Foxash by Kate Worsley - #BookReview

 

I thought he'd be here to meet me. I had it all crystal clear in my head. Letter said to come down twenty-eighth of January. Ticket was a single, same as his. Caught the ten-to-eight mainline, same as he had, three month back. I'd pictured him that day, arriving here about teatime, with the rest of the men from the Special Areas. Cold, hungry, tired, piling into an Association truck in a fog of white breath. All those nights since, I've conjured him up, stood here waiting on me. I'm not after a truck. Just my Tommy.

He's not written to say either way, of course. Not written once, bar that Christmas card. A robin, perched on the handle of a spade dug deep in snow. Crinkle edges. Greetings from the Association. And just Tommy, no love from, no news...

***

Worn out by poverty, Lettie Radley and her miner husband Tommy grasp at the offer of their very own smallholding - part of a Government scheme to put the unemployed back to work on the land. When she comes down to Essex to join him, it's not Tommy who greets her, but their new neighbours. Overbearing and unkempt, Jean and Adam Dell are everything that the smart, spirited, aspirational Lettie can't abide.

As Lettie settles in, she finds an unexpected joy in the rhythms of life on the smallholding. She's hopeful that her past, and the terrible secret Tommy has come to Foxash to escape, are far behind them. But the Dells have their own secrets. And as the seasons change, and a man comes knocking at the gate, the scene is set for a terrible reckoning.

Combining a gothic sensibility with a visceral, unsettling sense of place, Foxash is a deeply original novel of quiet and powerful menace, of the real hardships of rural life, and the myths and folklore that seep into ordinary lives - with surprising consequences.

***

Publishing today, Foxash is a remarkable novel which tells of a rural experiment during the 1930's in England.

From the very first page the author establishes a strong sense of voice with Lettie,  from whose perspective the narrative is told.

It is slow paced which echoes the changes in nature perfectly. Although this is about the characters, we also follow the story of the produce which is grown on their land. From sowing the seeds through to germination to packing up for sale, this book follows the rhythm of the natural growing season. Indeed, the land and plants are a significant aspect of the book.

The author understands her characters and the natural world with which they are surrounded extremely well. The intense and claustraphobic friendship that Lettie and her husband have with their neighbours is excellently portrayed and there were dark secrets hidden within. The truth of the plot is witheld to the very end and made this for an entralling read.

It is a disquieting book which has being beautifully written. It was involving and the atmosphere which Ms. Worsley created was palpable. She injected nature with a sensuality which we can observe through the behaviour of the characters.

I thought this was an excellent book, and I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 978-1472294876

Publisher:  Tinder Press

Formats:  e-book, audio and hardback

No. of Pages: 368 (hardback)

About the Author:

Kate Worsley’s first novel, She Rises, won the HWA Debut Crown for Historical Fiction and was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Prize in the US. She was born in Preston, Lancashire and now lives on the Essex coast.

(author photo and bio from Tinder Press)

(ARC courtesy of the publisher)