Reviews

Thursbitch by Alan Garner

witzelsucht's review against another edition

3.0

At once skeletally sparse and ultra dense to read and follow - intentional, I know, but I really craved more clarity and detail. The more I think about it, though, the more I suppose I liked it. The ominous, feverish atmosphere is certainly unique and interesting.

jenmulholland's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.0

amy_12's review against another edition

3.0

I’m still keen to try other books by Garner, but this one wasn’t for me. I found it difficult to follow & felt no connection to the characters, unlike with Treacle Walker. There were some beautiful lines of writing, though, and I liked the pagan details.

peekaboostitches's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

khyland's review

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

foggy_rosamund's review against another edition

4.0

Garner is known for writing strange, elliptical novels, and this is one of his strangest. Set almost entirely in the valley of Thursbitch, it conjures the wild landscape of the tors and gullies, and the ways in which past and present write themselves on the landscape. There are two interweaving strands: the story of John Turner, an 18th century inhabitant of Thursbitch, who is a wanderer, a merchant, but is always drawn back to his home. He is also something of a shaman or wise man, gathering mushrooms to create hallucinations, and tending to the gods of the valley. We also meet Ian and Sal, two 21st century visitors to Thursbitch, who are drawn to the valley's isolation and wildness, and notice the same beauty and strangeness that John Turner has seen nearly three hundred years previously. In typical Garner style, we are given very few explanations, no exploration of the interior life of the characters, and he helps the reader very little: instead, we are given dialogue and clear, precise details of landscape, especially geological features. There's something very compelling about this: the language is carefully constructed and meaty, giving the reader a lot to think about, but its spareness means that the story never becomes too dense. The emotions are present, beneath the surface, even if never directly described. Overall, I found rereading this book rewarding: I like Garner's sense of the numinous, and the ways in which he watches landscape. The central idea of John Turner giving himself to the old gods of the valley in order to preserve it from harm, is beautiful and believable. There are some odd notes here -- particularly Turner's conversion to Christianity and his rapid turn from it -- and the 18th century world feels much more vivid to me than the 21st century narrative, but it's a book that remains in the imagination. I always return to Garner because he is so much himself: no one else writes like this.

nicktomjoe's review against another edition

5.0

It has occasioned a life-changing weekend, a load of deep research, a series of nightmares, and a number of re-reads. I can't begin to review Thursbitch - except, perhaps, to warn anyone wanting to read it that it is the pinnacle of Alan Garner's terse, dialogue-led narrative style and as such (moving between Peak District dialect and C21st, almost Pinteresque, discussion of human life and sentient landscape) needs the reader to keep their wits about them. A bit like a trip to the valley where the book is set... but that's another story, https://nicktomjoestory.news.blog/research/wild-spaces-wild-magic/looking-for-thursbitch-5-thursbitch/ and not really a book review.

walkingaway's review against another edition

5.0

I loved it with all my heart. An absolute masterpiece. Felt like I was a hundred years old and freezing on a fell.

jennjohnson's review against another edition

2.0

I have to agree that similar ideas were done better in Red Shift. Different timelines in the same landscape, but the themes in this book are difficult to parse out.

The book is deliberately difficult, which makes it feel pretentious. Long passages like the Bull ....ceremony? maybe?... feel important, but also might not have happened as described. It might be paganism versus new Christianity; old gods, new gods, and newer gods in a culture war.

But it's buried in archaic language, and I do mean buried. For example:
“So you did get a second bite off his head, I see.”
“We did. An abundation. Yon good slobber of rain fixed us nicely. And yours is in, too. High Medda and all.”

"Are you too idle to get ’em? Because I can’t reach.”
“Oh, thee hoe thy taters,” said Jack.

"But tha conner fart gen thunder, think on; and bliss in this world it is a seldom thing.”

The modern timeline, while not hidden under its prose, is depressing. Deteriorating health and old age, lessened mobility, lack of connection with other people. I usually don't mind a bit of darkness and realism. But it's a bit too bleak to be overwhelmed by both.

elaffleck's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated