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A review by emeraldreviews
Sealskin by Su Bristow
5.0
A heart-breaking yet beautiful tale of family, secrets, myth and ultimately…love.
What begins with a horrific act shakes the foundations of Donald’s family and ultimately the entirety of the extremely close knit community. But that horrific act evolves into its own seemingly close knit family against all odds. Su Bristow envelops the reader in a warm cloak of storytelling whilst stoking the fire of intrigue within.
The story takes place within a small fishing village with a small selection of characters but all of these are rich and extremely well written. The small locational base doesn’t mean that Su is limited with her story but instead fills every inch of the little village with detailed descriptions and fantastic scene setting. This seemingly idyllic little village becomes a stunningly attractive place to live at the hands of Su. Such a beautiful world took over my brain whilst reading.
The main character, Donald, is a deep, mysterious character whose growth throughout the book is absolutely sublime. You will hate him at times, but you will also feel pity for him, feel pain with him and also…love with him. Su Bristow’s portrayal of an entirely silent character is masterful, the characterisation and deep emotional bond she is able to encourage with simple descriptions of hand movements and gestures is pure magic.
Sealskin is a dark story that you will read with bated breath. Let Su Bristow take you on a trip through a Selkie myth which will extract every emotion from you. I cannot wait for more from Su after this. Which is, by the way, her FIRST novel!! Please, if you enjoy dramatic, emotional stories…read this book.
What begins with a horrific act shakes the foundations of Donald’s family and ultimately the entirety of the extremely close knit community. But that horrific act evolves into its own seemingly close knit family against all odds. Su Bristow envelops the reader in a warm cloak of storytelling whilst stoking the fire of intrigue within.
The story takes place within a small fishing village with a small selection of characters but all of these are rich and extremely well written. The small locational base doesn’t mean that Su is limited with her story but instead fills every inch of the little village with detailed descriptions and fantastic scene setting. This seemingly idyllic little village becomes a stunningly attractive place to live at the hands of Su. Such a beautiful world took over my brain whilst reading.
The main character, Donald, is a deep, mysterious character whose growth throughout the book is absolutely sublime. You will hate him at times, but you will also feel pity for him, feel pain with him and also…love with him. Su Bristow’s portrayal of an entirely silent character is masterful, the characterisation and deep emotional bond she is able to encourage with simple descriptions of hand movements and gestures is pure magic.
Sealskin is a dark story that you will read with bated breath. Let Su Bristow take you on a trip through a Selkie myth which will extract every emotion from you. I cannot wait for more from Su after this. Which is, by the way, her FIRST novel!! Please, if you enjoy dramatic, emotional stories…read this book.