Amalia Gkavea

  ‘'Here they were confronted by a stream of masked figures, marching past the front door to the house. They were like something from a medieval painting; demons and fiends come to carry the sinners away. The acrid scent of burning paraffin caught at the back of the throat. Several of them were beating drums. All carried lighted torches and several groups had hoisted aloft life-size, papier-mâché figures with hideously distorted features: oversized heads and bulging eyes, clad in the red robes and caps of Catholic cardinals. There was a strange hum of energy about the. It felt dangerous, even flammable - as though any second the very air might ignite. Miss Marple paused, staring: at once fascinated and repelled.''
Evil in Small Places (Lucy Foley): Miss Marple visits a friend a few days after Guy Fawkes's Night. When a rather...hated woman is murdered, secrets will come to the surface in a story that ends with a bang. Excellent start and references to a number of well-known characters from Christie's classic stories.
The Second Murder at the Vicarage (Val McDermid): Murder returns in our familiar vicarage. Unfortunately, this story seemed rather dull to me and cemented my opinion that McDermid is one of the most overrated writers out there...
Miss Marple Takes Manhattan (Alyssa Cole): In an exciting story full of the spirit of New York, Jane finds herself thrown into the glamour of Broadway.
The Unravelling (Natasha Haynes): A man is killed with a bow and an arrow in a story that read like the epitome of a snoozefest...
Miss Marple's Christmas (Ruth Ware): A very atmospheric and spirited Christmas story that also pays tribute to the great Dorothy Sayers and one of her classic mysteries.
The Open Mind (Naomi Alderman): A rather interesting story that delves deep into the machinations of the academic community, the sexism, the ambitions.
The Jade Empress (Jean Kwok): On a ship to Hong Kong, the death of a father who is about to meet his son after many years reveals a game of revenge and money. I solved this one too quickly but it was an exciting story with poignant remarks on colonialism and an exciting dose of Chinese folklore.
A Deadly Wedding Day (Dreda Say Mitchell): A complex mystery involving the death of a wedding guest, family vices and greed. The writer stresses the blatant racism towards the Caribbean, its people and its culture.
Murder at the Villa Rosa (Rosa Elly Griffiths): A writer travels to a luxurious retreat in Naples with the intention of ‘'killing'' his famous detective. he encounters a colourful cast and Miss Marple, along with certain strange coincidences...What started as a mystery worthy of Christie's legacy became an absolute drivel with one of the most far-fetched, naive endings I've ever read.
The Murdering Sort (Karen M.McManus): Miss Marple's brilliant nieces witnesses the death (or should we say murder?) of an eccentric patriarch in a beautiful story.
The Mystery of the Acid Soil (Kate Moss): A village in Chichester is struck by a series of deaths and a strange disappearance. Miss Marple is on her way there, unaware of the misfortunes. But a distraught curate and a weird death by tetanus will prompt her to solve yet another case. A well-written, albeit predictable, countryside mystery. 
The Disappearance (Leigh Bardugo): A young man disappears, a woman is found dead. Secrets among the community are plenty and Miss Marple's friend asks for help in a case which hides tragedies underneath its layers. In my opinion, this is the finest story in the collection. 
‘'I wonder, sometimes, if there isn't a concentration of evil in small places.''
Many thanks to William Morrow and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
 

  ‘'Look at the eagles,' he said.In the gulf eagles were flying, circling round one small spot in the air. Higher and higher they flew, but still they could not reach the head of cloud that hid the mountain in the north; they could not reach its foot. Circling, they flew a fraction higher; it seemed that they would reach it, but always they were beaten down to be lost in the colours of the valley and they always came up to circle dizzily again. Mr Dean sent his hat spinning round in his finger. ‘I told you it was no place to put a nunnery.''
Sister Clodagh searches for her sanctuary, a place to build her Heaven on Earth to serve God and escape her demons. Sister Briony wants to offer kindness. Sister Honey endures hardships with a bright smile on her face. Sister Philippa is afraid of losing herself. Sister Adela is one point short of resorting to self-flagellation. Sister Ruth lives in an absurd world of her own, populated with imaginary shadows and enemies. The Palace in the Clouds can hardly contain the tension and suppressed instincts of the newcomers who ignore Dean's warnings and believe they can tame spirits beyond their understanding...
‘'You have to be very strong to live close to God or a mountain, or you'll turn a little mad.''
A masterpiece that withstands the test of time, a haunting lament of lost innocence and thwarted aspirations, a fable of being vain enough to presume that you can mould a different world according to your principles no matter whether your intentions are pure as an infant's heart. In a landscape that shelters and threatens, upon a mountain which gives you the impression that you can touch God's feet, a company of women bravely defies the odds. But you cannot win unless there is unity and honesty and help from the ones who claim to ‘'be there for you''. When a member of the odd fellowship loses all connection to reality, when the distrust of the locals grows stronger and stronger, when you deny your own self, what else remains?
“Sometimes it seemed to him that the house had a bad wild life of its own; the impression of its evil lingered, in its name, in its atmosphere...”
I watched the excellent 1947 film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger when I was about 13. It has haunted my mind ever since. The shadows dancing in the lurid halls the nuns attempt to turn into something ‘sacred', the sound of the bells, the treachery of red lips and stormy skies. The novel and the film (don't get me started on the abominable TV series...) remain iconic,, symbols of dishonesty, betrayal, sexual repression, madness and a severe lack of communication between the locals and the newcomers. Both parties are lost. Both parties refuse to understand the other, imprisoned in a cell of superstitions and pre-conceived notions about ‘'two contrasting views of the world.'' Foundations are impossible. The building is bound to collapse...
“I don't expect you to understand me any more than I can understand you; but I respect you and that's the difference between us.”
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'Our hats are a bit like books,'' Cordelia began. ‘'They contain magic, but it's up to the person reading the book to bring the magic to life. Without the reader, the magic just sits there. Same as a hat.''
Cordelia and her friends are fighting against time and a ruthless enemy to stop the destruction of all magic places as ashes throttle London's skies. Meanwhile, the enmity among the Makers threatens the girl's plans to overcome pure Evil. And let us not forget that Prospero is still missing, presumed dead.
Let me tell you why the second volume of Cordelia's exciting adventures created by the wonderful Tamzin Merchant is an enchanting perfection...
‘'Cordelia Hatmaker was following a star. The North Star hung above the dark jostle of night-time London - just out of reach but never out of sight. Even the smudges of smoke rising from the city's chimneys could not dim Polaris's brightness.''
‘'As if on cue in a Drury Lane drama, chimes sounded beneath their feet. From way up in the air, they heard all the voices of London's bells, ringing deep and silvery across the city.''
London is the perfect setting for a perfect story. The capital with its unique atmosphere becomes a character that both guides and confuses. Father Thames, Drury Lane, Guildhall, Blackfriars Bridge. The haunting ringing of the bells, the grey sky, the alleys, every odour and sound, every dark corner, every street. Along with beautiful references to Britain's vast lore and legends, from Stonehenge to the Arthurian cycle, we follow Cordelia on an exciting journey within the heart of a glorious, mystical tradition. 
‘'Magic brings joy - but it goes deeper than that, deeper than clothes. It goes right to our souls. It's what we're made of.''
‘'Because Makers have the power to create. Witloof only has the power to destroy.''
Cordelia's story is a song dedicated to friendship, companionship, courage, an ode to the power we all have to create and evolve. And yet, all we do is destroy the gifts we have been given since times immemorial. All we care about is how to be ‘'powerful'', how to control, how to deny what we cannot understand, how to mould what does not conform to our idea of how things SHOULD be. Cordelia, her family and her friends show how strong we can be when we are united, how we can overcome the hurdles while staying true to ourselves. And this is the most significant message we can communicate to the young members of our society. 
Books like this one make our world a better, brighter place. They bring back the magic we all need, they restore our determination, our persistence and, ultimately, our conviction that Evil does not win in the end...
