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jazzy_cat's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed the romantic descriptive style of the landscape, the weather and the day to day activities on the farm. It is a well written account of a girls confusion at the world around her as she grows up and how she makes the best of what she may or may not understand. Not only then is it similar to To Kill a Mocking Bird in that regard but also there are events that happen that are similar if not the same e.g fighting at school, a fire, a mysterious outcast that she befriends, an older character that takes a disliking to her. Although the books tackle very different subject matter they use similar events to move the story along.
kchessrice's review against another edition
5.0
"This is the place. I was certain. For the heart knows its home when it finds it, and on finding it, stays there."
Following the death of her mother, eight year old Eve Green returns to the land of her mother's birth to live with her grandparents in rural Wales. With a sense that she isn't being told the truth about her mother or why flowers are mysteriously appearing on their doorstep, Eve retreats into the landscape and strikes up a friendship with fellow outcast, Billy. With the sudden disappearance of a teenage girl from the village, Eve learns the power of telling the truth and how lies and secrets do the most damage.
Told in flashback from an Eve now in her late-twenties, we are taken through that period of a young girl's life where she stops being a child and learns that the world is a complex and often strange place. The writing in this novel is absolutely beautiful; the Welsh landscape is conjured up so vividly in Fletcher's almost poetic prose. I loved the voice of Eve and that she never shied away from being completely herself, no matter what trouble it landed her in. The mother's death is never really discussed so even by the end it's not clear whether she died on purpose or as a tragic twist of fortune (although I personally think it was a cry for help, rather than an intended suicide, but that's just my interpretation of it). Eve tries to remain close to her mother by looking through the scraps of journal that her mother had kept and some keepsakes, trying also to piece together enough information to find out who her father is (who she has never met and her mother pines over).
I still find myself thinking back to this story and the characters in it now, even though I read it back in September (behind in my reviews or what?!). This is a coming of age story and a story about families and friendships. It's about the natural landscape, which can be a place of beauty and terror. My book club and I absolutely loved this book and it is a real highlight in my books of 2020.
Following the death of her mother, eight year old Eve Green returns to the land of her mother's birth to live with her grandparents in rural Wales. With a sense that she isn't being told the truth about her mother or why flowers are mysteriously appearing on their doorstep, Eve retreats into the landscape and strikes up a friendship with fellow outcast, Billy. With the sudden disappearance of a teenage girl from the village, Eve learns the power of telling the truth and how lies and secrets do the most damage.
Told in flashback from an Eve now in her late-twenties, we are taken through that period of a young girl's life where she stops being a child and learns that the world is a complex and often strange place. The writing in this novel is absolutely beautiful; the Welsh landscape is conjured up so vividly in Fletcher's almost poetic prose. I loved the voice of Eve and that she never shied away from being completely herself, no matter what trouble it landed her in. The mother's death is never really discussed so even by the end it's not clear whether she died on purpose or as a tragic twist of fortune (although I personally think it was a cry for help, rather than an intended suicide, but that's just my interpretation of it). Eve tries to remain close to her mother by looking through the scraps of journal that her mother had kept and some keepsakes, trying also to piece together enough information to find out who her father is (who she has never met and her mother pines over).
I still find myself thinking back to this story and the characters in it now, even though I read it back in September (behind in my reviews or what?!). This is a coming of age story and a story about families and friendships. It's about the natural landscape, which can be a place of beauty and terror. My book club and I absolutely loved this book and it is a real highlight in my books of 2020.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
3.0
This is more like a three and a half star from me. I was really looking forward to this book after loving the author's second book Oystercatchers, and I wasn't disappointed. There are a lot of issues tackled in this novel, which are pulled off with minimal effort and lots of lovely descriptive writing. Definitely a fan.
Please see my full review at http://bibliobeth.wordpress.com
Please see my full review at http://bibliobeth.wordpress.com
amy_park's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
2.0
OK, quite forgettable to be honest! I didn't like the writing style, I thought every other sentence the author was trying to incorporate a simile or metaphor, which came across a bit potentious. The storyline alluded and refered to mystrey, which was touched upon at the end (fire) but fell flat in other areas (mystrey of Rosie and what hapened to her). Didn't like the representation of sexual assault. Everything felt vague and surface level, wasn't for me.
frustratedlibrarian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
purplelorikeet's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book where the writing is simply beautiful and it was a great joy to read it. I felt I was dragged into the story from early on and found it hard to stop reading, finishing in two sittings. As much as I enjoyed this, I did find the ending was lacking something and left me feeling not quite satisfied.
laurahastoomanywips's review against another edition
4.0
Read for book club
Very interesting, almost in the style of a stream of consciousness.
Told by Eve Green, she is thinking about her arrival to live with her Welsh grandparents after the suddendeath of her mother. She is thinking back whilst looking through her mother's memory box. There are clues to who her father was she thinks about him and why he is not allowed to be discussed. Also reminisces about the disappearance of a local school girl, Rosie (12) and how the village loner was susspected to be involved.
This was beautifully writtenand once I got used to the writing style was a pleasure to read.
Very interesting, almost in the style of a stream of consciousness.
Told by Eve Green, she is thinking about her arrival to live with her Welsh grandparents after the suddendeath of her mother. She is thinking back whilst looking through her mother's memory box. There are clues to who her father was she thinks about him and why he is not allowed to be discussed. Also reminisces about the disappearance of a local school girl, Rosie (12) and how the village loner was susspected to be involved.
This was beautifully writtenand once I got used to the writing style was a pleasure to read.
nim_me's review against another edition
3.0
This book was beautifully written and really evoked a sense of place. The writing style was very lyrical and some passages just stunning. At times it almost felt that an elegy to the scenery of Wales. Having said that I felt that the characters could have been better developed which may have been due to the back and forth nature of the narrative. This doesn't bother me and indeed I quite like this as a way of structuring a narrative but occasionally it does leave you feeling a little distant from the characters.
Ultimately this was beautifully written book but feel a little flat emotionally because of that - I didn't feel very connected to the characters or the events of the book, but still a good read.
Ultimately this was beautifully written book but feel a little flat emotionally because of that - I didn't feel very connected to the characters or the events of the book, but still a good read.
asimab's review against another edition
3.0
Couldn't pick up pace for the first 100 or so pages...after that, it got kind of intriguing.Writing style not to my personal liking.I prefer simple,to the point story telling,facts put in a chronological order-which was totally not the case with this book. Overall Not Bad but I wanted to read more about Billy.