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librarianonparade's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely could not put this book down - I ripped through it in just a few hours. It's about a group of archaeologists who travel to a remote site in Greenland - they're cut off from a world in the grip of what seems to be a flu epidemic, and there's something out there in the dark. The sense of horror, menace and foreboding is wonderfully handled, all the better for never being fully revealed, and I'm not sure which is more frightening, the things lurking in the dark or the idea that perhaps the world outside has ground to a halt, that people are dying and the plane will never come to take them home again. My only criticism of this book is with the last chapter - it's unnecessary and, to my mind, lessens the power and impact of what has gone before. Not knowing how things end is so much unnerving.
librarylucy's review against another edition
3.5
The ending was unsatisfactory but her writing is so beautiful.
imyril's review against another edition
4.0
A small group of academics travel to Greenland to excavate a medieval Norse farmstead, cut off from civilisation and the terrifying pandemic sweeping their homes behind them. Neurotic Nina has vivid nightmares of the farmers' deaths and becomes convinced she is seeing their ghosts; meanwhile, the dismissive archaeologists start to uncover evidence of violent deaths.
Told in a series of letters home, this little gem picks at the tensions between the characters, the very real fears of the coming winter and explores the contrast between night terrors and daytime fears for family members back home. Humour slowly gives way to horror as the nights get longer and the internet connection stops working. Having been an archaeologist in a disparate group far from home, there's a lot to recognise in the desire to make human connections within the group, the willingness to overlook things that would force you apart back home, and the inevitable tensions that arise as pressures mount.
I love Sarah Moss for the authenticity of her voices (particularly her women) - as with Anna in Night Waking, Nina and Ruth are almost impossible to like, but undeniably genuine - tics and all. The timely switch from Nina's suffocating point of view to Ruth's merciless gaze confirms that Nina is as awful as you think, although I wouldn't have objected to some of the other characters being given more space.
Not a flesh-creepingly spooky read, but for me very satisfying - this is one of those instances where I applaud the author's decision to let her reader decide whether ghosts are real or the product of an overwrought mind.
Full review
Told in a series of letters home, this little gem picks at the tensions between the characters, the very real fears of the coming winter and explores the contrast between night terrors and daytime fears for family members back home. Humour slowly gives way to horror as the nights get longer and the internet connection stops working. Having been an archaeologist in a disparate group far from home, there's a lot to recognise in the desire to make human connections within the group, the willingness to overlook things that would force you apart back home, and the inevitable tensions that arise as pressures mount.
I love Sarah Moss for the authenticity of her voices (particularly her women) - as with Anna in Night Waking, Nina and Ruth are almost impossible to like, but undeniably genuine - tics and all. The timely switch from Nina's suffocating point of view to Ruth's merciless gaze confirms that Nina is as awful as you think, although I wouldn't have objected to some of the other characters being given more space.
Not a flesh-creepingly spooky read, but for me very satisfying - this is one of those instances where I applaud the author's decision to let her reader decide whether ghosts are real or the product of an overwrought mind.
Full review