Starve Acre
Ratings28
Average rating3.7
I really liked the writing style and the atmosphere. The author uses present tense and flash backs to keep the story unfolding in an interesting way. The author is clearly a very good writer. I just didn’t find the story to be that compelling.
The plot is interesting enough to read until the end. But overall not maybe for me.
I feel like I waited forever to read this book. I follow a ton of British book bloggers so they have been talking about this since....2019? It's finally here in the states and I wish I had enjoyed it more.
There is a giant disconnect here between the reader and the story and it is because of our protagonist. Richard (father of Ewan) is excavating their side yard to find the root of the old gallows tree that used to grow there. He is also dealing with grief, but handles that by throwing himself into his work. He was forced into sabbatical by his school, so now he is digging up the yard.
Richard refuses to believe. Even when something weirder than weird happens right in front of him, he just “mehs” it and moves on with his routine. His wife is suffering (from grief, maybe more), his neighbors keep warning him something is wrong with the property, and a group lead by Mrs. Ford and the “Beacons” try to help. Add in a very worried sister-in-law and this is a lot of people for Richard to ignore. But he does!
And we slowly get the story of Ewan's behavior before his death. Some of it is.....a little mature for a five-year-old. Some of it he would have found physically challenging to accomplish (I'm trying to stay spoiler free here). But Richard ignores all of this.
What happens is, as Richard remains disconnected from the story, YOU the reader remain disconnected from the story. I wish, really wish, we had been in Juliette's head instead. Or even Gordon's. I felt like I was watching a neighbor's tv through a window, only getting half the story.
The end: I feel like Richard is just going to continue to Richard so nothing much will come of it and, therefore, what the hell was the whole point?
You get to a point in this book where you know what's coming and when you get there, those last two pages are pretty damn perfect. You read those last pages so quickly you can almost hear the pounding of the feet on the stairs, the raised voices and see the look of horror on the faces when they enter the room. Another brilliant, deeply disturbing folk horror tale From Andrew Michael Hurley.
An absolute hypnotic read and one that feels very reminiscent of Lanny by Max Porter!
Review coming soon!
A very, very unsettling book! The second part I read in one sitting. It was so tense, it felt impossible to take a break. The ending is pretty insane and it took me a while to digest it. The whole book feels, somehow, metaphorical and straightforward at the same time, leaving you behind confused and disturbed—or at least me!
''He says my name sometimes. He tells me to come to the tree.''
A young family moves to the moors, to a house where dreams and nightmares co-exist. The forest nearby hides secrets and strange apparitions. But the young parents are hopeful, away from the noise and threats of the big city. Soon, everything changes. A young boy becomes almost unrecognizable, his intentions inexplicable and violent. A tree appears at will and a presence, called Jack Grey, seems to have entered the boy's mind and is there to stay. What happens when the house you have chosen has a heavy shadow? Too heavy for anyone to bear. How do you defend against a threat you cannot see? How do you cope when the greatest and most unbearable of ills haunt your every step?
This novel excels in the creation of the proper atmosphere for a novel that seems -and I stress the word ‘‘seems''- full of mystery, a homage to the dark Folklore of the British forests. There are certain passages that can freeze your blood because the imagery described and communicated is so powerful, almost tangible. But the novel seems to rely on these features and never moves into something deeper. Yes, the story is definitely intriguing and the ambiguity surrounding the family and, particularly, the child is effective but it is nothing we haven't seen before. I felt that it soon lost a purpose and there were many threads that needed handling and closure. In the end, I thought that the novel was the personification of the phrase ‘‘much ado about nothing.''
The characters are weak and uninspiring. Richard could have some potential but he is lost in the nightmare that is Juliette. I am sorry but I've seldom found such an irritating character in the pages of a book that wants to be taken seriously. She is plainly horrible long before the tragedy that befalls their household. And even this does not account for her obsessive, dismissive, ignorant attitude towards everything and everyone that doesn't agree with her opinion and choices. She even attacks a psychiatrist because the know-it-all- goddess Juliette has already formed her personal diagnosis. I cannot imagine sharing the same house with such a shrew, not to mention her sister. Juliette has reduced her husband into a void presence, a stranger in his own house. So, he is one of the most patient characters I've ever encountered in a novel. And one of the most boring and unrealistic. One side, a snoozefest, the other side a bloody nuisance. I wonder how I was able to finish this book...
And yet, I know the answer. I finished the book because the prose itself was rather good and the scenery was brilliantly depicted. But these elements are not enough. Yes, I could use the adjectives ‘‘atmospheric, complex, challenging.'' It had potential, it could have been perfect. However, the characters were a disaster, the plot used Folklore elements without a purpose, lacking in depth and development, and the dialogue itself was uninspired, the themes repetitive and stalled. And don't get me started on the closure. I was far from impressed and having The Devil's Day on my upcoming reads, I feel the shadows closing in...Let us hope for the best...
Many thanks to John Murray Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/