. He has an autistic kid that he cannot deal with and a sympathetic ex wife, who one of his school friends has slept with.

And this book is all about friendship - barney reunites his old school chums with the premise that a green statuette they found and played with as children is worth £750K.

This give the book to move backwards and forwards through time - a chapter on the 70s then one in the nineties.

The statue was used as the token in a game of dare when they were kids. Barney re-ignites this game, with a set of rules that should leave a winner who can have the prize (why they dont share the money, I dont know!).

Cue a game of increasinly bizarre adult dares and relevations about the past that show Barney is quite the jack the lad we thought he was. No one comes out with any real merit and the disillusionment of what goes wrong as these characters grow up is palable.

A very good book for at least four fifths, which eventually runs out of steam and has a bit of a twist and then a straightforward ending.

High quality lad lit.

[Beeeeee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book about 2 years ago when I was doing my GCSE's as we had to study an anthology of poetry and there were several by Simon Armitage. I thought they were witty and something that a typical 15 year old could understand without reaching for the neares dictionary. In other words it was in language that was understandable. I even went to see him at this poet fest and that was very good too. Anyway, I thought this book was very interesting. I would not have guessed the outcome, I had an inkling about some of it but I'm glad there was that way. I enjoyed reading about the characters and the relationships although disturbing and not the most healthy relationships to have, I thought he wrote them honestly in a way that wasn't totally normal yet entirely probable.

[Merry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A study of a man who is still a "lost boy" inside. Dark, gripping and meditative. Excellent. I read the last two-thirds in one chunk, barely able to read on but unable to put it down. Great passages of poetic prose. Ultimately redemptive.
If only all adults who are "lost children" could save themselves.

[Thais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un bel libro, ben scritto, appassionante e scorrevole, ma mi aspettavo di più. Forse semplicemente speravo che la vicenda andasse a finire in un modo diverso.

[TheAuntie · Rating 1 out of 5]

mah... uno schifo, veramente uno schifo, solo un maschio poteva scrivere un libro così... un libro da maschi, di maschio per maschi... odioso

[Kate Bystrova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly brilliant, down-to-earth, Northern, "sensitive not sentimental", carefully witty, authentic book that's well worth the journey, if not the destination.

[Edmund Bloxam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Underwhelming. But the end justifies the means, eventually, as we find out what the slightly ridiculous game of one-upmanship progresses is really all about. The back of the book summed it up pretty well by saying 'a child's game is made dangerous with adult stakes' (ie. money).

Ultimately, though, if you are not a man who lived through early 70s Britain, (which I am not), much of this may go over your head.

Also, it seems the main character has some kind of mental illness, which explains his behaviour throughout and especially at the end. But since this is never really made clear, it's not really what the book is about, whereas the book might have made more sense if it had.

[Duncan Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this was a really terrible book, sort of sub-Nick Hornby, but actually it's rather fascinating, it's just that all the characters are terrible people. It's quite amusing to see how many people thought the ending was 'lame'.

[Kirsty Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re-read as I came across a copy that I was gifted back in 2001 when it was first published. I'm sad to say that I was slightly disappointed this time around (I can't remember my first impressions) and maybe my expectations were raised by Armitage's current status in the literary world.

[Harold Good · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quirky tale with a strange ending, but an enjoyable read. Being of a certain age with several friends from my school days it brought back some good memories - Subbuteo for one!

[Ally Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A work of genius. It contains some great life lessons and insight. A wonderful story with a wicked double twist.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read about confronting the memories of the past. Very relatable.