Niall Griffiths, Stump

Laura Nee (Cardiff University)

Ed. by Cristina Sandru, The Literary Encyclopedia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.2: Welsh Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kirsti Bohata (Swansea University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele), Rita Singer (Aberystwyth University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 2003

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Niall Griffiths’ fourth novel

Stump

(2003) continues, in the vein of his previous novels

Grits

(2000),

Sheepshagger

(2001) and

Kelly and Victor

(2002), to document life on the margins of society. It is also, paradoxically, one of his most darkly comic books. In

Stump

, the protagonist, a one-armed Scouser, is a recovering alcoholic who has fled from Liverpool to Aberystwyth, under suspicion of stealing money from gang boss, Tommy. The action moves between the nameless narrator, as he struggles to go about his daily life, and the small time gangsters Alistair and Darren, as they travel to Wales in an old Morris Minor to wreak violent revenge upon the one-armed man. Ultimately, however, this violence is thwarted by an act of kindness: the gift of a prosthetic arm.

Stump is written in three

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922 words

Citation: Nee, Laura. "Stump". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=22023, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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