Starve Acre
Ratings9
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings9
Average rating3.8
An atmospheric and unsettling story of the depths of grief found in an ancient farm in northern England—now a major motion picture starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby's son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Starve Acre, their house by the moors, was to be full of life, but is now a haunted place. Convinced Ewan still lives there in some form, Juliette seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Richard, to try and keep the boy out of his mind, has turned his attention to the field opposite the house, where he patiently digs the barren dirt in search of a legendary oak tree. But as they delve further into their grief, both uncover more than they set out to. Starve Acre is a devastating novel by the author of the prize-winning bestseller The Loney. It is a novel about the way in which grief splits the world in two and how, in searching for hope, we can so easily unearth horror.
Reviews with the most likes.
A very, very unsettling book! The second part I read in one sitting. It was so tense, it felt impossible to take a break. The ending is pretty insane and it took me a while to digest it. The whole book feels, somehow, metaphorical and straightforward at the same time, leaving you behind confused and disturbed—or at least me!
The plot is interesting enough to read until the end. But overall not maybe for me.
A brilliantly written gothic folk horror focusing on Richard and Juliette, a couple whose troubled young son Ewan has died. Living in the remote house of Starve Acre, near a village called Sythwaite, grief has cast a pall over their relationship. Juliette is convinced Ewan is still in the house somehow, while Richard, and archeologist, digs in the field for the legendary Sythwaite Oak, a massive tree now vanished into legend and folklore.
Going through his father's books he find a series of woodblock prints describing a tale of three men who were hung from the Oak for crimes they said were the work of “Jack Grey”, a folk terror in the shape of a large Hare....
All these elements are woven into a claustrophobic story that builds tension all the way through. Flashbacks tell of the troubled, violent son. Juliette invites a group called The Beacons into the house, against Richard's wishes, to perhaps “release” the spirit of Ewan.... but is something more sinister at work? Richard has found the bones of a large hare buried by the Oak tree remains and then something strange happens to the bones....
Hurley ramps up the tension as the book progresses, Juliette retreating into some kind of madness, her sister Harrie trying to talk sense, while Richard, caught between the two is fascinated by what he's uncovered. The very last scenes are the epitome of folk horror. It's a book rooted in the English landscape, in English folklore and all it's bloody history.
Great book, well worth your time.
