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A review by eshalliday
The Whistling by Rebecca Netley
4.0
This is a good read for this time of year, although it is very slow to get going. I did a little ‘jump for joy’ when, at precisely 200 pages, the plot finally gathered momentum.
There are some beautifully written phrases here, some delicate and tender touches throughout:
'[S]omething had crept up on me, as quietly as winter to spring itself until, without warning, buds are springing from the empty branches and snowdrops pushing through the slumberous earth. I loved her. I loved her like my own.'
I empathised with both Elspeth and Mary, although I was constantly casting my mind back to the relationship between Nanny and her charge in 'Mrs England' by Stacey Halls, which was written so vividly that it's stayed bright in my mind.
Overall, though, I think I took too long to read ‘The Whistling’, because I was too easily able to slip out of its story world. A ‘favourite’ novel will have me engaged even when I’m away from the book; I’ll remain with the characters as I’m at work, as I’m cooking the dinner, as I’m cleaning the bath, &cetera. For instance, recently reading ‘The Way Back’ by Gavriel Slavit, I was, in my mind, still in the underworld with the two children as I drove to work and as I was doing the dishes. All the time, I was thinking about the characters and what had just happened with them, and excited to know what would happen next. ‘The Whistling’ didn't have this effect.
So, I would, perhaps, only recommend this book if you can manage to read it very quickly – maybe in one or two sittings. I think in that case, the pace should sustain itself. I believe ‘The Whistling’ has the potential to be a really absorbing book, if it’s read in this way; if the reader is able to surrender themselves to it totally for a short period of time.
What I can say about this novel is that it gets better and better and better as it progresses. It started out as a read that I would have rated quite low on the scale, but climbed its way gradually upwards as it went along. At the end, I was looking back over the narrative and I understood why we had such a slow start. I did really enjoy reading it as things accelerated towards the end. A great debut, and I'll be looking forward to what Rebecca Netley produces next!
There are some beautifully written phrases here, some delicate and tender touches throughout:
'[S]omething had crept up on me, as quietly as winter to spring itself until, without warning, buds are springing from the empty branches and snowdrops pushing through the slumberous earth. I loved her. I loved her like my own.'
I empathised with both Elspeth and Mary, although I was constantly casting my mind back to the relationship between Nanny and her charge in 'Mrs England' by Stacey Halls, which was written so vividly that it's stayed bright in my mind.
Overall, though, I think I took too long to read ‘The Whistling’, because I was too easily able to slip out of its story world. A ‘favourite’ novel will have me engaged even when I’m away from the book; I’ll remain with the characters as I’m at work, as I’m cooking the dinner, as I’m cleaning the bath, &cetera. For instance, recently reading ‘The Way Back’ by Gavriel Slavit, I was, in my mind, still in the underworld with the two children as I drove to work and as I was doing the dishes. All the time, I was thinking about the characters and what had just happened with them, and excited to know what would happen next. ‘The Whistling’ didn't have this effect.
So, I would, perhaps, only recommend this book if you can manage to read it very quickly – maybe in one or two sittings. I think in that case, the pace should sustain itself. I believe ‘The Whistling’ has the potential to be a really absorbing book, if it’s read in this way; if the reader is able to surrender themselves to it totally for a short period of time.
What I can say about this novel is that it gets better and better and better as it progresses. It started out as a read that I would have rated quite low on the scale, but climbed its way gradually upwards as it went along. At the end, I was looking back over the narrative and I understood why we had such a slow start. I did really enjoy reading it as things accelerated towards the end. A great debut, and I'll be looking forward to what Rebecca Netley produces next!