And! I can't wait for Volume 3!
‘'We're never really lost when we can see the stars in front of our eyes.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'Come, sit beside me, Walter, and let us talk of love.''
The Betrothed of Destiny (Armenia): The people of Armenia know how to fight for their independence against barbarians. In this tale, a princess uses her brain and many swords to see justice delivered. Pay attention to the final sentence. It's the traditional way of ending a fairytale in beautiful Armenia. 
The Three Copecks (Russia): Three copecks and a cat bring fortune to an orphan boy and teach a lesson on honesty and humility.
The Disowned Princess (China): A truly majestic tale of a wronged princess, a brave traveller, palaces, songs and malicious suitors.
The Legend of Kae's Theft of the Whale (Aotearoa - New Zealand): The tale of a feud, the punishment of an old magician, and cunning traps to trap your enemy.
The Fisherman and the Draug (Norway): In a land haunted by dark spirits, a family pays a terrible price for wanting a better boat. A tragic tale about a very particular demon, set in Norway.
Origin of the Narwhal (Innuit Nunangat): The bitter tale of a blind boy and a kind girl who faced the unthinkable cruelty of their mother.
Kahalaopuna, Princess of Manoa (Hawai'i): The tragic story of a beautiful princess who was vilified and slandered by worthless men and a cruel betrothed who wanted revenge at all costs.
The Mermaid's Vengeance (Cornwall): The evil ambitions and depravity of two men cause the downfall of an innocent family. But the children of the sea are ever-watchful and vengeance will come in the darkest tale of the collection.
The Merman (Iceland): When honesty is rewarded by an enigmatic merman.
The Old Man Who Became a Fish (Korea): An official's father becomes a skate to escape the ills of old age.
Tom Moore and the Seal Woman (Ireland): An Irish version of the Selkie legend.
The Fisherman and His Wife (Germany): A well-known tale of greed and wishes that teaches us to think before we ask.
Thunder and Anansi (Ghana): When a selfish man neglects his family to serve his own greed, Nature decides to teach him a valuable lesson.
Benito, the Faithful Servant (The Philippines): A lad is rewarded for his honesty, bravery and kindness in a charming version of a famous tale.
The Black Pearl (Bahrain): Aided by celestial powers, a pearl-diver sets off to find the twin of a beautiful black pearl.
The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad (Japan): A kind fisherman earns an extraordinary journey and the hand of the Sea King's daughter. But curiosity is a treacherous company...
Mesmerizing, haunting illustrations by Maggie Chiang.
‘'Come away, come away,O'er the waters wild!Our earth-born childDied this day, died this day.‘'Come away, come away!The tempest loudWeaves the shroudFor him who did betray.‘Come away, come away!Beneath the waveLieth the graveOf him we slay, him we slay.‘'Come away, come away!He shall not restIn earth's own breastFor many a day, many a day.‘Come away, come away!By billows toFrom coast to coast,Like deserted boatHis corpse shall floatAround the bay, around the bay.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'It was a day of cloud, and the very air over the moors was grey, and the long waves of heather were dark as the black earth, the distant woodland had no colour, the form of the chalk hills to northward was vague and dim. Mr. Fortune stopped the car and looked about him. Some grey smoke hung in a hollow from unseen houses. As far as he could see there was no man nor any of the works of man. The moor carried no cattle, There was no sign of life but the hum of bees and the chirp of grasshoppers and the flies and butterflies in the heavy air. ‘'
The countryside can hide a multitude of secrets in its serenity and isolation. How easy it is to sweep a little adultery, a little fraud, a little extortion, a little murder under the expensive carpet of a country manor...And yet, how freely gossip circulates within a teeny-tiny rural community where everyone knows everyone, where proximity brings about all kinds of problems, feuds and passions...Thirteen stories of crimes committed within the heart of the British countryside in a delightful instalment of the amazing British Library Crime Classics series.
The Black Doctor (Arthur Conan Doyle): A rather haunting mystery and a spectacular depiction of a murder trial by one of the greats of Literature.
Murder by Proxy (M. McDonnell Bodkin): A powerful member of the community is murdered. Caught in the web of a feud or victim of the poachers' vengeance? The suspect seems to be ready for immediate arrest but the wonderful Paul Beck has other ideas...
The Fad of the Fisherman (G.K. Chesterton): A politician obsessed with fishing is found dead and war is looming...This is quite an unusual, albeit delightful, mystery.
The Genuine Tabard (E.C.Bentley): A mystery of forgery and burglaries with a quality sprinkle of History, set in a serene village.
The Gylston Slander (Herbert Jenkins): Set in a vicarage in Hampshire, this story makes excellent use of the poison pen letters and the result is perfection.
The Long Barrow (H.C.Bailey): A town's superstitions threaten the archaeological research near Stoke Abbas. However, Reggie Fortune will do some digging of his own to unearth dark secrets and evil ambitions. 
The Naturalist at Law (R.Austin Freeman): What initially seems a suicide and a rather ‘'open-and-shut'' case become a mystery to which Nature holds the key.
A Proper Mystery (Margery Allingham): A little Essex countryside mystery set on Midsummer's Eve.
Direct Evidence (Anthony Berkeley): Roger Sheringham demonstrates in the clearest way possible that direct evidence can be monstrously deceiving...
Inquest (Leonora Woodhouse): An inquest exposes the sneaky machinations in a sleepy town. And where there's a will, there's a way...
The Scarecrow (Ethel Lina White): A young woman sees a past nightmare return when her attacker escapes from prison. Living in an isolated farmhouse, she has to find a way to defend herself in a story that is atmospheric, tense and eerie.
Clue in the Mustard (Leo Bruce): When good old mustard triggers an epiphany...
Our Pageant (Gladys Mitchell): Morris dancers and danger...
As always, marvellous Introduction and Notes on each story by Martin Edwards.
‘'You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty...I look at them, and the only thought that comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there...''  Sherlock Holmes
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'Everything can be given a price if someone chooses', her mother said. ‘It doesn't have to make sense to us, Anna. So little of the world makes sense.''
Iolanthe Green, an American actress, goes missing while on a very successful series of performances in London. Unwilling to admit defeat, Anna searches London high and low to find her. Aided by Aloysius, her efforts will bring her to a path away from the capital as a journey to a troubled past and a problematic, yet hopeful, present unfolds. 
‘'London seemed romantic, with its twisting parks and grime-covered frontages; its dark-stained river flanked by rictus-mouthed fish who held with their tails a trail of softly glowing lights: the epitome of grand metropolitan strangeness. It was a shifting city of light and dark; of strange shadows cast across the Thames at twilight, of grimy dark underpasses and roads which shone like sheets of metal on a summer's day.''
I could write pages after pages about Miranda Emmerson's beautiful, evocative writing that revives the atmosphere of Soho during the enchanting Swinging Sixties, the capital that comes alive in front of our eyes. We witness London during the busy mornings and the colourful nights, we walk down its streets accompanied by sounds and perfumes, we experience its unique beauty, its joys and sorrows. I could talk to you about the literary and cultural references, from 60s music to the Bradley and Hindley case, in an outstanding depiction of the era. And this chronicle is seamlessly united with moving commentary on issues that continue to concern us. Racism, discrimination, mental health, social expectations. Violence and cruelty. And hope. And love.
More importantly, I could write volumes on the perfection of Anna and Aloysius's characters. She is superb, he is unique. Their determination, their bravery, their kindness. I could see myself in Anna for various reasons and their interactions are a true literary treat. Supported by an excellent cast of characters that are the epitome of the (cliche but accurate) phrase ‘'jump right off the page'', Anna elevates this novel into a different bookish realm. And I am not exaggerating. I am just excited and thrilled that I had the chance to read this gem.
Don't let me tire you. Read Miranda Emmerson's creation and I am sure that when you read the last page, you'll wish you could turn back time to savour the novel all over again, absorbing each paragraph. I cannot wait to read A Little London Scandal.
