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A review by verosnotebook
The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley
4.0
4.5*
“What's gone before you, and what will come after,' I said instead.
'Beg pardon?'
'The past ahead. Time is like a river and you float with the current. Your ancestors set off before you did, so they're far ahead. Your descendants will sail it after.”
After having enjoyed [b:The Watchmaker of Filigree Street|22929563|The Watchmaker of Filigree Street|Natasha Pulley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418113344s/22929563.jpg|42499104], I couldn’t wait to see what Pulley would offer us next. Once more the trope of Time is omnipresent but dealt in a very different way. We are introduced to Merrick Tremayne, a Cornish young man, former opium smuggler for the East India Company, now confined to his family’s crumbling estate, recovering ever so slowly from an accident that shattered his leg. His outlook is bleak, until he is roped back into a dangerous mission to steal cinchona cuttings from Peru (plant rich in quinine, used to fight malaria), country that has the monopoly on its sale. The story features also the explorer and geographer Sir Clements Markham, a real historical figure, that Pulley ‘uses’ to be Merrick’s companion.
The narrative feels fluid, with a first-person narration with cleverly inserted flashbacks, and shifting from a historical adventure to magical realism. Peru and the Andes become this fantastic land peopled by disconcertening beliefs, puzzling ways, and moving statues! We are lead down the rabbit hole ever so slowly and yet in a fashion that is totally compelling. At the centre of it all, Pulley once more looks into what makes people tick!
Once more, this author has crafted a story that stays with you long after you’ve finished the last page.
P.S.: In the late 90s, I visited Cornwall and went to the ‘recently’ re-opened “Lost Gardens of Heligan”! Imagine my surprise when this turned out to be Merrick’s familial abode. I do believe the author went there. See...
“What's gone before you, and what will come after,' I said instead.
'Beg pardon?'
'The past ahead. Time is like a river and you float with the current. Your ancestors set off before you did, so they're far ahead. Your descendants will sail it after.”
After having enjoyed [b:The Watchmaker of Filigree Street|22929563|The Watchmaker of Filigree Street|Natasha Pulley|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418113344s/22929563.jpg|42499104], I couldn’t wait to see what Pulley would offer us next. Once more the trope of Time is omnipresent but dealt in a very different way. We are introduced to Merrick Tremayne, a Cornish young man, former opium smuggler for the East India Company, now confined to his family’s crumbling estate, recovering ever so slowly from an accident that shattered his leg. His outlook is bleak, until he is roped back into a dangerous mission to steal cinchona cuttings from Peru (plant rich in quinine, used to fight malaria), country that has the monopoly on its sale. The story features also the explorer and geographer Sir Clements Markham, a real historical figure, that Pulley ‘uses’ to be Merrick’s companion.
The narrative feels fluid, with a first-person narration with cleverly inserted flashbacks, and shifting from a historical adventure to magical realism. Peru and the Andes become this fantastic land peopled by disconcertening beliefs, puzzling ways, and moving statues! We are lead down the rabbit hole ever so slowly and yet in a fashion that is totally compelling. At the centre of it all, Pulley once more looks into what makes people tick!
Once more, this author has crafted a story that stays with you long after you’ve finished the last page.
P.S.: In the late 90s, I visited Cornwall and went to the ‘recently’ re-opened “Lost Gardens of Heligan”! Imagine my surprise when this turned out to be Merrick’s familial abode. I do believe the author went there. See...