Lauraine Povey’s The Veil of Anonymity, published last
year, is a novel about bullying – particularly cyberbullying. The novel focuses
on one year ten boy as he takes out his frustrations and jealousy on Marcus
James, another boy in his school. The bully sends him threatening texts and
facebook messages, stalks him and hacks into his online accounts – all of
which, we are told from the very beginning, will ultimately result in Marcus’s
death.
There are some really
clever ideas here. For one it’s always interesting to see a story about
bullying from the perspective of the bully, turning it on its head. We’re not
only watching the victim’s life fall apart, but we’re also watching the
downward spiral of the bully, as he slowly loses control. I love that he is
always referred to as ‘the bully’, so that he’s hiding in anonymity not only
online but in the very pages of the novel. The ambiguous narrative voice is
also a great touch. Having this bitter and intriguing first person voice
intruding every now and then on the otherwise third person narration really
builds suspense.
And this is a really
gripping book. I got very into the story, especially in the second half. The
structure is key here, for in a way we know the end long before we get to it.
The very first sentences of the novel tells us that ‘Marcus James is dead. Killed
by a bully.’ We read the book then not to find out what happens so much as to
find out how and why things went so far. (I should say too that, impressively,
the ending still managed to surprise me.) This structure and beginning sets up
an atmosphere of impending tragedy; you literally know something dreadful is
about to happen – it’s just a matter of when. There’s something kind of
Shakespearian about this. It’s brilliantly ironic that the bully keeps on
getting detention for not doing his essay on Macbeth, for in a way the novel
takes elements of Macbeth (or perhaps more accurately of Othello). Told from
the end as the story is, tragedy is inevitable. And because it has already
happened, there is little chance of redemption for the bully.
The actual bullying
itself is told well. There are a couple of scenes in the later section of the
novel which I found a little hard to believe, but the most part the bullying he
does is credible, convincing and genuinely creepy. Even though you’re reading
it from the bully’s perspective, you still do get a sense of how unsettled and
miserable it must make Marcus. I for one I am never going to sign off a text :)
x again.
The characterisation
is fairly strong. Povey makes it clear on the first page that these are just
‘normal teenage’ boys. I think this certainly comes across, especially in the
relationship between the bully and his friend Sam, and in his crush on Jess at
the start. Marcus too feels real, and I quite like how although Povey never
lets us see into Marcus’s head, we still get a sense of what he’s feeling. For
much of the novel, especially in the scenes set in the school, we’re witnessing
the slightly messy lives of ordinary teenagers. Except that there’s something
much more sinister going on behind this. The bully’s schoolboy crush on Jess
becomes complete obsession, as does his hatred and jealousy of Marcus. And
because of the isolation and invisibility computers and phones allow, no one
really notices as the bully completely loses grip on what he’s doing. This loss
of control, the bully’s completely inability to stop himself, is very cleverly written.
The main weakness of
this novel was for me that sometimes things are a bit over the top, feelings or
actions overdone when they could have been described in a much more subtle way.
I think it might have been more effective if the hatred and anger of the bully
had been more understated, or shown through his behaviour instead of directly
reporting his feelings, especially nearer the beginning of the book. At times The Veil of Anonymity does risk making
an important and relevant issue such as bullying or cyberbullying seem a little
melodramatic. This is perhaps partially because of the age group the book is
intended for; and while I do read a fair bit of Young Adult fiction, those I
tend to read are books aimed at the older end of the YA spectrum. Nonetheless,
I still think the novel might have been a little more effective if at times the
themes and the bully’s motivations had been less overstated – though I fully
acknowledge I’m not the ideal target reader.
In short, I do
recommend this, but I think mainly for under 16s. Povey’s dealing with a very
important issue here, especially for teenagers of that age. It’s easy to feel,
perhaps as the bully does, that words texted or typed on the internet aren’t
quite real. Povey deals with this issue well, and insightfully describes how
people can lose sight of the effects of their actions on others. So many YA
novels these days focus on love stories, seeming to be about just how important
it is to get the girl/guy of your dreams. It’s refreshing and interesting to
see a YA novel that deconstructs this trend. The bully wants Jess, and Marcus
is in the way – and the manner in which he deals with it is shown to be absolutely
not worth it.
Greatest
strength: The
premise and the narrative structure.
Greatest
weakness: As I
said, I did find some parts a little over the top.
Let’s
finish on a quote: Kids can be cruel.
I think that kind of
sums up the book
Next week: The Dynamite Room, by Jason Hewitt
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