‘'Amesbury Avenue. Hillside Road. Palace Road. The vast houses flicked by, marking time and space. There were no cars on the roads now. The living-room windows shone yellow and orange in the darkness. Here and there Anna was aware of faces pressed to the glass, watching the snow fall, watching a black man lead a white woman through the streets.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'These are the aspects of our experience of nature that cannot be offset; the history of a place cannot be traded off against the history of another place; you can't erase the history of one location and just put some more history somewhere else. Weird woods are singular places with very specific energies.''
Woods. Mysterious, formidable, haunting. Haunted. The forests of Britain signify the land's history, the legendary past, the folklore, the ghostly, and the supernatural. The unknown. Whether we read about an orchard, a park in a crowded urban area or a dark forest, whether we travel from Scotland to Wales, from London to Yorkshire, the ‘'weird woods'' of these marvellous stories hide bewilderment and sensuality. They stand for heroic deeds and murderous secrets. And all along the way, we are reminded of Nature's power and our own insignificant mortality...
The Whisper in the Wood (Anon): A husband disappears in Wistman's Wood in Dartmoor. Twenty years later, his son will experience an uncanny adventure in this most mystical of places.
‘'The church looked at its best and weirdest on that night, for the shadows of the yew trees fell through the windows upon the floor of the nave and touched the pillars with tattered shade. We sat down together without speaking, and watched the solemn beauty of the old church, with some of that awe which inspired its early builders.''
Man-Size in Marble (Edith Nesbit): 31st of October. An old church, a bierbalk, a young couple, and an old legend. A marvellous, quintessentially British Gothic tale. Outstandingly atmospheric, it made me shiver on a hot June evening. 
The Striding Place (Gertrude Atherton): A dark, enchanting forest and a river in North Yorkshire allure and punish...
 ‘'The little village of St. Faith's nestles in a hollow of wooded hill up on the north bank of the river Fawn in the country of Hampshire, huddling close round its grey Norman church as if for spiritual protection against the fays and fairies, the trolls and ‘'little people'', who might be supposed still to linger in the vast empty spaces of the New Forest, and to come after dusk and do their doubtful businesses.''
The Man Who Went Too Far (E.F.Benson): Two friends meet again. Frank seems younger and there is something otherwordly about him. The New Forest hides many secrets and a dreadful one is revealed in this Folk Horror story that makes excellent use of the archetypal figure of Pan...or should I say ‘'Lucifer''? Lovely summer images walk side-by-side with the grotesque.
An Old Thorn (W.H.Hudson): An ancient hawthorn found close to a village in Wiltshire may just be the evil cousin to the Glastonbury Tree.
The White Lady of Rownam Avenue, Near Stirling (Elliot O'Donnell): A White Lady haunts an avenue of trees in a story set in Scotland.
Ancient Lights (Algernon Blackwood): A story about the consequences we have to face when we think we are able to ‘'adjust'', or even worse, ‘'improve'' on Nature. Set in West Sussex.
‘'This is my name- tree,'' she said. ‘'Do you know the old belief about name- trees? If the tree dies, you die. If you sicken, the tree withers, If you desert it, a curse falls.''
The Name-Tree (Mary Webb): A beautiful cherry orchard is threatened by the ambition of new -and ruthless- owners. A young woman is ready to sacrifice everything to protect it. Dark sensuality and the need for independence that comes at a terrible price form the essence of my favourite story in this beautiful collection.
The Tree (Walter de la Mare): A story that links colonialism and the repercussions of imperial Britain to Nature and its children.
‘'He Made a Woman'' (Marjorie Bowen): In another outstanding story, the myths of Wales that are marvellously represented in The Mabinogion still influence the ones who live close to its woodland. The haunting presence of the tragic Blodeuwedd permeates the tale and the result is one of the most memorable stories you'll ever read.
‘'That which walks in Betton WoodKnows why it walks or why it cries.''
A Neighbour's Landmark (M.R.James): A fragment of a mysterious verse indicates the hair-raising presence of a spirit in Betton Wood. Regardless of the fact that M.R.James chooses to set his story in a fictional location, the power of the haunting and the poignancy of its message (the effects of landownership) create an extremely tense atmosphere.
N (Arthur Machen): I always believed that there are quite a few secrets to be found within the woods of a primarily urban area. This story, set in Stoke Newington, seems to agree with me.
‘'Come with me to Wales. I think you would like me place.''Charnock accepted; he knew that Blantyre lived in scenes of complete isolation in a remote valley, among the hills haunted by many a mysterious legend, the setting of some of the oldest tales of Europe, and this disturbed him, for he was very sensitive to the influences of the past; yet for Blantyre's sake he went.  It was October; the strangest month in the year, Blantyre always said, culminating in the awful vigil of the last day which has some mystic meaning now lost.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/







 

  “It just so happened that the gardener did know of a house with a thousand rooms. It sat on the top of a mountain, surrounded by giant trees. Inside, there were rooms filled with many different things. One room was filled with music. Another was filled with footsteps. One room was filled with a silence so loud that if you screamed into it, you would hear nothing at all. The house was also said to be full of ghosts, and it was because of this that no one lived there. It was owned by a prince who refused to enter it.”
First of all, read Jen Campbell's Afterword. She says everything and I simply have no words to describe how much I adore her writing, her unique ability to marry the eerie with the sensitive, the menacing with the hopeful, the gruesome with the enchanting.
Exciting illustrations by Adam de Sousa.
The Sister Who Ate Her Brothers (Korea): A father has three sons but longs for a daughter. He wishes upon the moon and a girl is born. A girl with orange hair. The hair of a fox.
The Souls Trapped Under the Ocean (Ireland): A merman keeps the souls of drowned men and women in pots. A man falls in love with him and feels that something is not quite right...A tale of unbearable sadness and beauty and an atmospheric retelling of a classic Irish myth.
The House that Was Filled With Ghosts (Japan): A gardener finds a house with a thousand rooms to shelter the love she shares with an extraordinary woman. The house is special, each one of its rooms is unique. And the woman's hospitality will be rewarded. This tale is the definition of tenderness, elegance, and the bond between ourselves and our houses.
The Boy Who Tricked a Troll (Norway): A Nordic tale about a boy who loved the dark and a troll that loved mushrooms a bit too much...
The Daughter Who Loved a Skeleton (Nigeria): A daughter learns that appearance doesn't matter when it comes to finding a husband. A tale that is all sorts of wonderful and gothic and humorous.
The Princess Who Ruled the Sea (Inuit): A princess refuses to marry and her father punishes her in the most horrible way possible. But the sea is there to receive and shelter her.
“No,'' said the husband slyly. “It is because they say that Death takes the best of us. So I'm hoping he will take you instead.”
The Husband Who Cheated Death (Egypt): A cruel husband tricks Death and sacrifices his wife.
The Adults Who Lost Their Organs (Germany): All the Butcher Surgeons wanted was a room to spend the night. But an innkeeper who doesn't believe in magical and a forgetful cook are enough to put you in trouble. 
The Kingdoms at the Centre of the Earth (Russia): A sister travels to the strangest places to escape her brother's madness. A dreamy retelling of a Russian tale.
“She dived into oceans. She visited outer space. She flew with firebirds and she ate with vampires.”
The Wife Who Could Remove Her Head (El Salvador) : An idiotic husband tries to stop his wife from having her nightly adventures. But her head and her special children beg to differ in this wonderful tale.
The Man Who Hunted Children (South Africa): Two brilliant children and the force of Nature defeat a monster in human form in a terrifying and brilliantly gruesome tale.
The Son of Seven Mothers (India): A brave lad and an even braver girl avenge the terrible crime committed against seven innocent women. 
The Girl With the Horse's Head (China): A daughter misses her father so much that she promises to marry a horse if it brings him back.  ...Never make ANY promises! 
