Book Reviews

‘The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.’ Alan Bennett

“Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.” ― Franz Kafka

Monday 8 July 2013

The Shadow Year - Hannah Richell



'She just can't seem to shake the feeling that the old place is trying to tell her something.'

In this novel we meet Lila, an unhappy young woman who has suffered a devastating loss. She is struggling to cope with this; she suffers feelings of guilt, and her relationship with her husband Tom is under strain. She receives a mysterious, anonymous inheritance; a remote cottage in the Peak District. Intrigued, and looking for an escape, she decides to renovate the place, which is much in need of it. She finds traces of the previous occupants, and wonders about who they were, and why it seems like they left the cottage quite suddenly. Whilst there, she has a sense that she isn't alone, that someone may be watching her. 

Back in 1980, a group of five graduates spend a warm summer's day heading out to a remote spot in the countryside, where they discover a cottage by a lake in an idyllic spot. The place seems to be abandoned, and the seed of an idea is sown. They could spend a year here, before joining the rest of society, they could escape and live quietly and be as self reliant as possible. It seems like a dream and it starts well. But then as winter sets in and a visitor arrives, the realities become harsher and the strains being to show. 

The narrative switches back and forth between the two strands in alternate chapters, with the tale structured such that the writer has kept the months aligned, so that we read about December 1980 and then December in the present, which maintains the sense of the gradually passing year in each case, the changing seasons playing their part in the sights, smells and surroundings that form a backdrop to the story. 

What happens in the past is slowly revealed, and the repercussions on the present are also gradually shown. This writer gets to the heart of relationships and creates interesting characters representing both likeable and less pleasant aspects of human nature, and she places these creations in challenging situations. There's a strong sense of place and the cottage, lake and surrounds become almost like characters in themselves and it's easy to see how someone might become captivated by such a place.

Hannah Richell has weaved an involving tale that grows into an emotional, evocative read about secrets and about how people can be driven by motives of love, desire and jealousy, to act in a way that they think is for the best for others, whether that is the reality or not, and whatever the real, painful impact might be. I thought the plot was cleverly constructed and although I guessed at some of the mysteries within the story, I was certainly surprised by some as well. Though I would have preferred the story to have been a little shorter at times, overall I enjoyed escaping into this very readable story and discovering what would happen to the characters in this tangle of lives and how the two storylines would meet. 

Published by Orion

Thanks to the publisher for kindly sending a proof copy of this novel.

You can follow the author on twitter @HannahRichell and visit her website here.

9 comments:

  1. You have me interested. I liked Hannah Richell's first book - with just a few reservations - and this feels like the kind of story she could do very well.

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    1. Thanks for commenting Jane. I still have to read Secrets of the Tides, I've heard so many good things about it. I liked this one overall.

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  2. Thank you Lindsay - I really appreciate you taking the time and effort to read and review my book. I'm glad you enjoyed the escape. Cheers, Hannah x

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to comment, Hannah, it's really kind of you! I found this a moving and clever story. x

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  3. This sounds interesting, and I like dual narratives as long as you can follow them and they don't jump about too much.

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    1. Thanks for commenting Kath. This does go back and forth but spends enough time in each place I felt.

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  4. Not too sure about the switching of the dialogue but apart from that I really like the sound of this.

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  5. This one sounds right up my alley, and both storylines sound equally intriguing. Thanks for the review!

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  6. This sounds so great. I haven't heard of Hannah Richell before now, but this seems to have all the ingredients I love in a book. The plot sounds a bit like The Secret History which is one of my favourites. I'll definitely be looking out for it.

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