Shuttlecock (novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | Graham Swift |
| Products | Psychological thriller novel |
Shuttlecock, a psychological thriller, represents Graham Swift's second published novel, released in 1981 through Allen Lane. It was awarded the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 1983 and later adapted into a motion picture in 1993.
Plot
Prentis, employed as a junior assistant within the London police archives, begins composing a personal memoir amid increasing estrangement from his family and frequent visits to his unresponsive father. At his workplace, he grows suspicious that his superior, Quinn, is concealing files connected to an investigation involving his father's betrayal of a friend and a blackmailer disputing his father's WWII heroism. As Quinn nears retirement, he evaluates Prentis as a possible replacement, proposing a promotion contingent on Prentis agreeing to eliminate the files. Prentis consents, leading to a restoration of his family relationships and overcoming his feelings of inadequacy compared to his father. He ultimately reflects that personal histories are often constructed narratives; just as his father's espionage tales hid deeper realities, Prentis now shapes his own identity to obscure personal vulnerabilities.
Reception
Upon its release, the novel garnered predominantly positive critiques, with reviewers commending its intricate storytelling and examination of ambiguity as a means to humanize historical events. Critics highlighted Swift's adept fusion of fictional elements into a unified narrative. Conversely, some reviewers perceived the prose as overly focused on everyday details and slow-moving, which they felt limited its effectiveness as a suspense novel. Nevertheless, publications such as Punch praised it as a compelling psychological thriller, lauding the nuanced interplay between Prentis’s occupational challenges and private life alongside consistently strong writing quality.
External links
- Graham Swift's Shuttlecock on www.victorianweb.org
- Graham Swift discusses Shuttlecock with Hermione Lee – British Library sound recording
- London Review of Books, Vol. 3 No. 17 · 17 September 1981, by Alan Hollinghurst