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mh_books's Reviews (1.12k)
4.5 Stars rounding up.
A rather odd story but enjoyable all the same. Holidaymakers find themselves and their caravans in the middle of nowhere with no sun and no trees. But nowhere has rules, strange, weird and odd rules. It also has other occupants, strange weird and odd occupants. The ending is well strange, weird and odd.
Obviously recommended to those who weird stories and don’t mind some blood and gore on the way.
A rather odd story but enjoyable all the same. Holidaymakers find themselves and their caravans in the middle of nowhere with no sun and no trees. But nowhere has rules, strange, weird and odd rules. It also has other occupants, strange weird and odd occupants. The ending is well strange, weird and odd.
Obviously recommended to those who weird stories and don’t mind some blood and gore on the way.
Simply put this is a tale of a man's life set in Victorian times. The man, William, has an almost preternatural knack and foresight for business and thrives and leads a good life. Like all lives, there is some sadness and regret, particularly over an incident in his childhood when he killed a rook. Halfway through though (his life and our story) tragedy strikes. This changes everything the nature of his life and the nature his new business. The second half of the story may be about madness, a haunting or something else…
Setterfield tells William’s story in a normal third person narrative but interspersed among the number chapters are small sections simply marked &(ampersand) where we are instructed in the nature and legends of Rooks. Notably, as the ampersand connects Bellman & Black but is not part of them, the ampersands will connect the story without becoming directly part of it.
Overall I really enjoyed this somewhat dark yet beautiful tale. I was already a fan of Setterfield's prose from The Thirteenth Tale and fell quite easily into the reading of this. Her research into Death Practices and Rituals of the Victorian are not only well done but I suspect one of the inspirations for this book. However, it is her insights into life, not death that is lovely as seen in the quote below.
“He had rediscovered the spaces in between words and tasks and thoughts, and they were surprisingly fruitful.”
Overall, this would be recommended for lovers of the slightly darker Victorian fiction. But be warned this is not a melodramatic gothic tale similar to Setterfield's previous novel The Thirteenth tale. It is far more eyrie, simple yet quietly beautiful tale.
Setterfield tells William’s story in a normal third person narrative but interspersed among the number chapters are small sections simply marked &(ampersand) where we are instructed in the nature and legends of Rooks. Notably, as the ampersand connects Bellman & Black but is not part of them, the ampersands will connect the story without becoming directly part of it.
Overall I really enjoyed this somewhat dark yet beautiful tale. I was already a fan of Setterfield's prose from The Thirteenth Tale and fell quite easily into the reading of this. Her research into Death Practices and Rituals of the Victorian are not only well done but I suspect one of the inspirations for this book. However, it is her insights into life, not death that is lovely as seen in the quote below.
“He had rediscovered the spaces in between words and tasks and thoughts, and they were surprisingly fruitful.”
Overall, this would be recommended for lovers of the slightly darker Victorian fiction. But be warned this is not a melodramatic gothic tale similar to Setterfield's previous novel The Thirteenth tale. It is far more eyrie, simple yet quietly beautiful tale.
I really enjoyed this. I read it while on holiday in Sligo and Donegal, on the beach, while looking at the same Ocean (more or less) that the protagonist was walking beside in the story.
I found this a fast yet atmospheric read. The language is poetic and simply beautiful (my own language has failed me here). The feeling is of being isolated among the beauty Scotland’s most northerly coast.
The central protagonist is Maggie, a cartographer. She has left her in Oxford full of bakeries and social activities for a small cottage in the isolated far north of Scotland (in the white area of the map). She has run away from her past. Her ex-husband seems to understand this and her sister assumes it’s a temporary arrangement. She continues her work as a cartographer from home and becomes known to the locals as the map lady. Then as part of a school visit to the local primary school she meets Trothan, strange, quiet, longhaired child who also spends much of his time alone. Trothan also loves maps but his tell the stories of both the local legends and current goings on. This can only lead to trouble.
