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A review by the_bookubus
The Woodwitch by Stephen Gregory
4.0
Andrew is taking some time off work due to an incident with a coworker he was involved romantically with. She laughed at his inability to get it up in the bedroom and he reacted violently. Andrew's boss lets him use his holiday cottage in Wales to get away for a while so Andrew heads off there with his dog, Phoebe, for company. Their days are spent in the surrounding woodland and one day he finds a stinkhorn mushroom and its phallic nature both embarrasses and fascinates him. During the course of Andrew's stay he meets some of the locals, finds some dead animals in the woods, and becomes thoroughly obsessed with the stinkhorn and a unique project that he devotes himself to.
This was a dark and disturbing read about a descent into obsession. Gregory's writing is absolutely wonderful and brings beauty to the grim details. The atmosphere, the feel of the damp cottage with its mouldy walls, the putrid smell of the stinkhorn, the visceral descriptions of death and decay, all make this a very sensory and immersive read. The slow burn builds to a brutal climax that I am unlikely to forget any time soon.
CW: animal maltreatment, animal death, hunting, a potentially underage character in sexual situations.
This was a dark and disturbing read about a descent into obsession. Gregory's writing is absolutely wonderful and brings beauty to the grim details. The atmosphere, the feel of the damp cottage with its mouldy walls, the putrid smell of the stinkhorn, the visceral descriptions of death and decay, all make this a very sensory and immersive read. The slow burn builds to a brutal climax that I am unlikely to forget any time soon.
CW: animal maltreatment, animal death, hunting, a potentially underage character in sexual situations.