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Review: The Failed Anthology

When I was asked to review an anthology by ‘The Failed Novelists’, I was slightly apprehensive. I’ve been burned before by attempting to appreciate amateur creative writing (my primary school writing club – brrr), and any group actively embracing failure didn’t exactly entice me. Was this going to be some kind of clever-clever ‘ironic’ mess, representing the decline in modern fiction? Or was this going to be some self-righteous postmodern look at the craft of the novel? Either way, I wasn’t anticipating a very fun Saturday morning.

Oh how wrong I was.

Before I get onto the anthology, I should say a little bit about the novelists themselves. The Failed Novelists’ Society is probably the biggest, and certainly the most inclusive, creative writing society in Oxford, allowing anybody to join regardless of experience or accomplishment. The name comes from the idea that all novelists are failed novelists, no matter how well they sell, because what you eventually write will never match the original conception in your head. The importance is to keep on trying, and not be afraid of failure. Many of the society have been published, and the Failed Novelists’ anthology is the only student writing book to be produced in Oxford.

This anthology is a nice mix of styles, taking in poetry and prose and variants within those classifications. Selena Wisnom’s Underwater Archaeology is a skilfully structured piece, following the thoughts of an archaeologist reminiscing about her time at Oxford. As she dives into the silent seas she is more concerned with finding relics of an ancient past than preserving her own, letting happy memories fade like a peeling photograph.

Another narrative by James Benmore, Bitter, is a fascinating character study. As Terry consoles his recently jilted friend, we grow to realize the unreliability of our narrator and the simmering, unspoken bitterness that comes from Terry’s treatment by his friends. The whole piece rings true, with a striking maturity considering the age of the author. In fact, I’d say that about many of the works within the anthology, such as the poem Giraffe in a Palestinian Zoo, by Tom Nailor. Opening with a quotation from the Qur’an, the piece tackles the thorny subject of the Israeli-Palestine war by looking at the death of a truly innocent bystander: the giraffe of the title. The Giraffe has no concept of war, but is a casualty of the conflict just the same with his death described in grim medical detail. The poem is an inspired take on the cost on innocent life in war, and on forced sacrifice.

My favourite piece in the anthology has to be Ling Low’s She Danced the Robot, an achingly realistic take on first love. The story follows the young protagonist’s realization about the fickle nature of attraction, and is full of wry observations and laugh-out-loud moments. Anyone who’s been in love, been to a club or even just been a teenager will find much to love in this very sweet story.

I don’t have enough space here to mention all the authors, but I would like to say that while some pieces are a little rough around the edges, the varied writing in the anthology is of a very high quality. Some of the poetry was a little over my head, but there’s something here for everyone. One word comes to my mind now thinking about the Failed Novelists:

Success. 

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