Summary
Joe hears a banging on his door and hides under his blankets. Once the banging stops, Joe goes down and peeks out the window. He sees Treacle Walker there; Joe runs down and opens the door for him. Immediately he runs back to his room, where he tries to read his comic book, only to find that Treacle Walker has climbed onto the chimney. The two start a conversation, Treacle Walker still outside and Joe in his room.
Treacle Walker asks Joe what is bothering him and Joe points to the comic book, telling him that the Knockout is what’s ailing him, since his own house is now drawn onto the pages and in the story. Joe angrily asks Treacle Walker how that’s possible and Treacle Walker tells him, vaguely, that “what is out is in,” and that “what is in is out,” an answer that leaves Joe frustrated since it tells him no more than what Thin Amren already told him. Treacle Walker confirms that Thin Amren knows a lot, but refuses to provide Joe with any more information beyond the fact that Thin Amren knows about the bone and the jar that they had earlier exchanged.
Treacle Walker tells Joe that these objects hold the “glamourie,” and Joe tries to tell Treacle Walker that he wants to fix his “wonky eye”--the one that possesses the "glamourie," which Joe previously thought was his good eye since it was his other eye that was lazy. Joe wants to go back to seeing just one reality. Treacle Walker asks him if he would really want to give up that gift, and Joe argues that the sight is really not a gift.
The two move onto a different topic of conversation, now discussing the Noony train that passes and allows Joe to tell the time. Treacle Walker starts to ask Joe more detailed questions about the train that Joe cannot answer and Joe grows even more frustrated with Treacle Walker’s vague and nonsensical way of speaking. Suddenly, Joe hears someone enter the house downstairs.
The scene cuts and Chapter XII starts with Joe dreaming that he is dreaming; in his dream, he descends downstairs and goes out into the Big Meadow. He notices hoof marks in the road leading out to the Big Meadow and then towards the railway. He hears someone playing a tune on a bone-flute and realizes it must be Treacle Walker. He calls out, but his own shouting in the dream wakes him up. He screams out for Treacle Walker to wait but no one is there.
Joe returns to the dream, where he once more finds himself at the top of a hill. He hears Noony rattle by and finds Treacle Walker’s pony and cart underneath the pear tree in the yard. He asks the pony where Treacle Walker is but the pony only snorts. He returns to his house where he finds Treacle Walker sitting inside, in the chimney, and someone else with him—a figure that Joe cannot see at first, before realizing that the figure is himself.
Both of the Joes yell. Treacle Walker takes both Joes by the neck; the cuckoo calls out overhead. Treacle Walker seats the two Joes across from each other and instructs them not to speak. He begins to play his flute and Joe tries to tell Treacle Walker that he’s dreaming, recounting his path through the Big Meadow.
Treacle Walker tells him to come to the chimney. He tells Joe that the Brit Basher can’t get into the house anymore, since he “stoned” it to protect them. He tells Joe that Joe is dreaming and Joe tries to argue back that he isn’t since everything feels so real. They argue, with Joe refusing to listen to Treacle Walker’s instructions for him to let go of his ideas and preconceptions of reality. They return to Treacle Walker’s cart and get onto it. Treacle Walker lets Joe steer but the pony refuses to move. Joe sees that the box he gave to Treacle Walker earlier is there, but it now has no dishes inside of it and that they’ve vanished. Treacle Walker tells him they were “shimmerings,” and that Joe chose the “true”—a phrase that Joe doesn’t understand. He gets off the cart and goes back home as Treacle Walker rides off into Big Meadow.
Analysis
The inclusion of the Knockout comics is another of Garner’s nods to British culture of the 20th century; the first Knockout comic came out in March 1939, originally stylized as Knock-Out but later becoming known as it is written in the novel. The issues referenced in the novel date from 1939-1950 and featured “Stonehenge Kit the Ancient-Brit,” allowing us to potentially place the story around that time period, although the novel itself resists being confined to a specific point in time. Garner’s choice to feature the “Stonehenge Kit” series is in itself an additional layer of reference to British culture, as it relates to the prehistoric Stonehenge monument located in Wiltshire, England.
Treacle Walker’s return within these chapters doesn't provide Joe or the reader any more clarity about the governing logic behind all the fantastical events that occur. Joe’s frustration grows and tensions build between the two, especially as Joe feels threatened by the real-life antagonist that appears to have come out of the comic book and into his physical reality: the Brit Basher.
Some critics have pointed out that the novel is concerned with exploring time and quantum physics. The scene where Joe sees himself doubled could be read as one that supports this theory. Quantum physics, also known as quantum mechanics, investigates the behavior of subatomic particles. Many of the fundamental concepts it has proven are counterintuitive to more “classical” understandings of the physical laws governing our world. For example, a phenomenon that the doubling of Joe appears to reference is that of the “uncertainty principle.” The uncertainty principle asserts that it is impossible to measure a particle’s exact position because its position is dependent on a probabilistic function, rather than an exact measurement, and thus, the particle can appear to be in several places at once. Because the particle’s position can only be estimated through a probability density function, we can never know exactly where it is.
Treacle Walker’s repetition of the fact that two things can exist simultaneously and yet not be anywhere, as well as his refusal to provide clear answers about the reality that Joe experiences, similarly echoes the uncertainties that quantum mechanics forces us to confront about how we interact with reality. This thematic focus is also supported by the novel’s epigraph, which is a quote from physicist Carlo Rovelli. Rovelli, a theoretical physicist, is best known for his studies of quantum gravity and several books that focus on quantum mechanics and philosophy.
These chapters also continue the novel’s visual focus on the landscape. Although the “world” that Joe occupies and the setting for the novel are relatively small—taking place in and around Joe’s house—each name and description of these places conjures an evocative landscape that mirrors the British countryside with its meadows, brooks, and trees.
