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adperfectamconsilium 's review for:
Villager
by Tom Cox
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Villager is a novel that comes across like a collection of short stories. Each chapter has a different narrator and is set in a different time period in the fictional village of Underhill on the moorland of Devon. Ranging from the past up to the future of 2099 the stories are linked with sections narrated by the landscape itself and some characters appear in more than one chapter as the lives of the villagers impact on each other and the landscape they live in.
The village itself is a microcosm of humanity as a whole with the themes of climate and development tangled up in human drama. I'm reminded of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple who always solves cases by having studied human psychology by knowing what goes on in her village. Human behaviour is similar whether in a big city or remote location.
The setting of this novel gives scope for some wonderful descriptions of nature and the author is spot on with saying that the south west of England has its own climate compared to the rest of the country and we certainly get more than our fair share of rain. Dampness, wetness & humidity permeate the air and ground, buildings and people and the mist on the moors is a living thing.
Amidst the nature writing there are themes of music, particularly folk, and local mythology. One connecting character is a folk musician that travels to Underhill from California as a young man and in passing through leaves an indelible mark on the lives of generations.
There are mysteries and love and relationships and death and everything that you would expect in a human drama woven into the fabric of the village.
With an episodic structure due to the shifts in time and narrator there will be some parts that appeal more than others but for me it came together really well as a whole, all the strands combining to form a compelling narrative.
The village itself is a microcosm of humanity as a whole with the themes of climate and development tangled up in human drama. I'm reminded of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple who always solves cases by having studied human psychology by knowing what goes on in her village. Human behaviour is similar whether in a big city or remote location.
The setting of this novel gives scope for some wonderful descriptions of nature and the author is spot on with saying that the south west of England has its own climate compared to the rest of the country and we certainly get more than our fair share of rain. Dampness, wetness & humidity permeate the air and ground, buildings and people and the mist on the moors is a living thing.
Amidst the nature writing there are themes of music, particularly folk, and local mythology. One connecting character is a folk musician that travels to Underhill from California as a young man and in passing through leaves an indelible mark on the lives of generations.
There are mysteries and love and relationships and death and everything that you would expect in a human drama woven into the fabric of the village.
With an episodic structure due to the shifts in time and narrator there will be some parts that appeal more than others but for me it came together really well as a whole, all the strands combining to form a compelling narrative.