Paperback, 113 pages
Published Jan. 20, 2019 by Dostoyevsky Wannabe.
We Are Made Of Diamond Stuff is an innovative and critically British novel, taking issue with the dream of national belonging. Set on the Isle of Wight, a small island off the south coast of England, it collides literary aesthetics with contemporary working class cultures and attitudes (B.S. Johnson and Reebok classics), works with themes of empire, embodiment and resistance, and interrogates autobiographical material including the queer migrant experience.
Equal parts Ballardian dreamscape and stream-of-consciousness commentary, Waldner's short novel is a sharp survey of queer working-class realities in a declining Britain. Concise and rich in references, they test and transcend the limits of conventional storytelling without ever losing touch with their proponents' perspective. Funny, sad and angry.
I've never read anything else by Waidner but that will change very soon. More than anything this is a very funny novel. After the first chapter I couldn't put it down and by the time I got to yelp reviews for the worst zoo ever I realized I read much too fast (sorry not sorry).
I'll definitely be taking another pass soon (and looking for Waidner's other work). There is a lot going on in these 105 pages and as entertaining as the first pass was there were aspects I'm certain I need more time to absorb.
