Publication
Amsterdam Uitgeverij Orlando 2019
ISBN
9789493081161
Language
Collections
Description
The light blinds you; there's a lot you miss by gathering at the fireside. In the north of England, far from the intrusions of cities but not far from civilization, Silvie and her family are living as if they are ancient Britons, surviving by the tools and knowledge of the Iron Age. For two weeks, the length of her father's vacation, they join an anthropology course set to reenact life in simpler times. They are surrounded by forests of birch and rowan; they make stew from foraged roots and hunted rabbit. The students are fulfilling their coursework; Silvie's father is fulfilling his lifelong obsession. He has raised her on stories of early man, taken her to witness rare artifacts, recounted time and again their rituals and beliefs--particularly their sacrifices to the bog. Mixing with the students, Silvie begins to see, hear, and imagine another kind of life, one that might include going to university, traveling beyond England, choosing her own clothes and food, speaking her mind. The ancient Britons built ghost walls to ward off enemy invaders, rude barricades of stakes topped with ancestral skulls. When the group builds one of their own, they find a spiritual connection to the past. What comes next but human sacrifice?… (more)
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member lisapeet
This was a dark little tale: an Iron Age reenactment being carried out one summer in North England with two sets of players: an "experimental archeology" professor and three 20-something grad students in it for the class credit and a lark, and a family there to satisfy the father's obsession with
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the time period and a "pure" England. More than a tale of old ways vs. new, it's a class conflict story above all, town and gown in particular. The professor and his students are breezy and often sloppy, with the implication that they can afford to be, but for the bus driver father, and the wife and daughter he drags along in his wake, this is grimly serious business. That combination of class and cultural nostalgia as the driving force for dysfunction made me think of a less wan (and damp) [Elmet], with a little [Lord of the Flies] thrown in. The abusive, obsessive father was drawn in too-broad strokes, I thought, but the 17-year-old narrator, Silvie, is complex and interesting, a terrific voice. The writing is nice throughout, and the story is uncomfortable and at the same time engaging. Show Less
LibraryThing member lauralkeet
17-year-old Silvie and her parents are spending the summer living like Iron Age Britons, her father having talked his way into joining a professor and his three students on an “experiential archaeology” course. Silvie’s father is obsessed with ancient Britain, and under his tutelage Silvie
Ugliness lies just beneath the surface. When Silvie’s father reveals his true nature, she tries desperately to cover up his behavior. Her mother looks on helplessly but Molly, the lone female student, knows something is not right. And as the men bond together, the focus of their conversation and activity turns toward Iron Age fighting methods and violent rituals. Suddenly, a somewhat offbeat summer holiday has turned into something frightening. The suspense in this short novelis palpable, and the ending just right, leaving much to think about.
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has acquired considerable knowledge of outdoor survival techniques, like foraging for food. Although socially awkward, Silvie’s knowledge earns her credibility with the students, who routinely escape the camp to buy modern conveniences in a nearby village. Silvie doesn’t dare cross her father; her mother is also cowed by his strict enforcement of Iron Age practices.Ugliness lies just beneath the surface. When Silvie’s father reveals his true nature, she tries desperately to cover up his behavior. Her mother looks on helplessly but Molly, the lone female student, knows something is not right. And as the men bond together, the focus of their conversation and activity turns toward Iron Age fighting methods and violent rituals. Suddenly, a somewhat offbeat summer holiday has turned into something frightening. The suspense in this short novelis palpable, and the ending just right, leaving much to think about.
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LibraryThing member ozzer
Sarah Moss gives us a fascinating short novel with both coming-of-age and dark mystical qualities while also serving as a timely meditation on issues surrounding nativism. She uses the idea of walls to explore the latter: Do we confuse love (of people, country) with ownership? Does ownership
Silvie Hampton is a 17-year-old working class girl who is spending time with her family in a re-enactment of bronze/iron age life in rural Northumbria. She has low self-esteem and confusion about her place in the world while being sensitive to her father’s physical abuse of her and her mother.
Silvie’s father, Bill, is an amateur expert on pre-Roman history. He harbors a disdain for the modern world and believes that the ancestors of the early Britons (of course Bill is one of these) are the privileged ones. All people who came later he considers to be interlopers. In essence, he is a racist with brutal tendencies.
Moss wonderfully captures the Northumbrian setting where a group of college students are participating in a course on experimental archeology lead by their professor. These kids serve to emphasize issues related to a privileged class vis a vis the workers as exemplified by Silvie and her family.
Moss cleverly weaves archeology with British ancient history to provide the reader with a tense, eerie but ultimately enlightening narrative about misogyny, gender bias, nativism, child abuse, and class in the modern world. Ultimately it asks whether mankind has truly evolved very far from its ancient roots.
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require keeping things unchanged forever? Does preoccupation with ownership inevitably lead to pain for and constraint of others? Ancient walls (e.g., Hadrian’s, The Great Wall in China) and their modern counterparts (Berlin, Israel, US southern border) are metaphors for a myriad of passions surrounding safety, ownership, class, and ancestry. This novel questions the ultimate effectiveness of such structures at conserving these ideals.Silvie Hampton is a 17-year-old working class girl who is spending time with her family in a re-enactment of bronze/iron age life in rural Northumbria. She has low self-esteem and confusion about her place in the world while being sensitive to her father’s physical abuse of her and her mother.
Silvie’s father, Bill, is an amateur expert on pre-Roman history. He harbors a disdain for the modern world and believes that the ancestors of the early Britons (of course Bill is one of these) are the privileged ones. All people who came later he considers to be interlopers. In essence, he is a racist with brutal tendencies.
Moss wonderfully captures the Northumbrian setting where a group of college students are participating in a course on experimental archeology lead by their professor. These kids serve to emphasize issues related to a privileged class vis a vis the workers as exemplified by Silvie and her family.
Moss cleverly weaves archeology with British ancient history to provide the reader with a tense, eerie but ultimately enlightening narrative about misogyny, gender bias, nativism, child abuse, and class in the modern world. Ultimately it asks whether mankind has truly evolved very far from its ancient roots.
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LibraryThing member tangledthread
An archeology professor and his 3 students on an academic field trip to reconstruct Iron Age life on the moors is joined by a bus driver and his grocery store clerk wife and their teenage daughter, Sylvie. The story is mostly narrated by Silvie. Her dad is obsessed by idea of living as the people
This idea of living as the ancients begins as an academic experiment, while slowly the obsessions of Sylvie's father influences the professor and the idea of reenactment takes a dark turn. At first I questioned the idea of the academic allowing this very un-academic family to accompany the group, but as the story progressed it became clear that the professor had consistently poor judgement.
I've read almost everything Sarah Moss has written. She has an uncanny way of creating a story that reflects current events, and using that story to cause the reader to reflect the meaning of those events and their place in history.
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of the Iron Age which is fueled by an idea of racial purity. Over the narrative it is slowly revealed that her father is also a deeply disturbed, sadistic man.This idea of living as the ancients begins as an academic experiment, while slowly the obsessions of Sylvie's father influences the professor and the idea of reenactment takes a dark turn. At first I questioned the idea of the academic allowing this very un-academic family to accompany the group, but as the story progressed it became clear that the professor had consistently poor judgement.
I've read almost everything Sarah Moss has written. She has an uncanny way of creating a story that reflects current events, and using that story to cause the reader to reflect the meaning of those events and their place in history.
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LibraryThing member Steve38
Well, archaeology certainly wasn't like that when I was doing field work on Iron Age hillforts in Northumberland fifty years ago. Thank goodness.
LibraryThing member japaul22
This is a brief novel, only 130 small pages, but it delivers a big story. Sylvie and her family join a group of anthropological students who are spending a couple of weeks over summer break living as people may have in pre-Roman times. It's really not a very successful venture and doesn't seem
I liked this book and definitely recommend it, though I thought the story could have been better explored with some added material. But, then again, I prefer long books - if you like your novels succinct I think you'll be happy the way this was written.
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particularly well thought out to begin with. Then things get really out of hand as the men involved become obsessed with building a ghost wall (a wall with human skulls on it meant to scare away the invading Romans). This ancient way of life meshes in a toxic way with the family father's abusive nature. I liked this book and definitely recommend it, though I thought the story could have been better explored with some added material. But, then again, I prefer long books - if you like your novels succinct I think you'll be happy the way this was written.
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LibraryThing member Perednia
Thought-provoking short novel about the thin veneer of civilization, as a teenage daughter goes on a university re-enactment camping trip with her enthusiast father and beaten-down mother.
