The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills

I was struck speechless (typeless?) by this book--I don't know exactly what to write about it. It is absolutely unique in my reading experience (which is substantial)--I have never read another book quite like it.

First the plot: Tam and Richie, two Scots lads, and their unnamed English supervisor, who is the narrator, build fences during the day, trying not to work too hard or go too long without a smoke,and drink pints in the pubs at night. Their routine is recounted of day after day of work, in mind-numbing detail for the reader, much as the fence builders' minds must be numbed by the tedium. Every so often someone is accidentally killed, usually the owner of the land where the fence is being built, and they have to halt their fence building to bury the body under a gate-post. I kid you not; that's the plot.

Then the narrative voice: All this is written in an absolutely deadpan fashion, so that it all becomes darkly funny after a while. Here's an example:
"Tam's just accidentally killed Mr. McCrindle," I explained.
"Oh...er...oh," he said, and looked at Mr. McCrindle again.
"He must have come see about getting his cows turned out," remarked Tam.
We moved Mr. McCrindle out of the way and leaned him against the truck so that we could get the fence completed properly.

And then the tone: What starts out as rather tedious gradually turns darker and darker, until it morphs into a sense of dread that something REALLY BAD is going to happen. It's like when you meet someone who seems ordinary and actually boring, but then you gradually realize that something is "off," that the person is actually pretty scary. You don't know how you know--you just know.

And finally the ending: which caught me totally by surprise, even though I knew that the book had a surprise ending from hints on the cover. Then I had to rethink the entire book and its purpose. Who or what, exactly, were the beasts that needed to be restrained by the fences? Is this whole book a fable? An indictment of modern business that turns people into "beasts of burden"? An indictment of the working class who allow themselves to degenerate into beings with no motivation other than the herd instinct? What's the significance of the sausages?

Several interpretations are certainly possible, as I believe the author intended. What this book aims to do, it does very well. I'm just not sure what it aims to do. But I really liked it. By the way, it made the short list for England's Booker Prize.

Recommended for those with a very sardonic sense of humor.