The Woman and the Glass Mountain (Spain): Such a beautiful, heart-warming tale! A woman braves ghosts and bears and evil magic for the love of a princess with books as her only weapon...
“Escape, dear child, and bring us food,” the wives said. “Escape, into the world, and set yourself free.”
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'We called our situation the Troubles, and the longer it had dragged on the more fitting that genteel euphemism became. The murdering was sporadic but fully expected, like some recurrent, rumbling agony in your unmentionables. The populace soldiered on through it, mainly keeping their heads down and quietly hoping that splashes of terror didn't land on or near them. In between shootings and bombs, there were businesses to be run and children to be raised. Things didn't fall apart, quite. They kept on, but more painfully.''
Belfast during the 1990s. The Troubles have left a deep scar on both communities. Despite the ceasefire, violence is still contaminating the air of the city. It has acquired new forms, its tentacles are still strong. Thugs invade houses to beat youngsters to death, to frighten and threaten women. The butchers on both sides turn against their ‘'own kind'' to satisfy their lust for blood. A young man, who has lost his parents, witnesses the unrest without taking part or choosing sides. But he refuses to retreat and lower his head when his friend is attacked by a prominent Protestant gang. 
Sometimes you may think you are in the eye of the hurricane but chaos will always find its way to your doorstep...
‘'A woman is walking towards the bus after shopping in the city centre, when she suddenly remembers that her niece jas just given birth to a baby boy. Should she get a present for the baby tomorrow? Och no, sure she might as well get it today. She nips into a department store, and in that very instant a bomb explodes just inside the shop door and the woman is lucky, they tell her later, because the people right beside her die but she only loses her legs.''
A beautiful, haunting story that doesn't shy away from the terrors of the conflict but refuses to resort to cheap melodrama and graphic violence for the sake of it. Instead, Jenny McCartney writes a tale of hope, love and survival. A story that urges the reader to stand our ground and not let others - no matter how ‘'strong'' they may seem - invade our lives and desecrate everything we hold dear. Narrated by a wonderful protagonist, written with elegance, and acute Irish humour, this novel is a fine example of perfectly - drawn interactions, vivid descriptions of Belfast in all its bleak, enticing beauty, and a deep understanding of the human soul that struggles to remain unnoticed, yet rises and fights for what is right when faced with unimaginable threats. 
Without a doubt, one of the finest novels about Northern Ireland and the Troubles.
 

  “Where the Northern Ocean, in vast whirls, Boils round the naked, melancholy isles Of farthest Thule; and the Atlantic surge Pours in among the stormy Hebrides.”                                Charlotte Bronté
There are so many secrets hidden in the Western Isles where the landscape, the legends and the tales become one with the soul of the islanders. Wise women warn sailors against their curiosity, skulls react against annoying mortals, dead mothers protect the women who have decided to raise their children as their own. A crop-headed freckled lass is not hindered by the unimportant obstacles posed by arrogant (and ignorant...) men and strange old women are defeated by the courage of a black dog. 
Lovers elope and brave the stormy seas and those who wish to harm them. A young woman gives herself to the treacherous waters to reunite with her beloved. Wives hear the voices of their lost husbands narrating their tragic fate. A blind woman finds her sight when she sees the soulless body of her sailor son. Blue men, whose origins have been lost to the mists of time, rise from the sea to ask riddles to perplexed sailors. Bogeymen, spirits, witches are here but the finest stories are always the ones about ordinary people braving the elements and themselves.
Ian Stephen narrates tales from the six main islands of the Outer Hebrides - Harris, Lewis, South and North Uist, Barra and Benbecula - providing valuable information on the sources and versions of each story. His writing echoes the mystery and mysticism of the Western Isles, creating one of the most memorable stops in the exciting journey to the heart of British and Irish folklore.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'The three great sources of knowledge respecting the shrouded part of humanity are the language, the mythology, and the ancient monuments of a country.''
Tales of horned witches invading the houses of unaware women, of the Evil Eye, the Fairy race, brave warriors, maidens and the blessed bards of old. Customs observed on November Eve, spells and incantations. The terrifying Dance of the Dead and the superstitions of Death and burial. The May Festival and the Midsummer celebration, Candlemas and Whitsuntide. The Baal Fires and Dances, the strange wakes and the ancient mysteries. The dwellings and schemes of the Sidhe. The cries of the Banshee, the Fate of Queen Maeve, the Sacred Wells.
Omens, superstitions, spells and legends in a volume superbly written by an extraordinary woman who managed to contain the mysticism and magic of the Emerald Isle in a gem of a book.
 

  ‘'Some books come to feel as if they belong to you alone. And then you find yourself face to face with the person who made them, and what are you supposed to do?''
Another beautiful stop to the exciting universe of the British Short Story.
These are my favourite stories in another fascinating collection edited by Nicholas Royle: 
The Husband and the Wife Go to the Seaside (Melissa Wan): A married couple needs a change. But from what and to what end? This is for the reader to decide...
Cuts (Stephen Sharp): An almost surreal nightmare that makes much more sense than it seems, terrifying in its reality. Seven pages of scattered facts and stream-of-consciousness and pure literary brilliance.
The Heights of Sleep (Sam Thompson): A moving account of the unique ‘bond' between readers and their favourite writers.
Nude and Seascape (Ann Quin): I am sure most readers would react quite dramatically when faced with this story's utter cruelty and perversion. I loved it. And I don't know what this shows about me...
On the Way to Church (Vicky Grut): A couple arrives in the husband's hometown for the christening of their son. A tender story about the secrets that lurk within a household and the impact of unexpected news.
‘'The man two doors down pursues a secret hobby in the dead of night. This is one of your first discoveries.''
Cluster (Naomi Booth): A sleep-deprived mother witnesses the shady actions that take place in the hours before dawn, hidden in the dark alleys of Leeds.
Smack (Julia Armfield): A jellyfish becomes a telling metaphor for a marriage that has fallen apart and a woman that has decided to chase shadows in her loneliness.
Badgerface (Lucie McKnight Hardy): The moving, haunting story of a return and a wound that can't be healed.
‘'She remembers her mother showing her how to make paper dolls, but they always ended up separate instead of joining together.''
Optics (Ren Watson): In a wonderfully eerie and cryptic story, a young mother thinks that her daughter is slowly fading away. Is it a matter of optics? Is it her wild imagination? Or is there something sinister at play?
A Gift of Tongues (Paul McQuade): A woman has to put up with the strange gift of her German boyfriend. She has accepted a new tongue as a loving present. Literally. He doesn't want to communicate in English so she HAS TO change. But things don't go as they've planned and her identity is destroyed. A story with hundreds of metaphors and underlying themes for discussion.
New Dawn Fades (Sophie Mackintosh): A haunting story about our compulsive need to summon the most terrible ghosts once the night has fallen...
‘'You are being haunted by yourself, you think half-seriously, considering the mystery of the screen. You are your own worst ghost.''
 

  ‘'These stories are of another world, an Otherworld so familiar to the folk of Ceredigion 100 years ago; exotic and enticing, dark and dangerous, curious and comical, a world of the marginalised and misunderstood, of flooded lands and lost languages. A dreamworld.''
Let's travel to Wales.
A wanderer stumbles upon an old estate and starts narrating the tales of the Tylwyth Tag. Of changelings and witches. Myths like Rhysyn and the Mermaid, the Tale of Taliesin. Stories of the men-women who demand justice, of devilry and Old Nick himself, of the White Lady of Broginan and the ghosts of Aberystwyth Promenade, of phantom funerals and corpse candles. The Talking Tree of Cwmystwyth, Operation Julie, legendary ‘'people of the road''.
Written with elegant, playful humour and with a deep sense of nostalgia, respect and tenderness for the region and its inhabitants (mortals and otherwordly alike), Peter Stevenson has created one of the finest volumes in the exceptional Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland series.
