Nellie
New Member
I just finished this, and looked for a thread, but couldn't find one, so thought I would start one. Has anyone else read this? I would be interested in others views, it was quite odd...
Here's my review from my blog:
Set in Yorkshire, we meet Sam who has been expelled from school for an "incident" with a younger female pupil. Marginalised from the local community, he works on his father's farm where he talks to the animals and imagines their responses.
A "town" family move into a converted barn close to the farm. Sam dislikes these people who move the country looking for a better way of life. The family have a daughter and slowly, Sam and the girl get to know each other.
The narrative is a little slow in places, but the descriptions of the moors are beautiful and support Sam's feelings of isolation. There are also some wonderfully cutting remarks on second home coming to the country for "wellie weekends".
This book reminded me very much of "The Wasp Factory" By Iain Banks, it had that same dark and slightly disturbing overtone to it, although not as extreme as The Wasp Factory. Sam is clearly an outsider, but as I read the book I became increasingly confused as to whether he was a cruel person, or just a little misunderstood. The climax of the book was somewhat unexpected, and although, without giving away the ending, those who deserved punishment got what they deserved, I did feel that one person got away scott free, and that left me a little dissatisfied coupled with a general feeling of unease. There are certainly some very sinister people out there.
Here's my review from my blog:
Set in Yorkshire, we meet Sam who has been expelled from school for an "incident" with a younger female pupil. Marginalised from the local community, he works on his father's farm where he talks to the animals and imagines their responses.
A "town" family move into a converted barn close to the farm. Sam dislikes these people who move the country looking for a better way of life. The family have a daughter and slowly, Sam and the girl get to know each other.
The narrative is a little slow in places, but the descriptions of the moors are beautiful and support Sam's feelings of isolation. There are also some wonderfully cutting remarks on second home coming to the country for "wellie weekends".
This book reminded me very much of "The Wasp Factory" By Iain Banks, it had that same dark and slightly disturbing overtone to it, although not as extreme as The Wasp Factory. Sam is clearly an outsider, but as I read the book I became increasingly confused as to whether he was a cruel person, or just a little misunderstood. The climax of the book was somewhat unexpected, and although, without giving away the ending, those who deserved punishment got what they deserved, I did feel that one person got away scott free, and that left me a little dissatisfied coupled with a general feeling of unease. There are certainly some very sinister people out there.