If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things

"If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things" is author Jon McGregor's first novel, and first published by Bloomsbury in 2002. It centres around a day in the life of a suburban British street, with the plot alternately following the lives of the streets various inhabitants. Each persons viewpoint is described from the first person, and utilises a flowing grammatical style which mimics their thought processes. It was nominated for the Booker Prize, and the author shortlisted for the 2003 Times Young Writer Award. The book also won the Betty Trask Award and the Somerset Maugham Award.

Plot summary

The novel never shares with the reader that this day that the girl narrator keeps referencing takes place on the day that Princess Diana dies. There are three artistic characters: the boy from # 18 who takes photos of people on the street (he doesn't know their names and they are unaware that he's taking their photo), the young boy artist from #11 and the older man from #20 who is ill and was a grave digger when he was in the military. Names are a recurrent theme throughout the novel but we are told very few. The old man gives a name to all the deceased while he is digging their grave. The boy from #18 gives names to all the dead babies, the narrator girl who becomes pregnant is searching for a name for her baby because it is so important to give it a name, the man with the thinning hair and perfect moustache is so upset when people mispronounce his name, and then in the end we finally find out the name of the child who has been hit by the car - his name is repeated until he starts breathing again.

Awards and nominations

*Nominated for the 2002 Booker Prize
*Awarded the Somerset Maugham Award in 2003