A review by briancrandall
The Juniper Tree by Barbara Comyns

4.0

Although published in 1985, and ostensibly set in late twentieth-century London, Barbara Comyns's novel really takes place in a fantastical landscape, one that is dark, harsh, and dangerous for children and innocents. Among Comyns devotees, The Juniper Tree is divisive. Uncanny yet matter-of-fact, spooky yet gentle, naive and knowing, meticulous and strangely careless, it is considered by some to be among her most endearing works, while others dismiss it as chaotic. To me, it's both—and therein lies its charm. [vii, from Sadie Stein’s introduction]