The Wake: Man Booker Prize 2014 Longlist Edition

by Paul Kingsnorth

  worc i saes

  our worc he saes our war with the frenc. it has been many wices since we cwelled the ingenga and yet we has not brought our war to others

  lysten cilde i saes this war thu specs of it is all around thu. if thu leafs this holt thu will see it in all hams and tuns if thu wants frenc go to them with thy great strength

  buccmaster saes tofe thu saes thu is leadan us thu saes thu is ring gifer. in my ham before i cum to thu there was micel specan of the grene men and all cnawan they was gathran in the brunnesweald for it is the greatest holt in angland and folcs who is free and is agan the ingenga cum here to gather and spec of war. when i cum to thu i cum for this and yet there is three of us buccmaster and no war

  cilde i saes this is no way to spec to me

  i does not mean naht by it saes tofe i does not mean to sae thu is wrong but i is only ascan that is all when we will gather when others will cum for surely there moste be a great risan lic folcs was saen in my ham there wolde be lic there will be soon in elge

  in elge i saes

  tofe locs at me lic he has saed sum thing wrong

  in elge he saes

  what of elge i saes what of this place

  oh it is only tales he saes cwicc tales that is all has thu not hierde them. in elge on the ealond on the fenns there is men gathran it was saed under an anglisc ealdor namd hereweard and they is lic us they is grene men they is standan agan the ingenga lic we will lic thu is leadan us

  i stands up at this point for i has eatan and i locs down at tofe who now feels small i can see and i saes cilde wait for me that is all. thu will see i saes thu will see and now i moste go

  well i was blithe to go for this cilde had ired me and this was not good and in triewth i cnawan nuthan but that i had foda in the holt for the last of the swine still lyfed and there was water from a small ea and a hus now also and i colde not see why i wolde go any other place. of course i colde haf lifd there i colde haf saed to this cilde and this cottar grimcell i colde haf saed go then go in to the world and leaf me. micel of me wolde do so and yet i did not and now i gan in to the holt tellan myself i loccd for wihts and weland but in triewth i was walcan only and walcan and walcan for want of any other thing

  and now when i was not specan to him he cum to me and he cum in a sound lic a great wind in treows lic a roar of water lic a red ea red with blud

  another is cum

  i has called for thu i has spocan to thu

  there is cum a greater man

  why has thu not cum

  this other he ascs naht only cwells only feohts

  what other

  thu has been a small man buccmaster a weac man

  i is not weac

  weac lic a wifman in thy warm hus eatan and slepan while angland beorns

  i cwelled a frenc thegn

  and then thu slept

  i is not slepan i is thincan

  thincan is for wifmen

  they is thincan while weafan and reapan

  thincan while bean fuccd up the arse by frenc men

  thincan their men is weac

  i has ascd thu

  is thu sum cilde

  who is this other

  he will gather men they will follow him

  i will gather men

  he will tac down the ingenga he will be thy cyng

  where is he

  he is cuman

  who

  he cepes his great sweord for great things

  we neded mete

  mete is all thu is

  i will use it well i will use it well

  the time for that is gan

  the time is here i will gather my werod i is ready

  he is in the holt

  in the holt

  hereweard is cum

  oh i had cnawan he wolde be ired for what i done with his sweord his great sweord what he macd for my grandfather and what i had used in a low way and now he had telt me what he wolde do. now he had telt me there was another in the holt a greater man and triewe to the sweord and he telt me i was weac and i was not weac i is a socman i is strong. well for a small time i was in ire and fear thincan i was lost but then i seen what he cum for and why he spac. for if he had left me for another i was thincan he did not need to cum to spec to me and yet he did and i cnawan why

  great weland had cum to try me lic the eald cyngs was tried he had cum to sae to me buccmaster there is another and to be triewe thu moste be greater than him. well this other this hereweard i did not cnaw him nor cnaw if he was efen a man but i cnawan now what i moste do to be triewe and for the first time since i cum to the brunnesweald then i felt strong