I love the nod to the Selkie myth contained within the novel and I actively choose to believe this myth is true for the purposes of this story. If you do not know the legends of Selkies I would STRONGLY recommend you look them up or you will miss something. [b:Sealskin|32713449|Sealskin|Su Bristow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481445836s/32713449.jpg|53293305] is a great place to start if you want to read about the central Selkie myth in novel form but Wikipedia will get you there too.
Like many others I read this as a result of the positive reviews of others who had purchased it as part of Moth Box (I was too late to purchase the moth box itself when it was on sale). I will definitely be reading this author again.
I found this a fast yet atmospheric read. The language is poetic and simply beautiful (my own language has failed me here). The feeling is of being isolated among the beauty Scotland’s most northerly coast.
The central protagonist is Maggie, a cartographer. She has left her in Oxford full of bakeries and social activities for a small cottage in the isolated far north of Scotland (in the white area of the map). She has run away from her past. Her ex-husband seems to understand this and her sister assumes it’s a temporary arrangement. She continues her work as a cartographer from home and becomes known to the locals as the map lady. Then as part of a school visit to the local primary school she meets Trothan, strange, quiet, longhaired child who also spends much of his time alone. Trothan also loves maps but his tell the stories of both the local legends and current goings on. This can only lead to trouble.
I love the nod to the Selkie myth contained within the novel and I actively choose to believe this myth is true for the purposes of this story. If you do not know the legends of Selkies I would STRONGLY recommend you look them up or you will miss something. [b:Sealskin|32713449|Sealskin|Su Bristow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481445836s/32713449.jpg|53293305] is a great place to start if you want to read about the central Selkie myth in novel form but Wikipedia will get you there too.
Like many others I read this as a result of the positive reviews of others who had purchased it as part of Moth Box (I was too late to purchase the moth box itself when it was on sale). I will definitely be reading this author again.
This is a wonderfully formed novella about childhood, memories, and creatures that live outside of time and space. It’s a perfect fairytale for any adult who once was (still is) a child who dreamed of magical lands and creatures that existed not too from home.
I read this more or less in two sittings. The first day I was sitting on public transport, happy with the delays and barely making my stop. I queued for Fish and Chips and was annoyed that they had my order early as I was hoping to get a couple of more pages in. The second day I had a summer cold and was feverish, bringing a whole new dimension to my imaginings of the cleaners and unending oceans.
I read this more or less in two sittings. The first day I was sitting on public transport, happy with the delays and barely making my stop. I queued for Fish and Chips and was annoyed that they had my order early as I was hoping to get a couple of more pages in. The second day I had a summer cold and was feverish, bringing a whole new dimension to my imaginings of the cleaners and unending oceans.
Wow think I have just found a new favourite author.
This is a gothic novel but with a feminist twist. It's set on a creepy island of secrets and lies so that nothing is as it first appears. In true Gothic novel style, the women are in distress and in danger from men, this is set in the Victorian era after all. However beware, as the song says, the female of the Species is more deadly than the male. Evolution versus creationism has been given its supernatural twist in the form of a Lie Tree and a new Heroine aptly called Faith must struggle through glimpses of truth revealed within her own lies to find the heart of the matter.
Warning as this is a historic novel the beginning may seem slow for some as we need to set the scene and explain the rules of the game to a modern audience. For example a woman’s almost nonexistent social ranking. Nearly everything is important though for many truths are revealed by the end of which the identity of the murderer is only one.
This is a gothic novel but with a feminist twist. It's set on a creepy island of secrets and lies so that nothing is as it first appears. In true Gothic novel style, the women are in distress and in danger from men, this is set in the Victorian era after all. However beware, as the song says, the female of the Species is more deadly than the male. Evolution versus creationism has been given its supernatural twist in the form of a Lie Tree and a new Heroine aptly called Faith must struggle through glimpses of truth revealed within her own lies to find the heart of the matter.
Warning as this is a historic novel the beginning may seem slow for some as we need to set the scene and explain the rules of the game to a modern audience. For example a woman’s almost nonexistent social ranking. Nearly everything is important though for many truths are revealed by the end of which the identity of the murderer is only one.
