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A review by otterno11
The Hollow Land by Jane Gardam
4.0
This was among the books chosen for the last session of the Guys Read group I facilitated at my local library. You can read more about this here at my blog, Reading Rainstorm. While I quite enjoyed The Hollow Land, this is one I probably would not choose for another group, or at least not younger than the teen group. Not that it was inappropriate for younger groups, it was just a bit too wistful and languid to keep the younger kids' attentions, and relied heavily on this specific, detailed setting to the point of inaccessibility. It is nostalgic for a time and place I have no connection to, let alone the kids in the group.
The Hollow Land is a loving ode to the power of place. The setting of the county of Cumbria in the north of England is the real star with its geography, climate, culture, and history coming through. Bell, a local farmer's son who introduces himself in the first chapter, befriends a slightly younger “incomer” boy from London, Harry, who quickly becomes his companion in rambles and adventures throughout the fells and valleys of the rural region.
Meeting eccentric locals, exploring old mines and frozen waterfalls, and baling hay, the pair grow up together. Called the “Hollow Land” by the locals, including Bell’s loquacious grandfather due to the many mines and underground rivers, the seasons, natural splendor, local characters and legends of the land all play vital roles as Bell and Harry grow up. A detailed portrait of this time and place, it recalls with fondness even the odd prejudices of the locals and their dislike of "gyspies," Irish, Welsh, and Scottish, and those shifty Yorkshiremen in the next county. Filled with folklore like the Hand of Glory, the little people, the deep history of the region from the pre-Roman to the modern world, and the strange and it ends with a strange and unexpected interlude to a post-apocalyptic future after the oil runs out and industrial civilization fails, but the residents of the fells remain quite happy.
The Hollow Land is a loving ode to the power of place. The setting of the county of Cumbria in the north of England is the real star with its geography, climate, culture, and history coming through. Bell, a local farmer's son who introduces himself in the first chapter, befriends a slightly younger “incomer” boy from London, Harry, who quickly becomes his companion in rambles and adventures throughout the fells and valleys of the rural region.
Meeting eccentric locals, exploring old mines and frozen waterfalls, and baling hay, the pair grow up together. Called the “Hollow Land” by the locals, including Bell’s loquacious grandfather due to the many mines and underground rivers, the seasons, natural splendor, local characters and legends of the land all play vital roles as Bell and Harry grow up. A detailed portrait of this time and place, it recalls with fondness even the odd prejudices of the locals and their dislike of "gyspies," Irish, Welsh, and Scottish, and those shifty Yorkshiremen in the next county. Filled with folklore like the Hand of Glory, the little people, the deep history of the region from the pre-Roman to the modern world, and the strange and it ends with a strange and unexpected interlude to a post-apocalyptic future after the oil runs out and industrial civilization fails, but the residents of the fells remain quite happy.