  i gan right baec then to the hus and the fyr where grimcell and tofe still was sittan and talcan and when they seen me they loccd up for they had thought me to be gan a long time

  grimcell i saes tofe we moste go

  go saes grimcell

  i has been gifen a sign i saes now we moste go

  a sign saes grimcell

  it is not for thu to asc i saes i is tellan thu now there is worc to do

  worc saes tofe is we gathran buccmaster is we gathran our werod

  cilde i saes we moste go huntan

  what will we do saes grimcell always he is ascan

  always ascan i saes always what and why and where grimcell lysten to me man there is worc to do

  for wices we has satt in these wuds saes grimcell and all has been still and now thu wolde feoht all the ingengas in angland

  grimcell i saes thu is an anglisc man a man of holland now thu will lysten to me. we is goan gathran we is goan huntan we is goan to gather a werod and we is goan to feoht. thu will ceose if thu wants to cum but this cilde and i we is goan now

  i is ready saes tofe

  grimcell locs at me and at the cilde and he locs around and well what will he do here alone. he stands

  it was lic this i woc in the mergen sum three daegs after i had hierde from my grandfather of the boar who spac and sum thing was not the same. it wolde not be the same efer now i seen as i locd at my father stridan about specan low and my sistor aelfgifu wepan and wepan. well i seen before any folcs colde spec i seen what it was for in the night while i had slept my grandfather he had gan to the other world

  it was still early in the mergen but in the great hus of my grandfather the wifmen of the ham was layan him out. i stood outside the hus for sum time for i was not strong enough to see him gan to see him laid down cold but soon aelfgifu cum for she colde see what was in me and she toc my hand and in the hus we went together

  the hus was always deorc with the stenc of smoc but this daeg there was also the stenc of beornan wyrts. my mothors sistor agnes was leadan for i had no mothor she was with two wifmen from the ham one was annis who was later to be my wifmans gebur though she was yonge then and the other was her mothor. they was doan what wifmen does at death they was beornan the wyrts and singan the eald songs as they laid out the great hwit bodig of my grandfather

  he was laid out on his bed with blosms around him and with leafs also for it was sumor and he was in a scirt of hwit and blaec brices and his great eald boots what i had seen him in efer since i was a small cilde. he was clene his great beard hwit though thynne and his eages scutt now for efer and in sean this i colde not be strong no mor and i wept lic a maeden and aelfgifu she held me until i was strong again. all this time these three wifmen they spac naht to us only busy macan the place right and singan the songs

  aelfgifu my sistor and i we went out again in to the sunne for the daeg was high and clere and of great beuty and this was right for the daeg when my grandfathers sawol had gan to find his cynn folc. but i cnawan what was done in these parts when a man was gan and i was afeart

  aelfgifu i saes what will they do. she cnawan what i is thincan right then

  i does not cnaw she saes but i thinc it will be the preost and the circe

  they can not

  thu cnawan our father thu cnawan how our grandfather was seen

  no preosts no
circe

  all i cnawan she saes is how it is done. he will be in the hus for two daegs while folcs cums to see and to bless and spec and sing and then in the dawn he will be tacan along the blaec trac to bacstune and to the circe and there his graef will be macd and the preost will send him under and abuf

  this can not be

  then what brothor

  bury me in my boat sistor he saed beorn me in my scip

  brothor these is not the eald times

  i moste spec to him

  he is gan

  no i moste spec with our father

  lysten i has telt thu i will not spec of this man well thu will see why thu will see for my father was yfel. oh strong he was strong and tall and was thought of by sum in the ham as a great man. ascetil of holland thu wolde hiere folcs saen lic they was talcan of a thegn or a cyng well for me he was not great all he gifen me was fear this man all he gifen his cynn was fear

  no esol was he and he wolde let no man spec ofer him for he moste always be right my father he moste always be cyng. all that he cnawan he seen as the triewth for all men and there was none colde spec agan him and if thu was his cilde thu wolde cnaw it. well i was his cilde but i seen things that this man had not seen

