Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

 

Paperback: 368 pages

• Publisher: Head of Zeus; 01 edition (31 Oct. 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1788549570
• ISBN-13: 978-1788549578

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

In Edwardian Suffolk, a manor house stands alone in a lost corner of the Fens: a glinting wilderness of water whose whispering reeds guard ancient secrets. Maud is a lonely child growing up without a mother, ruled by her repressive father.

When he finds a painted medieval devil in a graveyard, unhallowed forces are awakened.

Maud’s battle has begun. She must survive a world haunted by witchcraft, the age-old legends of her beloved fen – and the even more nightmarish demons of her father’s past.

 

Review

Since hearing about Wakenhyrst I have been very excited at getting the chance to read it, and it didn’t disappoint.  The book starts in 1966, Maud is living at Wakes End alone and reeling after an article in the paper that takes her back to 1913 and a murder committed by her father.  The main body of the book is narrated from Maud’s point of view, from ten years old to the events of 1913 when she was sixteen. This gothic thriller has a touch of the supernatural and mysticism to enchant the reader, and a plot that builds in suspense and atmosphere to draw you in.

Michelle Paver draws on different literary devices through the book which adds variety, different perspectives and some clarity to the thoughts and beliefs of the characters.  As well as Maud’s narrative there are chapters from her father’s, Edmund Stearne, private notebook which gives an insight into his thoughts and feelings as we see him spiral into a kind of paranoia.  There are also the translations of Edmund’s work on a book that recounts the life of mystic Alice Pyett from the fifteenth century and links to the painting The Last Judgement found in the church. These different narrative devices combine to make this such a fascinating and interesting reading experience.

As a lead character, Maud is captivating to read about and curious in personality.  She isn’t one for obeying rules and has a keen intelligence and thirst for knowledge.  The problem with being a girl was that she had to stay at home and learn how to run a house whilst her brothers were sent to school.  As her father’s assistant and types up his translations, but he doesn’t expect her to understand what she is typing as she is female; how wrong he is.  Edmund is a man of his time and what we would call chauvinistic in his attitude.  Through Maud and his writings we are voyeurs to his descent into paranoia which also opens up a horrific secret from his past.  Edmund’s character and morality is called into question, as we learn there is another side to him. The Fens play an important part in this novel, the smells, dampness, creatures that live there are like another character.  They encroach on the house and those who live there; for Maud they are a place she can be free of rules, for her father they are to be shut out, they bring back bad memories and invade his home and mind like an intruder.

Wakenhyrst is a beautiful, chilling and evocative read. The attention to detail brings the Fens and Wakes End and their sights and smells to life, so that as you are reading you can almost feel and smell the dampness encroaching. Edmund’s descent into paranoia is in contrast to Maud’s growth into a more confident young woman, who comes to know her own mind as the plot progresses. Historical detail, the atmospheric Fens, wonderful characters all combine to make this dark and gothic tale such a deliciously divine read and cement Michelle Paver as a masterful story teller.

I would like to thank Head of Zeus for my copy of Wakenhyrst and for asking me to take part in the blog tour.

Thank you for reading my review of this fabulous book, I hope you will help spread the book love by sharing over social media and letting me now your thoughts on this book.