Chalk didn't spend long on Mount Toberead, but it was the only unread book by an author whose name began with C that took my fancy. I think my wife bought it, but it was something that we knew we'd both read.
I've enjoyed Paul Cornell's Shadow Police novels, although he tends to be best known for his Doctor Who work. So, it wasn't much of a chance when I pulled this one off Mount Toberead.
Chalk isn't really a fantasy novel, it's not really horror, either. The title refers to the giant chalk figures that appear in some parts of England, and what magic there is in the book is in relation to them.
It's really the story of Andrew Waggoner a bullied boy growing up in the early 80's. The confronting nature of the story doesn't make Chalk a necessarily easy book to read, despite it's size (it's not much over novella length), although I read it quickly, largely because I felt compelled to read on.
After a particularly brutal bout of bullying, Andrew suddenly gains a shadow. The new boy looks like Andrew and he's nearly always with Andrew. Andrew calls him simply Waggoner (most of the characters, especially the male ones, are referred to by their surname) to differentiate from himself, and while he's at pains to explain that Waggoner is real, the fact that no one else can seem to see or really hear Waggoner, suggests that he's a part of Andrew's personality that was unearthed by what the bullies did to him.
It is very well written, despite how confronting it is, and the characters while not exactly engaging or likeable are both compelling and believable. I prided myself in knowing nearly every song that was referenced in the early 80's pop soundtrack that was the backing of Andrew's life and the story of how that life changed over the course of one year.
Chalk is highly recommended, it's the sort of book that you can lose yourself in and that will stay with the reader for a long time after they close its pages for the final time.
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