  my father raised me in the circe of the crist as all did in those times for all was blind lic the frenc is now macan us blind. anglisc folcs has had their sawol eatan i saes eatan first by ingenga god and then by ingenga cyng and now what is angland but an ealond in the mist seen when the heofon mofs but nefer reacced again. my father he raised me under his hwit god under his man god but i left him for i hierde the call of the mere and my grandfather who toc me there was now gan lic the land we haf been

  well this daeg i gan to my father i walced to his side where he stood in the hus locan down at the hwit bodig of my grandfather saen naht. oh always i wanted to spec to my father to tell him how things sceolde be to feoht him to say father i is man and as man i will do as i wolde. but always when i cum to him when i locd in his eages i colde sae naht for his strength was all in his bodig and to stand agan him was to stand agan the rocc or the water

  well this daeg i gan to him as he stood there with the wifmen frettan all round him and as i cum up by him he teorned and he locd at me and in his eages i did not cnaw what i colde see

  father i saes

  son

  thy father is gan

  thy grandfather

  he was a great man

  he was a man

  for sum time i colde not sae what i had cum to sae and i thought to go but i cnawan that if i did not sae naht now i wolde nefer sae naht

  what will cum now father to him

  what will cum he will go to his graef son he will not stand and sing for thu

  his graef in the circe

  in the circe yes. here my father locs at me for he cnaws what i is thincan

  father he

  i will spec to thu now son of this and will not spec of it again. thy grandfather was of the eald hus and this brings great sceomu on me and on thy cynn. thu has seen how folcs locs at us in the ham and in the circe thu has hierde what is saed. my father was an esol who lifd in dreams of times gan and the deorcness and sceomu he gaf us will go to eorth with him. he will go to the circe cilde and his graef will be there and in this way we will tac baec our name

  well i saed naht for what colde i sae once mor i had been brought to nuthan. now my father he loccd at me strong and i loccd at my grandfathers bodig for it was a better sight than my fathers eages

  son saes my father this will end here there will be no mor of this in this hus for we is men of the wapentac men of strength in this land. there will no mor cildes tales to bring sceomu and synn upon my cynn there will be no mor. he cepes locan at me then and i cepes locan at my grandfather and i cnawan my nebb is red lic the sunne. then my father he teorns and he is gan from the hus

  i is thincan of my father as i is walcan through the brunnesweald with tofe and grimcell thincan of what he saed that daeg there will be no mor of this cilde no mor. always there has been men lic my father who wolde throw out the eald thincan it is no good but not sean what the triewe good efer was. i was leadan my men south they had not ascd where we was goan or what we was doan and in triewth i did not cnaw. we was in a part of the holt now i did not cnaw and they did not cnaw so all we was doan in triewth was walcan and waitan to see what we wolde cum to

  well soon enough i seen sum thing though it did not loc lic no great thing then. we cum to a path in the holt at a place where haesel wud was bean tacan for worcan so we was locan and tacan care for we did not cnaw who was here. well we hierde none but fugols callan in the treows for it was late sumor now and all treows was grene with leaf and wolde soon be teornan. but when we cum on to the path we hierde the sound of a man specan and he was specan to me

  buccmaster of holland he saes and grimcell of holland well what is this we has. well we locd but we colde see no man and this was not the sound of weland specan it was the sound of a man of this eorth and an anglisc man

  i had not thought to see none from thy ham again saes this man and now he cums from behind the stocc of a great ac treow and i sees that i cnawan him. this is the gleoman who cum to our ham so oft before the beornan with tidans and tales. when i last seen him he was thynne and weac and in fear for he brought tales of the great woe of angland and the cuman of the bastard but it seems now he has cum up from his low place and though an eald man he has fyr in him again

  it is ulf the gleoman saes grimcell ulf the scop i had thought thu cwelled my freond. grimcell seems blithe to see this man they is both low folcs after all

  ah i has the fleetness of an aelf saes this ulf smercan no frenc man can tac me before my time

