GRAHAM JOYCE - READERS' NOTES

Text taken from: TWOC   Download the original text pdf file of TWOC here.   About the book TWOC, Graham Joyce’s twelfth novel, was published in 2005. It tells the story of fifteen-year-old Matt Norris, whose life’s been hell since a joyriding accident. His brother Jake is dead, and Jake’s girlfriend has been hideoulsy scarred. Now Jake is back, haunting Matt, appearing at his bedroom window dressed in outrageous costumes. What does he want? Why does he remember the accident differently? What exactly happened that day? They were too stoned to know…Desperate to unlock the truth, Matt attempts a reconstruction of that terrible day, with mid-blowing consequences.   About the Author Graham Joyce has won numerous awards for his writing, including four British Fantasy Awards and the 2003 World Fantasy Award. He was born in 1954 and grew up in a small mining village just outside Coventry to a working class family. After receiving a B.Ed. from Bishop Lonsdale College in 1977 and a M.A. from the University of Leicester in 1980, Joyce worked as a youth officer for the National Association of Youth Clubs until 1988, when he moved to the Greek islands of Lesbos and Crete to write his first novel, Dreamside. In 1991, Joyce moved back to England to pursue a career as a full-time writer. He now lives in Leicester with his wife and their two children. He teaches Creative Writing to graduate students at Nottingham Trent University.   Both publishers and critics have found difficulty in classifying Joyce as a writer. His novels have been categorized as fantasy, science fiction, horror, and mainstream literature -with some even overlapping genres.The mystical or supernatural often play a central role in Joyce's works, which has prompted some critics to classify Joyce as a 'magic realist'. Joyce disagrees with this and claims that his writing is more closely related to that of writers of the English 'weird tale'.     Glossary:   TWOC: acronym that stands for 'Taken Without Owner’s Consent'. It usually describes 'joyriding', where all that is intended is an unauthorised use of a car or another kind of vehicle for a short period of time.  Spliff: A quality cigarette rolled with both tobacco and marihuana.The term has been adopted to mean any high quality or well-rolled marihuana joint. More specifically, a Jamaican term for a large, ice-cream-cone-shaped joint.   Activities for readers   This extract opens the novel.   Before reading   Activity 1 What does the title of the novel mean? What do you expect the novel will be about?   Activity 2 How important is this kind of criminal offence where you live? What is the sentence you may get if you are found guilty of twoccing?    Read in detail   Activity 1 Speculate: Read pages 1 and 2 On page 1, the narrator says 'Since it happened, Dad talks to me using initial capital letters. You might have noticed.' What do you think he means by that? Who is the narrator addressing? On page 2, he says 'Since it happened I don’t care who I am'. What do you think happened? How does the title of the novel help you guess?   Activity 2 Discuss: Who do you think Jake is? Why is he standing at the window? Now read page 3. Have you changed your mind about Jake? How can you explain the fact that he’s 'held aloft only by the suction of his lips on the glass' and will be back in an hour even if Matt opens the window and he falls to the ground?   Activity 3 Re-read the whole extract and find information on the following: What do you learn about the narrator? Name? His room? What he likes? What worries him? Any other information you consider important.   Activity 4 What else would you like to know that the extract does not tell you? Make a list of questions   After reading   Activity 1 Suppose Matt’s father opens the door at the point the extract ends. How will he react? What will he say? With another reader, role-play the conversation between Matt and his father.   Activity 2 Predict: What do you think will happen next? Discuss your ideas with other readers and together write an outline of the next chapter.    Extension   Activity 1 Why do young people fin twoccing attractive? What are the risks? With other readers, plan a campaign to discourage young people from joyriding. You can design a poster, write the contents of a web page, give a speech, etc.