You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
readingoverbreathing 's review for:
O Caledonia
by Elspeth Barker
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For a good long while, I've been looking forward to reading this, but never could I have imagined how it would impress, engross, and thoroughly shock me. It checks so many of my boxes: a country estate in Scotland, a midcentury bildungsroman, a mysterious death, and the most beautiful, lyrical, atmospheric writing.
Truly, Barker's style is astounding. From the very first page, I was enraptured, grateful that I'd chosen to start this with my entire Sunday afternoon lying leisurely before me. The descriptions of the landscape in particular were just delicious, especially as someone familiar with Scotland's lush hills and wet winds.
By the time I'd made it to the last chapter, with less than a dozen pages to go, I was simply dying to get to the forewarned end. And genuinely, I can't remember the last time an ending truly shocked me, but, oh, did this one!
Usually, I'm not impressed when an author starts off with a prologue that reveals most of the ending, but in this case, it worked brilliantly. Caught up in Janet's early life and youthful self-absorption, even within the space of the afternoon that I read this, I would almost forget how close her untimely death was, only to be startled by the reminder. Looking back on it now, the foreshadowing is so clear, and yet it creeps up on you just as death did Janet. I'd love to go back, knowing what I know now, to capture all the clues that I must have missed.
Short, atmospheric, beautifully written, and a little bit spooky — what is not to love here? This is a book unlike any I've ever read before and one I wholeheartedly recommend.
Truly, Barker's style is astounding. From the very first page, I was enraptured, grateful that I'd chosen to start this with my entire Sunday afternoon lying leisurely before me. The descriptions of the landscape in particular were just delicious, especially as someone familiar with Scotland's lush hills and wet winds.
By the time I'd made it to the last chapter, with less than a dozen pages to go, I was simply dying to get to the forewarned end. And genuinely, I can't remember the last time an ending truly shocked me, but, oh, did this one!
Usually, I'm not impressed when an author starts off with a prologue that reveals most of the ending, but in this case, it worked brilliantly. Caught up in Janet's early life and youthful self-absorption, even within the space of the afternoon that I read this, I would almost forget how close her untimely death was, only to be startled by the reminder. Looking back on it now, the foreshadowing is so clear, and yet it creeps up on you just as death did Janet. I'd love to go back, knowing what I know now, to capture all the clues that I must have missed.
Short, atmospheric, beautifully written, and a little bit spooky — what is not to love here? This is a book unlike any I've ever read before and one I wholeheartedly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault