Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
Evening BookWyrms,
I first saw Starve Acre on Readersfirst.com, which, by the way, is a website all book lovers should check out, where I read the first 40 pages or so and did a 'first look' review.
What drew me to the book in the first place was the cover art. The creepy hangman's noose really peaked my interest; I needed to know what Starve Acre was, what the tree symbolised and why on earth was there a noose in the branches!
Once I'd read those initial pages I headed straight to NetGalley to see if I could request it, which I could and did.
The email granting me an E-ARC came through fairly quickly which I was really grateful for because, after those first few pages, I desperate for more.
Before I give you my spoiler free thoughts here is the official blurb:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
Juliette, convinced Ewan still lives there in some form, 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.
Starve Acre is a devastating new 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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I started Starve Acre at 9.30am on Saturday and I'd finished it by 11am on Sunday. It's safe to say that I couldn't put it down. It's safe to say it's that good!
First things first Richard, our narrator, is compelling, grounded and believable which makes his story even more interesting once the tone starts to get darker and deeper. You don't question Richard's experiences at Starve Acre or the reality of what unfolds within the field or the walls of the house. If Richard believes it to be true then you do too. Likewise, the things he was skeptical about I too found myself questioning.
You quickly learn that Richard and Juliette have lost their only son and we are joining them a short time after his death.
This story is one of grief, pain, resolution and recuperation as well as good, evil, suffering, meanness and madness.
When I closed the final page I was left with a bad taste in my mouth - in that this is a slow building modern Gothic horror story full of unsettling scenes and upsetting emotional pulls. It was brilliant.
It has been a long time since a book has left me with a creepy, itching skin feel after reading it and I commend the author for weaving such a vivid tale, a tale that made me feel a huge range of emotions.
You know from the off set that this isn't just going to be a story of grief, there are undertones of the supernatural almost straight away with the mention of the Beacons, but what I thought would be a passing notion turned out to be the main theme of the story and the supernatural gave way to occult and then took a nosedive into horror with those final pages.
I didn't think the story would end where it did. I felt like the ending sprung up on me suddenly and without warning and I'm almost annoyed by this. I wanted a conclusive ending that left no stone unturned and no question unanswered; I wanted a happier ending. On saying that the ending also really appealed to my macabre, disgusting side and I ended up being really creeped out, and also a little delighted, with the way the story finished (that last line!)
The writing, throughout the 241 pages, is fluid and effortlessly segues between present and past, gently drip feeding the reader with relevant information, until the whole picture presents itself.
Starve Acre ticks all my boxes and if you love horror, Gothic literature and ghost stories then this is for you.
Starve Acre publishes on the 31st October 2019, which could not be a more suitable date for it to be released into the world.
I've had a look and Starve Acre can be pre-ordered from all the normal places.
I'm off to get copies of The Loney and The Devil's Day (Hurley's other novels) to get another fix of the creepy.
Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Publishers for letting me read this in advance.
As always, keep on reading,
Lottie
I first saw Starve Acre on Readersfirst.com, which, by the way, is a website all book lovers should check out, where I read the first 40 pages or so and did a 'first look' review.
What drew me to the book in the first place was the cover art. The creepy hangman's noose really peaked my interest; I needed to know what Starve Acre was, what the tree symbolised and why on earth was there a noose in the branches!
Once I'd read those initial pages I headed straight to NetGalley to see if I could request it, which I could and did.
The email granting me an E-ARC came through fairly quickly which I was really grateful for because, after those first few pages, I desperate for more.
Before I give you my spoiler free thoughts here is the official blurb:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
Juliette, convinced Ewan still lives there in some form, 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.
Starve Acre is a devastating new 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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I started Starve Acre at 9.30am on Saturday and I'd finished it by 11am on Sunday. It's safe to say that I couldn't put it down. It's safe to say it's that good!
First things first Richard, our narrator, is compelling, grounded and believable which makes his story even more interesting once the tone starts to get darker and deeper. You don't question Richard's experiences at Starve Acre or the reality of what unfolds within the field or the walls of the house. If Richard believes it to be true then you do too. Likewise, the things he was skeptical about I too found myself questioning.
You quickly learn that Richard and Juliette have lost their only son and we are joining them a short time after his death.
This story is one of grief, pain, resolution and recuperation as well as good, evil, suffering, meanness and madness.
When I closed the final page I was left with a bad taste in my mouth - in that this is a slow building modern Gothic horror story full of unsettling scenes and upsetting emotional pulls. It was brilliant.
It has been a long time since a book has left me with a creepy, itching skin feel after reading it and I commend the author for weaving such a vivid tale, a tale that made me feel a huge range of emotions.
You know from the off set that this isn't just going to be a story of grief, there are undertones of the supernatural almost straight away with the mention of the Beacons, but what I thought would be a passing notion turned out to be the main theme of the story and the supernatural gave way to occult and then took a nosedive into horror with those final pages.
I didn't think the story would end where it did. I felt like the ending sprung up on me suddenly and without warning and I'm almost annoyed by this. I wanted a conclusive ending that left no stone unturned and no question unanswered; I wanted a happier ending. On saying that the ending also really appealed to my macabre, disgusting side and I ended up being really creeped out, and also a little delighted, with the way the story finished (that last line!)
The writing, throughout the 241 pages, is fluid and effortlessly segues between present and past, gently drip feeding the reader with relevant information, until the whole picture presents itself.
Starve Acre ticks all my boxes and if you love horror, Gothic literature and ghost stories then this is for you.
Starve Acre publishes on the 31st October 2019, which could not be a more suitable date for it to be released into the world.
I've had a look and Starve Acre can be pre-ordered from all the normal places.
I'm off to get copies of The Loney and The Devil's Day (Hurley's other novels) to get another fix of the creepy.
Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Publishers for letting me read this in advance.
As always, keep on reading,
Lottie
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