For centuries, the inhabitants of Barrowbeck, a remote valley on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, have lived uneasily with forces beyond their reckoning. They raise their families, work the land, and do their best to welcome those who come seeking respite. But there is a darkness that runs through the village as persistently as the river. A father fears that his daughter has become possessed by something unholy. A childless couple must make an agonising decision. A widower awaits the return of his wife. A troubled man is haunted by visions of end times. As one generation gives way to the next and ancient land is carved up in the name of progress, darkness gathers. The people of Barrowbeck have forgotten that they are but guests in the valley. Now there is a price to pay. Two thousand years of history is coming to an end. 'Impeccably written . . . tightens like a clammy hand around your throat' Daily Mail on The Loney 'A work of goose-flesh eeriness' The Spectator on Devil's Day 'A tale of suspense that sucks you in and pulls you under' New Statesman on Starve Acre
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A collection of short stories, previously heard on the radio in slightly different versions. I liked this, but it's less cohesive than I hoped - the idea of linked stories all taking place in the same area over thousands of years offers plenty of opportunity for resonances and echoes throughout, but that doesn't come into play as much as I might have liked. It's also curiously lacking in a sense of place - I didn't come away thinking I knew this area or how the location of one story was related to another. There wasn't one individual story that I disliked, but somehow as a novel it is less than the sum of its parts. There is some great writing here, and a sinister and ominous mood throughout (which counts as praise round my way), but I think it is better served by being parcelled out over a long period if time and interspersed with other books rather than being read in one go.