‘'Ceredigion is a land of contrasts, where old meets new, where dolphins swim close to the biggest fish-processing plant in the land; where men dress in women's clothes not only for a Friday night out with the boys, but to stand up for their liberty and carry out acts of subversion; where conjurers weave their spells in the hills away from those who think they wear pointy hats, cloaks, long grey beards and appear on Saturday night TV; where the last beavers in Wales lived on the banks of the Teifi rather than in a cage waiting for permission to be released as part of a reintroduction scheme; and where the fair folk are darker and more dangerous than the gossamer-winged sprites who live in the illustrations in children's picture books. It is a land where people speak the language of story, and the stories have mud on their boots.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'There's a special time of day, when light is caught in limbo. Dusk: that time when the twilight dips to a level where light and dark start to merge, and everything takes on a silvery, ghost-like sheen, when it's difficult to tell where one thing ends and another begins, and the lines of things are all blurred together.''
Nif and her family travel to Wales for a summer break. Fate has struck a terrible blow within the heart of the family and a change will hopefully be the herald of a turning point in their lives. But not all changes are welcome. Nif is standing at a crossroads, neither a girl nor a woman. Her parents are drawing in a sea of tension and a peculiar boy seems to haunt her steps. As the 1976 heatwave unfolds, Nif has to place her trust in herself, her Creed, and...Is there actually anything or anyone else she can trust? Your own self seems to be the only safe refuge.
Or is it?
‘'When I was younger, I used to see if I could make myself cry by imagining myself dead.''
Lucie McKnight Hardy creates a story whose layers reveal themselves page after page, and then they withdraw in a lyrical, eerie hide-and-seek. A girl is coming of age in the most conflicting circumstances while being a ‘'mother'' to her little brother. Her mother is spending her days in an endless limbo, her father shuts the door to all his problems, willing them to - magically - go away. The village is populated by harsh people, stuck in a dark past. Her neighbours seem enticing but the cracks are visible. And where is this much-needed escape? 
Written in elegant, atmospheric prose with inspiration from the vast wealth of British Folk Horror, with eerie scenes that will haunt your mind (the ‘'exorcism'' of the house is a masterpiece in itself!), Water Shall Refuse Them is an outstanding novel of loss, despair, guilt, bewilderment, isolation. 
A haunting folk tale of mysticism, sensuality and sorrow...
‘'What do you think about when you wake up in the middle of the night, when the light has gone and the darkness is everywhere?''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'EVERYTHING BARBARA MOLLINARD HAS WRITTEN HAS BEEN TORN TO SHREDS. The texts that follow were also torn to shreds. They were put back together, torn up again, put back together again. How many times? Even she doesn't know. As many times as necessary, which is to say until she was in agony, until meaning was plunged back into the absolute night of its source, the mother of suffering.''   Marguerite Duras
The Plane From Santa Rosa: A woman desperately tries to escape her claustrophobic apartment. She visits shops and tries on clothes, waiting for the plane from Santa Rosa...A lament of loneliness, estrangement and make-believe.
The Severed Hand: A nightmarish story of sheer violence with a protagonist and imagery that brings the finest moments of Kafka's work to mind. 
The Headless Man: A woman sits and watches passers-by as they turn into obscure animals and monsters. A headless man draws her attention and she decides to follow him...The closure of this story will leave you silent...
Come: A woman receives a message from B. She is about to set off to a country that ‘'must be'' beautiful, to a hotel that seems unique. But her train hasn't come yet and B. is nowhere to be found...
‘'The sun had not strained its silence and the sound answered the call of the flowers. A fire-red bird let out a harrowing cry; the woods vibrated in a long shiver and then silence settled in. A woman, a scarf on her head and a purse on her arm, leaned down and scooped up a dead bird in the middle of a bed of iron-grey ferns. She caressed the still-warm body, and the flame of her gaze brusquely crossed the attentive gaze of an owl.''
Untitled: Fragmentary passages full of darkness, despair, violence, isolation. They grip your soul and refuse to let you go...
‘'The bus, full of travellers, was moving at breakneck speed. The night, abruptly fallen, was so black that it was impossible for X to distinguish even the presence of his close neighbours, whom he had seen only a moment before in the light of day. With no star or moon, the night suddenly seemed full of threats.''
The Meeting: A man finds himself on the bus heading towards a meeting with the Stranger. But soon he finds himself stranded in a town empty of people, with houses without doors.
‘'I don't know where I am. The sun is gone. I'm walking along a path I can't see. The silence is absolute.''
The Father's Apartment: An extraordinary story! A son implores a man to stay in the last apartment of a skyscraper surrounded by a forest, for the sake of his father. But the father beats his son. He humiliates him and the son accepts the blows without opening his mouth. Like a lamb to the slaughter. All that matters to him is that their tenant helps them finish the work. The Son suffers. Always in the Name of the Father. The religious allegory of this story is phenomenal and heartbreaking.
‘'But she, she didn't really notice the colour of the sky. Only when the women went out in the streets in dresses, the men without overcoats, and the terraces were filled with people, then she felt a bit more alone, a bit sadder, too. It wasn't until the rain, the wind, and the frost dismayed the passerby, who walked quickly without looking around, their heads tucked behind their coat collars, that she felt a certain harmony between the world, the weather, and herself: a harmony of grayness, a harmony of sadness.''
The Cage: A woman braves the city crowds, spending time in the company of her solitude. She meets a man. They fall in love. They spend their days in bliss. Until a visit to the zoo changes everything...A nightmarish story that will leave you in tears.
The Bed: Oh, it makes your heart bleed...The despair, the nightmare, the humiliation...
Taxi: You get in the taxi. There is no destination. Everything is blank. A void. Madness.
The Sponge: Some of us are imprisoned since the day we are born...
Happiness: All Clarisse wanted was a house of her own. A house by the sea and happiness would be hers.
I'm Alone and It's Night: A man narrates his nightly ordeal in a psychiatric hospital. It was physically painful to read this story. The sorrow emanating from each sentence was unbearable.
The Vault (A conversation between Barbara Mollinard and Marguerite Duras): I am not worthy to refer to this conversation between two exceptional writers. All I can tell you is ‘'read this book.'' Savour its sorrow...
Exquisite, powerful translation by Emma Ramadan.
‘'The night is ink; the sky shadow. The birds have stopped singing. A blackbird on a branch dies. The black angels are no longer violent. The demon has entered during sleep. Tomorrow the sun will not rise.''
Many thanks to The Feminist Press and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

 Most importantly, if one day you find yourself in a car, or on a train or bus, and you encounter a sign that directs you towards a town called Scarfolk, it is imperative that you do everything within your means to steer clear of it. Some destinations were never meant to be reached, because once their secrets have been discovered they cannot be undiscovered.For more information please reread this book. 

  ‘'I can't do the things that women can't do,' she said. ‘I can't turn over The Times so that the pages lie flat, I can't fold up a map in the right creases, I can't draw corks, I can't drive in nails straight, I can't go into a bar and order a drink without wondering what everyone's thinking about it, and I can't strike matches towards myself. I'm well educated and I've got two children and I can manage pretty well, there's a number of much more essential things that I know how to do, but I can't do those ones, and when they come up I feel like weeping myself sick.''
A tender tale of a squad of ‘'eccentrics'' who have refused to conform to society's notions of ‘'residence'' and ‘'family''. Fitzgerald poignantly narrates the relationships between characters that jump right off the page, their marital woes, the fear over what tomorrow may bring, and the unavoidable uncertainty that comes with the decision to live outside the ordinary. Without judgement but tenderness, without dramatic rants but soft sadness, Penelope Fitzgerald ushers us into a world that changes. 
‘'The lights dazzled, but on the broad face of the water there were innumerable V-shaped eddies, showing the exact position of whatever the river had not been able to hide. If the old Thames trades had still persisted, if boatmen had still made a living from taking the coins from the pockets of the drowned, then this was the hour for them to watch. Far above, masses of autumn clouds passed through the transparent violet sky.''
