Yesterday I stopped by the Literary Consultancy tent here at the festival just as Natascha Wolf was dropping the first 30 pages of her unpublished novel into a waste bin in a bid to find out if it was "rubbish" or not. Natascha came back this morning to get an expert opinion from one of the Consultancy's readers - Rob Collins, himself a published novelist.
As we settled into our seats on the lawn the sun momentarily shone down on the damp festival and Natascha confessed that she was feeling nervous. Her novel, Raatid, had taken five years to write and edit but she was at a loss to know what to do with it after a publisher, Simon Prosser, had liked an early draft felt the ending was rushed. She took his advice and spent another year revising and re-editing and the result of all that extra effort is the script Rob is passing judgement on today.
She needn't have worried. Rob's verdict? "It's great!" He felt the writing was strong and it was an engaging, energetic read which perfectly balanced patois in the prose with sublime traditional narrative description. It had tempo and pace, combined with striking images and subtle changes in register that keep the reader on their toes. Most importantly of all, it felt "real".
Natascha explained that she picked up the patois which is such a feature of the book while living with a Jamaican Yardie in south London. Set in Brixton in the mid 80s, and climaxing with the 1985 riots, the novel features a teenage girl, Mica, with a troubled homelife and her friendship with an older, schizophrenic man, Marky. In a classic adolescent narrative, Mica seeks refuge from her tough homelife in another life which also turns out to be difficult; she develops avenues of escape that one by one become closed off. It ends with a dramatic denouement which I won't give away here as I'm convinced that Raatid is going to make it into print.
Reassured that the rest of the plot sounded as interesting as the first part he had read, Rob Collins finished the consultation by urging Natascha to resend her manuscript to Simon Prosser and offered advice on finding a suitable agent.
Afterwards, Rob, whose novel Soul Corporation also features a teenage protagonist, confirmed that I had struck lucky by sitting in on Natascha's consultation. It is rare, apparently, to come across a writer of her quality; most of the scripts usually show a spark of talent but need a lot more work.
And Natascha? Hugely relieved, she returned to the festival encouraged and given the push she needed to resend her manuscript out and start the hunt for an agent.
So, watch out for the name Natascha Wolf - you heard it here first.