LibraryThing member Helenliz
This is set on the wide open spaces of a Northern Moor and yet it manages to be incredibly claustrophobic throughout. Sylvie and her parents are part of a group taking part in an experimental archaeology project living like iron Age people. The book starts with the first person account of a young
This is very intimate and while set in wide open spaces, it is impossible to escape the feeling the Sylvie is so trapped in her situation that she and her mother are incapable of making any move to change how they live. It takes a really quite shocking proposal to trigger the final events. After which nothing will be the same again. Bizarrely, this is a hopeful ending.
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woman that is sacrificed by her people and placed in a bog. The rest of the books is narrated by Sylvie. We inhabit her head, rather than she tells us the story, it is very intimate. As the book progresses we become more aware that all is not necessarily well in Sylvie's life. She and Molly, one of the students, are often sent off to forage for food. In these outings Molly asks questions and we learn more about the threat of violence from her father that hangs over Sylvie's life. I think this is set in the 1980s, when the author & I were both in our late teens. I, too, remember that schools were allowed to use the cane or strap when I was small (not that I ever knew of it happening. Molly is a different character to Sylvie, daughter of a single mother she has quite a different perspective on life and it is Molly that bends and breaks the rules and takes the decisive action at the end that will surely change Sylvie's life. This is very intimate and while set in wide open spaces, it is impossible to escape the feeling the Sylvie is so trapped in her situation that she and her mother are incapable of making any move to change how they live. It takes a really quite shocking proposal to trigger the final events. After which nothing will be the same again. Bizarrely, this is a hopeful ending.
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LibraryThing member danieljayfriedman
Sarah Moss' Ghost Wall is foremost a novel of toxic patriarchy. A boorish, prudish, and humorless father bullies and abuses his wife and Silvie, his teen daughter, and justifies himself by his consuming obsession for recreating the purity of pre-Roman Britain. Jim Slade, a clueless and spineless
Ghost Wall occurs during a two week field trip as part of an undergraduate course on ”experimental archaeology”. Professor Slade admits that ”after all, authenticity was impossible and not really the goal anyway, the point was to have a flavour of Iron Age life”. Silvie’s father maintains his tiresome adherence to an ill-conceived idea of pre-Roman authenticity, hoping to recreate the glory days of ancient Britain before its dilution by the Romans and other invaders. The action in Ghost Wall occurs largely in the interstices between Sylvie’s father rigidity, the abused Sylvie and her mother, the fungible views of Professor Slade, and the relaxed attitudes of the students, just trying to comfortably live through their two week field assignment.
Ghost Wall is told through Silvie’s first person teen voice, which is economical, measured, and highly effective. Silvie, named for Sulevia, the ancient Northumbrian goddess of springs and pools, hovers between loyalty to her father, embarrassment for him, and fear. Silvie’s father is largely portrayed in off-hand observations and in reflections by the students. Here’s one of the students: ”Is he always like that, Silvie? I mean, sorry, I know he’s your dad and all but. Like what, I said, a show-off and given to brutality, yes, actually, mostly he is, sorry.” In Silvie’s mind, the students are rich and disrespectful, she and her family are poor and disrespected. Here’s an interchange about Silvie’s mother’s accent: ”sorry, Silvie, I shouldn’t have imitated her, I just really like the way it sounds. Well, it’s not the way you sound, I said, so don’t. She touched my shoulder and I flinched. Sorry, she said again. Really, Silvie, don’t be cross. It’s OK, I said, just don’t laugh at people’s accents, you do know yours sounds weird to me, posh.”
Moss is a fearsome stylist and she maintains narrative tension throughout. She sets up a difficult narrative task for herself, since she starts Ghost Wall by foreshadowing its climactic scene: ”They bring her out. Not blindfolded, but eyes widened to the last sky, the last light. The last cold bites her fingers and her face, the stones bruise her bare feet. There will be more stones, before the end.” Throughout Ghost Wall, the reader wonders not so much what happens as when will it happen and to whom. We know it happens to woman, but we don’t know which one of four women. Moss maintains an undertone of impending threat, although the exact nature of the threat is left unexpressed.
I would like to thank Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley in providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
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archeology professor, allows himself to be dominated and manipulated by Silvie’s father. Ghost Wall occurs during a two week field trip as part of an undergraduate course on ”experimental archaeology”. Professor Slade admits that ”after all, authenticity was impossible and not really the goal anyway, the point was to have a flavour of Iron Age life”. Silvie’s father maintains his tiresome adherence to an ill-conceived idea of pre-Roman authenticity, hoping to recreate the glory days of ancient Britain before its dilution by the Romans and other invaders. The action in Ghost Wall occurs largely in the interstices between Sylvie’s father rigidity, the abused Sylvie and her mother, the fungible views of Professor Slade, and the relaxed attitudes of the students, just trying to comfortably live through their two week field assignment.