From mudlarking to gender roles and expectations, sexuality, loyalty, obligations, decorum and estrangement, Fitzgerald's elegant satire and acute observations elevate what may appear as a ‘'simple'' story to a bittersweet account of individuals being ostracised, smothered even, by social rules and duty.
‘'All distances are the same to those who don't meet.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

 A comprehensive, vivid and extremely well-informed, yet highly approachable chronicle of the convictions, myths and legends that shaped the Roman civilization. From the legends of Aeneas and Dido to the founders of the Eternal City, the Seven Kings of Rome, the Etruscan heritage, the conflicts and the bargain. Myths of old and new deities and spirits, ceremonies and customs. Legends of traitors, brave warriors, and mythical women who became symbols. From Romulus and Romus to Coriolanus, Lucretia and Tarpeia, this is the best book to start your journey into the wondrous and dark ‘'universe'' of Rome. 

  ‘'The garden lies quiet, as if it's sleeping. Nothing grows this late in November, and everything is sad and grey. The only thing of beauty is the lake that lies at the bottom of the slope, glittering and winking in the last of the sunlight. I trudge back to the house. I must prepare for their arrival of the Ladies.''
In Lucie McKnight Hardy's eerie, unsettling, exquisite stories, the danger is lurking inside our home, within the soul of what should have been our protective family. Motherhood is not the be-all and end-all of a woman's existence. Of course, it isn't. There is popular belief and preconceptions and then, there is real life. Real life plagued by mortal and immortal spectres, curses and crimes. By a society that oppresses its citizens. By estrangement and terror. And yet, hope does exist. Weak and fragile and frail but it IS there to sustain and support us.
This collection is a treasure. An enchanting journey into darkness and despair. And love. The only power that can prevent our demise...
Dead Relatives: In a story that confuses and enchants you in the most twisted way, we meet Iris, a young girl who lives in a house that provides shelter to Ladies. That is, to women with unfortunate pregnancies. But this isn't a House of Life. It is a House of death in which dead relatives need their peace and dead trees need to be fed. What a way to start a brilliant collection! The imagery will leave you breathless, and there is a distinctive Southern Gothic feeling permeating the narrative.
‘'It is the light that has brought them here. That cold, lucid light that trips in over the North Sea, bringing with it the threat of ice and nightmares. ‘'
Jutland: A couple with two children moves to Jutlan to satisfy the husband's ‘'artistic'' needs. It is a rugged land. The house is old, and there seems to be something wrong with a boy that stands all alone next to the shore... My God, this story is... Perfect? Terrifying? All of the above?
Badgerface: The arrival of a soldier from Afghanistan brings back memories of loss and pain in a moving story with a young protagonist that will break your heart.
The Pickling Jar: In a small community, the death of each husband becomes an opportunity for a macabre cooking contest on the day of the funeral, with strict rules and suspicious ingredients...
Cavities: A visit to the dentist triggers childhood memories whose roots produced rotting fruit. A story full of sadness and cruelty. One of my favourites in an incredible collection.
Resting Bitch Face: A woman is caught between a rock and a hard place, between a good for nothing husband and an abusive father, between indifference and hostility. I won't forget this story anytime soon, the metaphors within the narrative provide ample food for thought and discussion.
The Puckering: A lyrical story steeped in sea folklore. Poetic and haunting, and so sad...
Parroting: A parrot unites a young boy and a mysterious old lady.
Cortona: A woman travels to Italy for her annual visit to Cortona, in the most tragic of pilgrimages. The way in which the story slowly unfolds is phenomenal!
Chooks Don't Have Teeth: A teenage girl finds her anchor in the presence of a schoolmate's mother since her own mum doesn't seem able to provide the necessary support and understanding.
The Devil of Timanfaya: A family travels to the Canary Islands for their holidays, in a neighbourhood that hides a dark secret. This story gives me chills even now. One of the most striking Horror stories I've ever read, reminiscent of Robert Aickman and Daphne du Maurier.
Wretched: A story of love, resistance and the weak, flickering flame of Hope within the heart of a dystopian Britain ruled by a totalitarian regime.
The Birds of Nagasaki: A story of unbearable beauty and sadness. Of the sweet atmosphere of home and family. Of the terrors that may lurk underneath. Of the bond between siblings and the past that always haunts our steps...
‘'The flutter is still there in the darkness. I lie for a moment, absorbing the familiar rustle. It is neither comforting nor distressing, but has become an indelible part of my existence. My eyes have now become more accustomed to the darkness, and a pale halo glows around the window, the faintest indication of an outdoor, moonlit world.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'By night our bones dissolve into our blood like sugar in tea. We sleep in anti-gravity pods with slick outer shells and vinyl interiors, our limbs held by Velcro straps, our torsos bound by cuirasses that force our lungs to expand. Classical music pipes through speakers, masking the ventilators' hum. Outside, coyotes range over the Montana plains, scratching and whining, searching for dead things to eat. As the sun rises, our skeletons stitch themselves back together.''
Relationships are altered. They crumble and fall like the human race. Falling in love becomes a leap into the void. Societies turn against each other. Communication and understanding are about to disappear. And the House, the one and only shelter for every human being is a source of absolute threat. 
These themes are executed to perfection by Kate Folk, one of the most exciting writers of our times.
Out There: A woman tries online dating in a future plagued by the existence of ‘'blots'', humanoids created to do jobs no one wants or to exploit gullible women. But what if ordinary mortals are not adequate anymore? What world is this where a robot can take the place of a man because love is non-existent? A story that provides so many points for discussion!
The Last Woman on Earth: A chilling, brief and acute chronicle of the death of the human race. Discrimination and resentment are too hard to die...
‘'The more someone loves you, the more he'll want to meddle with the most vital parts of you, and vice versa. The only way to not hurt someone is not to love him enough, to remain unmoved by the thought of his organs pulsing beneath a thin layer of skin.''
Heart Seeks Brain: This story - told in a unique matter-of-fact style - takes us into a world where the sole criterium for falling in love is the attraction toward a human organ.
The Void Wife: In another haunting, devastating story, the Earth slowly vanishes because of a mysterious curtain of void. The only thing humans can now do is choose their companion for the new ternity. But is there an ‘'eternity''?
Shelter: A couple moves away from the city due to work commitments. But there is something strange going on. The heavy rainfalls don't seem to stop and the shelter in the house seems locked from the inside. An eerie atmosphere permeates the story along with the tangible exhaustion of the protagonist.
The Head in the Floor: In a superbly cryptic and memorable story, a head starts coming out of the floor. Literally. The future of the relationship that is born because of this situation is for the reader to decide...
Tahoe: A tale of forgetfulness, confusion and possible secrets that becomes more and more unnerving as it progresses.
The Bone Ward: A story of attraction, sex, jealousy and Art taking place in a medical ward where patients inflicted by a bone-melting disease are being treated. It becomes more and more sinister as it progresses in the most enticing way. Definitely one of the crown jewels in an outstanding collection.
Doe Eyes: A scorned woman goes to extremes in an effort to bring her husband back, making use of the deer hunters of her hometown.
‘'We sealed the rotting rooms. We slept together on the living room floor, close to the house's beating heart.''
The House's Beating Heart: A group of students discover the heart of their house. Then, room by room, corner by corner, they discover every one of its organs. But the house has no intention to welcome them...Supreme and terrifying.
A Scale Model of Gull Point: An artist wins a trip to Gull Point, an ‘'outlaw'' city that has become a fad, populated by former convicts and people living on the margin of society, an alternative holiday destination for curious tourists. But rebellion begins and havoc ensues...A monumental story that acquires a whole new significance when we read it as the massacre in Ukraine and the nightmare in Shanghai are in full swing.