  where is thu cum from saes grimcell

  i is cuman and goan in this holt goan from ham to ham as i does saes the gleoman and doan so cwic for it is not cnawan from one daeg to another who thu will find in this place

  but i seen what cum to thy ham saes the gleoman now not smercan no mor and thu is not alone in this for i has been to many places since the cuman of the frenc cyng and there is fyr all ofer the fenns and all ofer angland in these times

  i has hierde the cyng is gan saes grimcell

  gan yes gan baec to his frenc lands to feoht his own folc they saes and in his place is biscops and frenc ealdors and these cnihts on hors and they is tacan what they can while their mastor is gan. but now what is thu folcs doan walcan in this holt in these daegs

  we is grene men saes tofe now. he has not spoc yet but now the gleoman locs at him. tofe he saes it is tofe of bacstune is it not

  we is gathran saes tofe and he does not smerc we is gathran men to feoht the ingenga

  well now saes the gleoman and he locs at me well now

  we will haf our wergild i saes locan at him and with my eages saen do not smerc at us gleoman

  wergilds he saes wergilds well now there is many who specs lic this and yes there is grene men in these wuds and sum of them i has met and spoc with

  thu has met the grene men saes tofe now lic a cilde again

  well now i has met sum mor saes the gleoman yes there is worc bean done. to the west there is men risan in the hylls and in the north there is micel talc of tacan baec the land and in the holts there is grene men all about they is specan and thincan and sum times they is risan to cwell frenc folcs. perhaps as grene men then thu has hierde of this man hereweard

  hereweard saes tofe yes

  hereweard i saes but i saes it cold

  hereweard they saes is a great man of angland saes this gleoman. i has not seen him but he is spac of in these lands now with fear and with fyr. hereweard is son of a great thegn of these parts and he was in gan in flanders for sum time but his cynn was cwelled and his land was toc and he is baec now they saes baec to lead men agan the frenc. when the bastard cum this man hereweard hierde what had cum upon angland and he cum baec to see what was becum of his folcs. well he cum to his hall what had been the hus of his father a th
egn and his mothor and this hall it was all gan in fyr and all his cynn folc in it. then he gan to the hus of his brothor but folcs telt him that frenc had cwelled his brothor also and toc his hus and toc also his wifman who they now used for their games

  well hereweard he is a great feohtan man he has been feohtan in fyrds all ofer in scaldemariland in flanders efen in the eastern lands where there is no night. this man he toc his great sweord and he gan to the hus of his brothor where ten frenc men was sittan eatan his brothors foda and drincan from his brothors cuppes and bean gifen mete by his brothors wifman and a sad sight this was to see. well these man was not thincan to hiere from another man of this cynn for they thought all was cwelled and soon they all was cwelled also for hereweard he gan in cwic lic lihtnan and he spared none he cut them down and their heafods he put on the hege of his brothors hus all ten of them in a grim line and this to say to frenc folc that this is what wolde becum of them in angland

  hereweard then he toc his brothors wif from the hus for he cnawan what wolde becum of her if she staed and they went in to the brunnesweald and it is saed they is here now gathran folcs for the feoht for the great feoht that is cuman for the time when angland rises agan the frenc and drifs them baec to the sea

  well at this of course the dumb cilde tofe is leapan around lic a frog in a fuccan croc. he teorns to me with light in his eages and he saes buccmaster this is the man i was tellan thu of that folcs spac of in our ham but we did not cnaw if it was tales only. buccmaster we moste find this man and feoht with him for together there will be no stoppan us all

  who is thy fuccan ealdor cilde i saes for i is not hafan this. tofe he stops then for this is not what he was thincan to hiere from me

  who is thy fuccan ealdor i saes again i sees this eald gleoman loccan at me

  thu is my ealdor saes tofe his words small now his bodig still

  i is thy fuccan ealdor cilde i saes that is right not this hereweard not any other man

  i only

  it is me tofe it is me this is my werod if thu wolde go to sum other then fuccan go cilde fuccan go now but do not cum baec to me efer