REVIEW: Six Pounds, Eight Ounces

‘My first word was clock only it came out as cock.’

As opening lines go, that in Six Pounds Eight Ounces probably got your attention with a chuckle or a smile. Silly? Childish? Sure, why not, but when this novel begins we’re in discussion with a five year old girl. A girl, called Hannah King, whose mother knew she was trouble from her first word. Though she was a little off the mark with her first word, Hannah soon got the hang of them and, in fact, they pretty much became her favourite things. You can do anything with words, though, one of Hannah’s favourite things to do with them is lie. As Hannah attests on the back of her book (Rhian Elizabeth’s debut novel);

‘I’m Hannah King. I’m a liar.
So don’t believe a word in my notebook about my crazy friends and my crazy family.
Dolls and sherbet lemons, candyfloss and serial killers, glitter and glam rock.
Welcome to my planet.’

So we’re starting this story with a narrator who is proud of her aptitude for lying. It’s fair to say we’re off to an unreliable start. Even Hannah’s summation of her story, or planet, doesn’t quite give you the whole truth. Her playful description misses out on the fact that this story as a whole see Hannah make the aging journey from five years old to sixteen by the novel’s end. In doing so, Hannah also neglects to mention that that journey also takes in plenty of hurt, heartbreak, secrets, drink, drugs, sexual awakenings, fights, family feuds, death and the loss of innocence that comes with growing up.

That’s not to say this novel is pent up with doom and gloom, far from it. It’s a strikingly funny novel when it needs to be, often in the face of that hardship. Especially so when embedded in the chaos of comprehensive school and being a teenager. As well as humour, the novel has an emotional heart, even if its protagonist thinks her own heart is cold. The relationships between Hannah and her family and her best friend Jess, are where the emotional punches come hardest.

The novel also comes with its own written in soundtrack to boot, as music plays an important part in Hannah’s life just as words do. Whether it’s a private bond between her and her father, or the songs her and Jess use to shut out the world and escape, and to be fair it’s a bloody good soundtrack; Joan Baez, T Rex, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Mamas & The Papas…

I won’t go too much into the story as there’s plenty of little surprises along its childhood rollercoaster that I wouldn’t like to spoil for. As a debut novel goes it’s confident, and as a friend of mine who read it described it, ‘good as fuck.’ It balances the line of humour and dramatic realism, switching between both quite easily. So, for a funny yet poignant coming of age novel, give this a crack.

Though, for you grumps out there, you should note that there are some swears in here, but ya know, don’t be a cunt.