Goodbye, Hessle Road by Daphne Glazer Reviewed By Cathy Walker

Goodbye Hessle Road is the new novel by local writer Daphne Glazer, set in and around Hull. It focuses on the lives of Donna, her mum and grandmother Ruby and features many local landmarks from the leafy suburbs of the Avenues to the inside of Hull Prison. Donna is a drugs worker at Hull prison; she is portrayed as a strong woman, with attitude and hidden vulnerability. Her mum lives on the Avenues and struggles to cope with Ofsted inspectors and her teenage son. In grandma Ruby the family has its Hessle Road roots; Ruby is not afraid to give her family her opinion on their lives, but her own history is more colourful than they might suspect.

In many ways the novel effectively depicts the history of Hull through Donna and her family. The fishing industry and community of Hessle Road is remembered through Ruby; she was part of a generation who were moved from Hessle Road to the new housing estates in the city, only to face relocation again as the council takes steps to demolish her tower block. Through education her daughter was able to secure a middle class life on The Avenues and is in many ways a stereotype of her age and class position (she frequently cooks the family peasant omelette). Donna benefited from a liberal middle class upbringing, but her work with drug addicts makes her potentially vulnerable.

Hull's dark side is very much in attendance. A central theme of the novel is hold of drug taking, crime and prostitution on the city. Daphne Glazer weaves this theme through he novel in several ways- through Donna's frustrations in her work with drug addicts, the murder of Donna's school friend Joanne (who was working as a prostitute to fund her drug habit), and through Shane. Shane is a former client who re-enters Donna's life as a reformed character following release from prison.

This is a novel with potential. The descriptions of Hull are highly effective and evocative of the feel of the city. thisisUll.com readers would enjoy the novel from this perspective, as a Hull of the past and present is opened up to them by Daphne Glazer. Yet the novel has flaws.

Much more could have been made of the three central female characters. Ruby in particular was an effectively drawn character about whom I wanted to learn more, particularly about her life as young woman. A historical dimension where the reader could encounter a young Ruby in her Hessle Road adventures could have been a useful vehicle for the novel. The themes that connect the three generations of women- all have had little success in their love lives for example- could have been explored further. It is the conclusion of the story (specifically who murdered Joanne) that I found most disappointing, but of course I won't reveal the end!

The undertone of this conclusion suggests that people don't change, that those who have done wrong in the past are likely to do wrong in the future and that it is difficult to break out of your surroundings if you have a difficult start in life. Whilst in many cases this might be true, I would like to hope that it is not.

Of course, the author may not have wished to make this point so resolutely as I interpreted it and it should not deter others from reading the book to form their own opinion of the messages it gives about Hull and its people. Goodbye Hessle Road is recommended a good piece of 'ull fiction that makes effective use of its setting. Published by Tindal Street Press, ISBN: 0954791312

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