Reviews

Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country by Edward Parnell

otterno11's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

 Edward Parnell, in his atmospheric exploration of the haunted landscapes of the United Kingdom, writes an introspective, meandering personal exploration of his life experience and particularly how artists use hauntings to wrestle with memory and place. Drawing in many threads and elements and tying them loosely if intriguingly together, using the classic literary English ghost stories from writers like M.R. James and William Hope Hodgson and traditions of folk horror in British cinema, Parnell illustrates how these themes reflect both their own personal histories and that of their society. He rambles across Britain, discussing the various lonely, haunted locations of England, Wales, and Scotland, delving into how this landscape influenced classic stories of ghostly phenomena and intertwining everything with stories of his own family, grief, and experiences. At times, Parnell’s tangents can be fascinating, but also can lose focus, making some chapters feel a little overlong. Still, the connections he made between these disparate threads of English life were captivating.

Along with Colin Dickey's own 2016 book Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places, focusing on the US, I discuss books exploring memory, place, and ghosts at Harris' Tome Corner. 

mindracer's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

jessicaemily's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.25

talina's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This book is like a sour patch kid in reverse. You’ll be enthralled by the exploration of English horror and then absolutely devastated when the larger narrative reveals itself. 

kallistoi's review against another edition

mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.0

claudia_is_reading's review

5.0

This book was such a fascinating read. It's about loss and grief, but it is also about books and the places that we associate with them. It's strange and intimate; it's a travel full of birds and ghosts; it's beautiful and evocative...

Probably one of the best books I've read this year, scratch that, it IS the best.

navayiota's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

3.0

I would be lying if i said I didn't space out while listening a couple of times, it was a bit boring since I'm not familiar with a lot of the media mentioned, but I enjoyed the part's about the author's family, as I could understand them fully, even if they made me sad.

kbrenn12's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

2.0

emaang's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

4.0

moominbit's review

3.0

Ran a bit too long for me.
But well written and well researched and with a beautiful blend of memoir.
A meditation on love, loss, grief and ghosts between the many examples of literature for the devoted fan of ghost stories of Western Culture.