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eiseneisen's review against another edition
4.0
The Hollow Land is an utterly delightful series of 9 connected stories that take place in the countryside of Northern England over a period of time.
I am very fond of this book, and I feel fortunate to have discovered and read it. The Hollow Land is so unique... the setting, the characters, the slow-moving-yet-compelling action, are all unlike any other book I've read. These stories are populated by richly drawn characters young and old, wise, funny, superstitious, impulsive, fretful, adventurous, odd... These are just a wonderfully perceptive tales of various human types, and author Jane Gardam's powers of description---whether describing the setting, the people, or their attitudes/feelings---are something in which to revel.
It should be noted that many of the characters speak a country dialect of English that requires some effort to understand, but the reward is well worth the effort.
I am very fond of this book, and I feel fortunate to have discovered and read it. The Hollow Land is so unique... the setting, the characters, the slow-moving-yet-compelling action, are all unlike any other book I've read. These stories are populated by richly drawn characters young and old, wise, funny, superstitious, impulsive, fretful, adventurous, odd... These are just a wonderfully perceptive tales of various human types, and author Jane Gardam's powers of description---whether describing the setting, the people, or their attitudes/feelings---are something in which to revel.
It should be noted that many of the characters speak a country dialect of English that requires some effort to understand, but the reward is well worth the effort.
hannahbananarama's review
5.0
What a gem of stories, all tied together by a a community of characters in a country town situated atop the Hollow Land (so called because of the abandoned mines snaking below the landscape). It is here that the Bateman family comes to escape life in the city of London when they take up renting a farmhouse owned by the local Teesdale family. The younger boys of the families, Harry and Bell, become friends and it is the stories of their adventures over many years, highlighted by the landscape as well as the cast of characters in the town, which are collected here. This writing is practically perfect, no wasted or throw away words, everything with a purpose and a place. It is utterly charming and comforting.
otterno11's review
4.0
This was among the books chosen for the last session of the Guys Read group I facilitated at my local library. You can read more about this here at my blog, Reading Rainstorm. While I quite enjoyed The Hollow Land, this is one I probably would not choose for another group, or at least not younger than the teen group. Not that it was inappropriate for younger groups, it was just a bit too wistful and languid to keep the younger kids' attentions, and relied heavily on this specific, detailed setting to the point of inaccessibility. It is nostalgic for a time and place I have no connection to, let alone the kids in the group.
The Hollow Land is a loving ode to the power of place. The setting of the county of Cumbria in the north of England is the real star with its geography, climate, culture, and history coming through. Bell, a local farmer's son who introduces himself in the first chapter, befriends a slightly younger “incomer” boy from London, Harry, who quickly becomes his companion in rambles and adventures throughout the fells and valleys of the rural region.
Meeting eccentric locals, exploring old mines and frozen waterfalls, and baling hay, the pair grow up together. Called the “Hollow Land” by the locals, including Bell’s loquacious grandfather due to the many mines and underground rivers, the seasons, natural splendor, local characters and legends of the land all play vital roles as Bell and Harry grow up. A detailed portrait of this time and place, it recalls with fondness even the odd prejudices of the locals and their dislike of "gyspies," Irish, Welsh, and Scottish, and those shifty Yorkshiremen in the next county. Filled with folklore like the Hand of Glory, the little people, the deep history of the region from the pre-Roman to the modern world, and the strange and it ends with a strange and unexpected interlude to a post-apocalyptic future after the oil runs out and industrial civilization fails, but the residents of the fells remain quite happy.
The Hollow Land is a loving ode to the power of place. The setting of the county of Cumbria in the north of England is the real star with its geography, climate, culture, and history coming through. Bell, a local farmer's son who introduces himself in the first chapter, befriends a slightly younger “incomer” boy from London, Harry, who quickly becomes his companion in rambles and adventures throughout the fells and valleys of the rural region.
Meeting eccentric locals, exploring old mines and frozen waterfalls, and baling hay, the pair grow up together. Called the “Hollow Land” by the locals, including Bell’s loquacious grandfather due to the many mines and underground rivers, the seasons, natural splendor, local characters and legends of the land all play vital roles as Bell and Harry grow up. A detailed portrait of this time and place, it recalls with fondness even the odd prejudices of the locals and their dislike of "gyspies," Irish, Welsh, and Scottish, and those shifty Yorkshiremen in the next county. Filled with folklore like the Hand of Glory, the little people, the deep history of the region from the pre-Roman to the modern world, and the strange and it ends with a strange and unexpected interlude to a post-apocalyptic future after the oil runs out and industrial civilization fails, but the residents of the fells remain quite happy.
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