Dating a Somnambulist: In a humorous, yet dark story, a woman has to put up with living with a somnambulist who brings all kinds of things (living and inanimate...) into their bed...
Moist House: A man has to tend to a house that needs moisture. But the house is a place of omens and visions. And obsessions...
‘'On the drive to his parents' house in Sonoma, Ruben tells me about his family's Thanksgiving tradition, the Turkey Rumble. It's like Secret Santa, he says, except instead of gifts, his family members surprise each other with minor injuries.''
The Turkey Rumble: Come on, this was ridiculously, outrageously perfect! I have run out of words to express my admiration for Kate Folk's unique ability to shock me with just three sentences! A story that seems humorous, albeit slightly twisted, but its layers conceal so much! (Extensive use of exclamation marks is necessary...) 
Big Sur: In the last story, we come full circle as we witness the evolution of the relationship between a woman (who is far from gullible, actually...) and a ‘'blot''. This one will surprise you and haunt you...
Yes, without a single doubt, this is one of the finest collections I've ever had the honour to read. Kate Folk has become one of my top top favourite writers.
''Get on, then, if you're so keen on existing.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'The university library was housed in an unimposing corner of North London, halfway up the Holloway Road. A small campus occupied the grounds of a former landfill site and seagulls still circled overhead, drawn by the scent of waste. When Isobel walked back from lunch the shadows of the birds followed her in the winter sunlight.''
December 1990. A teenage girl disappears in the days leading up to Christmas. Detective Sergeant Carter finds a connection between this case and a terrible incident that took place in 1975, in the face of Isabel, a young woman who tries to escape the past. What seems an almost routine case of a missing child becomes a race against time in which fear, revenge and retribution pull the strings.
Following her exceptional Love and Other Thought Experiments, Sophie Ward creates a story that will haunt you long after you have turned the last page, with its superb atmosphere, the strong characters and the depth of its important, relatable themes. The Schoolhouse is a place of ‘'alternative'' education, associating itself with freedom and independence and initiative. But even the safest nests can become a breeding place for predators, and even the finest school can prove incapable of protecting the most vulnerable of its students.
Within the context of education, we see how lack of communication and understanding leads to isolation and fear. We witness the subtle, yet hurtful ways in which the one who is deemed as the Other is ostracised by a society that feels insecure without the desirable uniformity. We experience its fervent wish for the past to remain hidden, devoted to the absurd motto ‘'We don't talk about it, therefore it does not exist and it never happened.'' We understand the impact of a macho community that cannot accept a female police officer and views teenage girls as nothing more than easy prey. 
In beautiful langue communicating the thoughts and interactions of characters that ‘'feel'' as real as our own selves, Sophie Ward creates a moving, haunting novel about trauma, the tentacles of the past and the bravery of the human soul. There is darkness and injustice. But there is light and hope and courage. 
An exceptional work, one of the finest novels of the year.
‘'Clouds drooped over the campus square. A few students leaned against benches, eating chips and smoking. A solitary Christmas star in gold tinsel shimmered from a lamp post. Isobel walked across the icy concrete, feeling the cold spread through the soles of her shoes up into her toes, and letting her breath condense in the wool under her chin. She went back to the library as the last streetlight flickered on. The children were gone.''
Many thanks to Corsair for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'Shadows flee across the cobbles and climb up walls. Agnes has spent her life studying them, but she has not appreciated their sheer number until tonight. She sees shadows thrown by a dancing flame, the shadow of a tree branch, of an alley cat, shadows from nothing at all.''
Agnes works wonders with her skilful hands. A silhouette artist in an era when the photograph is about to become THE fashion, she has to keep her business alive and provide for her mother and her nephew. But this is not the hardest part of her daily life. Still recovering from a severe illness, the shadows of the past are playing hide-and-seek. And then, clients of hers are murdered. One after another. A child with otherworldy powers seems to provide the only solution. A game of shadows begins...
Yes, one more masterpiece by the inimitable Laura Purcell.
‘'The gas lamps are up. Not high, but enough to taunt her. By their light, the parlour looks shabbier: the wallpaper a weak and faded lilac chintz that depresses the spirits. Pearl's spirits, that is. She doesn't know about the ghosts. They haven't complained about the decoration as yet.''
I don't think that Laura Purcell's work needs an introduction. In her fourth novel/masterpiece, we meet Agnes and Pearl. Taking place in Bath during the 1850s, this is the story of a woman and a child, two souls that have been plagued by the spirits of the past for so long...Grief and Death are their companions, and the narrative becomes haunting and mesmerizing in an almost twisted way as we witness the toil that burdens Agnes and Pearl's shoulders.
To what extent should you sacrifice yourself, your dignity, your happiness, your sanity for the sake of your family? Why is it that the innocents are left to atone in blood and tears for the mistakes of others? Laura Purcell creates a marriage between the themes of shadows - literal and metaphorical- and silhouettes and the daily responsibilities and hardship women have had to face to keep their families safe. The beautiful characters of Agnes and Pearl, their faith, determination and bravery are a wonder to behold within the pages of this beautiful book.
To say that the novel is rich in this distinctive, superb Gothic atmosphere we have come to associate with Purcell's works is an understatement. The conviction that the soul would be captured within a portrait or a photograph. The Victorian obsession with Spiritualism, mesmerism, the unethical madness of body-snatching, the popularity of the Penny Dreadfuls. What more could we possibly want as readers? 
Every Victorian Gothic element is here, in this novel, in all its eerie glory. Perfection after perfection, Laura Purcell never seizes to generously lure us into a mesmerizing net of pure literary delight.
‘'When the hours of day are numbered,And the voices of the nightWake the better soul, that slumbered, To a holy, calm delight. 
Ere the evening lamps are lighted,And, like phantoms grim and tall,Shadows from the fitful fire-lightDance upon the parlour wall;''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  ‘'A ripple. A disturbance on the sea that didn't settle. Something that couldn't be let go, and the warmth of the sun would magnify it into wind. And the wind would worry it until the weaves and the swell would make the whole world feel as if it were moving. And its approach would be imperceptible at first. The tone of the breeze would change. A sound under a sound. A strange insistence. The rattle of the glass cabinets in the cottage. The disappearance of the birds. The deadening of the sea as the weight of the storm rilled in, a deep disconcerting inhalation of the sky...''
Hamza, a Syrian refugee detained in a military camp, finds himself stranded and wounded within the boundaries of a small community. Nefyn, a young woman as tender as a mother and as secretive as the sea, nurses him back to health in the house she shares with her brother, Joseph. With the help of Efa and Emrys, an elderly couple who protects the siblings, Hamza will chase the chance to a new life and Nefyn will try to heal the wounds of the past.
There are so many things I could write about Caryl Lewis's beautiful novel but they would sound simplistic, empty. You need to read it to experience its beauty, its depth, its sadness. To see how the myths of the selkies and the legend of the goddess Atargatis are wed to a love against the world and a firm need to fulfil your destiny. To witness how Folklore dances along with issues that concern us all: racism, cruelty, loss, the daily struggle to survive. To walk with a man who tries not to forget his roots, a brother whose shoulders have been carrying a heavy burden, a wife who protects the children entrusted to her and her husband who struggles to meet his end with dignity. But more importantly, this is the story of a woman who refuses to obey and the ‘'Other'' who refuses to comply.
I could write paragraphs after paragraphs about the beauty of the writing, the strength of the characters, the mesmerising allure of the dialogue but I won't. Read this novel. That's all I can tell you. 
A moving, haunting modern fable of immense beauty and one of the finest books of the year.
‘'My father was from the land, my mother from the sea. Do you see? I'm trapped.''
Many thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/





 

  ‘'Like London fog itself, the power of the weird tale lies in its potential to suddenly shift from benign to baleful as the light changes. The stories in this collection all invite you to make your way through the smoke to take a closer look at some of the more uncanny corners of the city, just out of sight - but all you need to do is turn into a sidestreet, or look up, or down.'' 
‘'What dangers linger just outside the apparent safety of an ordinary London terrace, hidden by fog, darkness, or simply the anonymity of the city? And what happens when the safe and sinister sides of London meet?''                    Elizabeth Dearnley
Through the fog and the dim glow of the streetlamps, the full moon glimmering on Father Thames, London rises. The metropolis in all its haunting, haunted, eerie glory. Its history, its mythology, its folklore, its secrets. Yes, Jack the Ripper gets all the twisted glory but what about Spring-Heeled Jack, the haunted houses, the eerie gardens, the moments that are frozen in the past only to be experienced by unaware passers-by? In this mesmerizing collection, beautifully edited and introduced by Elizabeth Dearnley, London rises from the fog and the mist. Don't be afraid to answer its call...
TempleThe Telegram (Violent Hunt): A charismatic socialite faces the world alone after the death of her mother. Fervently hostile to marriage yet attracted to flirting, she has a faithful admirer that refuses to give up. And then something changes...Bottom line? Don't toy with people's feelings.
Regent's ParkIn the Séance Room (Lettice Galbraith): A prominent doctor cannot escape the wrath of a revenant that exposes a cruel injustice. Séance stories always exert an eerie power on the reader and this one is no exception. 
‘'It was late August; it had been a steamy, showery day:At the moment the trees down the pavement glittered in an escape of humid yellow afternoon sun. Against the next batch of clouds, already piling up ink-dark, broken chimneys and parapets stood out. In her once familiar street, as in any unused channel, an unfamiliar queerness had silted up; a cat wove itself in and out of railings, but no human eye watched Mrs. Drover's return.''
KensingtonThe Demon Lover (Elizabeth Bowen): A married woman receives a strange message. A return from the past, a jealous lover is about to find her. A meeting she has reasons to dread...An atmospheric, quintessentially British Gothic tale. 
MayfairThe Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth (Rhoda Broughton): All Cecilia wanted was to find a Mayfair house. And she did find one. An opportunity too good to be true...
SohoWar - Extract from London in my Time (Thomas Burke): A problematic when viewed by today's standards yet no less enticing account of Limehouse and its mysteries during the First World War blackouts.
‘'No one perhaps has ever felt passionately towards a lead pencil. But there are circumstances in which it can become supremely desirable to possess one; moments when we are set upon having an object, an excuse for walking half across London between tea and dinner.''
‘'The hour should be the evening and the season winter, for in winter the champagne brightness of the air and the sociability of the streets are grateful. We are not then taunted as in the summer by the longing for shade and solitude and sweet airs from the hayfields. The evening hour, too, gives us the irresponsibility which darkness and lamplight bestow. We are no longer quite ourselves.''
The StrandStreet Haunting (Virginia Woolf): The great writer composes an acute, haunting, even sad observation of the residents of the metropolis during the 1920s and an ode to the secret lives of readers. Where can the search for a pencil bring you? What secrets are lurking during the tender and mystical evening hour? London! Oh, London of mysteries!
HolbornPugilist Vs Poet - Extract from A Long Way from Home (Claude McKay): McKay narrates a moving account of the racism and cruelty within the bounds of the modern city. 
Stoke NewingtonN (Arthur Machen): An exciting story about a vanishing landscape, the visions created by a foggy winter's night and the eerie phenomenon of spectral urban areas.
WhitechapelThe Lodger (Marie Belloc Lowndes): Well, it is Whitechapel, people. And what does come to mind when we stumble upon the word ‘'Whitechapel''? Yes, exactly. Who is the Lodger of our story? How can you know the secrets your neighbour is harbouring most successfully?
WaterlooMy Girl and the City ( Sam Selvon): The relationship between two youths becomes a metaphor for the city that nurtures and deprives, the beehive that shelters and exposes.
‘'He was waiting for her; he had been waiting an hour and a half in a dusty suburban lane, with a row of big elms on one side and some eligible building sites on the other - and far away to the south-west the twinkling yellow lights of the Crystal Palace. It was not quiet like a country lane, for it had a pavement and lamp-posts, but it was not a bad place for a meeting all the same; and farther up, towards the cemetery, it was really quite rural, and almost pretty, especially in twilight. But twilight had long deepened into night, and still he waited.''
Crystal PalaceThe Mystery of the Semi-Detached (Edith Nesbit): The eerie Crystal Palace becomes the setting for mysterious omens and ominous visions that may or may not come to fruition...
VauxhallThe Old House in Vauxhall Walk (Charlotte Riddell): A homeless young man finds refuge in a house which has an eerie reputation. His life will be altered in mysterious ways...
Putney & BloomsburyThe Chippendale Manor (E.F.Benson): Bohemian Bloomsbury hides quite a lot of treasures. However, antiques can become dangerous and mirrors should always be approached with caution. 
PeckhamSpring-Heeled Jack (Anonymous): In 1838, the first Victorian urban legend found its representation in the mysterious (and numerous) accounts of citizens who had witnessed the annoying (to put it mildly...) presence of Spring-Heeled Jack a.k.a. The Devil. 
Others can keep their Rome and Paris. I'll have my foggy, smoggy, eerie, haunting London and its mysticism until I die.
‘'One must have a thought - where buildings and the shadows of them encroach the railway tracks. Now the train crawls across the bridges, dark steel in the darkness: the thoughtful gloom of Waterloo: Charing Cross Bridge, Thames reflecting lights, and the silhouettes of the city buildings against the sky of the night.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
 

  This is most definitely NOT a collection of the finest ghost stories from Ireland. This is an array of classic 19th-century Gothic tales from extremely well-known writers (Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, W.B. Yeats, etc...) but first and foremost, it is an absurd shrine to the ‘'inimitable'' skill of Sheridan Le Fanu built by the editor who literally worships him. There are only two women included in the volume and 350 pages are dedicated to seven (!) stories by Le Fanu, a writer whose writing, imagery and dialogue have never managed to attract me in all my long years as a reader and a scholar of British/Irish/American Literature.
My favourite stories from an infuriatingly underwhelming collection were:
‘'The wood upon the other side was very thin, and broke the moonlight into long streams. The wind had arisen and had begun to drive the clouds rapidly across the face of the moon, so that thin streams of light seemed to be dancing a grotesque dance among the scattered bushes and small fir trees. The tops of the trees began also to moan, and the sound of it was like the voice of the dead in the wind; and the troopers remembered the belief that tells how the dead in purgatory are spitted upon the points of the trees and upon the points of the rocks.''
The Curse by W.B.Yeats: A story taking place in the era of the Civil War. A score of Puritan troopers finds an old curse awakened in the heart of the Sligo woods. A legend that makes use of the hag who washes the clothes of those who will soon meet their demise and the presence of the Sidhe from a time lost in the mists...
Hanraham's Vision by W.B.Yeats: Another atmospheric story by the great master who pays tribute to the Celtic past of the land. In this beautiful tale, you will be visited by Deirdre, Grania, Dervadilla and Dermot. If you don't recognise the names, it's time to brush up on your Celtic Mythology.
‘'It is absurd asking me to behave myself,'' he answered, looking round in astonishment at the pretty little girl who had ventured to address him, ‘quite absurd. I must rattle my chains, and groan through keyholes, and walk about at night, if that is what you mean. It is my only reason for existing.''
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde: The marvellous Gothic satire of a ghost who tried his best to frighten an American family but his ‘'guests'' were just too obstinant and rational. This beloved story contains one of the most tender and memorable bonds between a child and a desperate spectre.
The Old House in Vauxhall Walk by Mrs J.H.Riddell: A man that has found himself homeless and hopeless discovers the macabre secret of an abandoned estate and his life changes. An atmospheric, moving tale.
The Haunted Cellar by Thomas Crofton Croker: A man finds a Cluricaune Nageneen, a more mischievous and annoying cousin of the Leprechaun, in his cellar.