I’m seven years old and I’ve never had a best mate. Trouble is, no one gets my jokes. And Breaks-it isn’t helping. Ha! You get it, don’t you? Brexit means everyone’s falling out and breaking up.
Huxley is growing up in the suburbs of London at a time of community tensions. To make matters worse, a gang of youths is targeting isolated residents. When Leonard, an elderly newcomer chats with Huxley, his parents are suspicious. But Huxley is lonely and thinks Leonard is too. Can they become friends?
Funny and compassionate, This Much Huxley Knows explores issues of belonging, friendship and what it means to trust.
It is such a pleasure to be sharing my review of This Much Huxley Knows today. Many thanks to Gail Aldwin for sending me an advance digital copy of the novel which I chose to read and review.
This Much Huxley Knows is written from the perspective of seven-year-old Huxley and Gail Aldwin has created a wonderful character here; he is always authentically a little boy but she ensures he is always uniquely himself too.
Huxley has a unique way of looking at life which means that he is sometimes teased or bullied by other children - or as he calls it, "picking-on". He is obviously an intelligent boy and loves wordplay but he is lonely and longs for more friends. He does have one friend, Ben who has a little sister, Juno and his relationship with her is particularly bittersweet; he obviously enjoys spending time with her but is desperate for a baby sister of his own.
It's never clearly stated whether Huxley is autistic but there are suggestions that he might be and if this was Gail Aldwin's intention, I think she does a superb job of portraying a child who is much more than the stereotype. He is a square peg in a round hole at times but he's also funny, sensitive and empathic - and never more so than when he makes friends with an older man, Leonard.
It's not surprising that his parents insist he should avoid Leonard - we live in a time when it's become second nature to suspect strangers and to warn our children of potential dangers. There are moments throughout the book which will ring alarm bells with readers and yet, Huxley is determined that they are friends, noting that true friends are interested in the same things. As the book progresses, suspicions about Leonard grow and tempers inevitably flare but just as Huxley needs friends, so it's true that adults need a sense of community too. When I was young, my Grandad was loved by all the children in our road and so they all called him Grandad too but as the years passed, he remarked that he'd stopped saying hello to children because he didn't want people doubting his intentions. This Much Huxley Knows perceptively explores whether our understandable desire to protect our children has become so overwhelming, we have lost the mutual support offered by a close-knit society.
As with many children, Huxley overhears more than his parents think he does and his misunderstandings result in situations which are often humorous and sometimes more heart-rending, particularly when arguments ensue amongst the adults which affect him too. With Brexit (or Breaks-It as Huxley wisely calls it), as a backdrop, the anger and recriminations that came with the referendum are reflected here as well and it's a nudge that children are aware of unpleasant situations, whether that's harsh disagreements between families or bigger issues such as intolerance and racism. However, although This Much Huxley Knows tackles some important topics, it's a light-hearted novel which never labours its points.
This warm, compassionate book captures the voice of seven-year-old Huxley perfectly. Funny, poignant and thought-provoking, it's a timely reminder that perhaps we should all try to see the world through the eyes of a child from time to time.
This Much Huxley Knows is published by Black Rose Writing and can be purchased from Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes & Noble and Book Depository
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