Ghost Wall is told through Silvie’s first person teen voice, which is economical, measured, and highly effective. Silvie, named for Sulevia, the ancient Northumbrian goddess of springs and pools, hovers between loyalty to her father, embarrassment for him, and fear. Silvie’s father is largely portrayed in off-hand observations and in reflections by the students. Here’s one of the students: ”Is he always like that, Silvie? I mean, sorry, I know he’s your dad and all but. Like what, I said, a show-off and given to brutality, yes, actually, mostly he is, sorry.” In Silvie’s mind, the students are rich and disrespectful, she and her family are poor and disrespected. Here’s an interchange about Silvie’s mother’s accent: ”sorry, Silvie, I shouldn’t have imitated her, I just really like the way it sounds. Well, it’s not the way you sound, I said, so don’t. She touched my shoulder and I flinched. Sorry, she said again. Really, Silvie, don’t be cross. It’s OK, I said, just don’t laugh at people’s accents, you do know yours sounds weird to me, posh.”
Moss is a fearsome stylist and she maintains narrative tension throughout. She sets up a difficult narrative task for herself, since she starts Ghost Wall by foreshadowing its climactic scene: ”They bring her out. Not blindfolded, but eyes widened to the last sky, the last light. The last cold bites her fingers and her face, the stones bruise her bare feet. There will be more stones, before the end.” Throughout Ghost Wall, the reader wonders not so much what happens as when will it happen and to whom. We know it happens to woman, but we don’t know which one of four women. Moss maintains an undertone of impending threat, although the exact nature of the threat is left unexpressed.
I would like to thank Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley in providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
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LibraryThing member brenzi
Abusive father and husband drags wife and daughter on archeological expedition with a local professor. Three university students are along for the trip and the young woman among them guesses pretty quickly just how dreadful this father is.
I honestly don’t know what else to say about this novel.
I honestly don’t know what else to say about this novel.
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It was very well written, and, thankfully, short because the abuse is palpable as this man lives his dream life of existing during Britain’s Iron Age while caring little for the welfare of those around him. I’m left with an icky feeling. Show Less
LibraryThing member Lauranthalas
A short and dark book about a small group of people, including a family, that are part of an archaeological experiment where the group lives as if they are in the Iron Age. TW: abuse.
I really enjoyed the story, but would have loved quotations or something to indicate when people were speaking (just
I really enjoyed the story, but would have loved quotations or something to indicate when people were speaking (just
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a personal preference). Show Less
LibraryThing member Carmenere
Overall, I enjoyed this book, a little bit different and certainly an interesting subject matter. Here, in the United States, most everyone is familiar with Civil War re-enactments but apparently, re-enacting ancient civilization in Britain is a thing. The reader is introduced to it in this novella
Silvie's father is one such enthusiast, self taught and eager to participate with a college professor and his students on a two week field trip, bringing along his daughter and wife to do the dirty work. He wishes to make the trip as authentic as possible and is sometimes restrained by the Professor. He has an ugly disposition which, sometimes, makes for a difficult read. Most readers will be satisfied with the conclusion.
The author has chosen to forego quotation marks, sometimes dialog runs together with narrative which gives the story a disconcerting and uneasy feel, maybe foreshadowing what is to come.
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which suggests that dark doesn't only belong to the dark ages. Modern civilization contains its secrets just as the ancients had theirs. Silvie's father is one such enthusiast, self taught and eager to participate with a college professor and his students on a two week field trip, bringing along his daughter and wife to do the dirty work. He wishes to make the trip as authentic as possible and is sometimes restrained by the Professor. He has an ugly disposition which, sometimes, makes for a difficult read. Most readers will be satisfied with the conclusion.
The author has chosen to forego quotation marks, sometimes dialog runs together with narrative which gives the story a disconcerting and uneasy feel, maybe foreshadowing what is to come.
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LibraryThing member auntmarge64
This book left a really bad taste. It was promoted as a story about a family that joins an archaeology class for a two week outing to "live like the ancient Britons". But the outing is really unnecessary to the primary focus: the terror Silvie and her mother experience around their abusive
At any rate, I was really disappointed and put off at the story that emerged. The ending seemed highly unlikely and was distasteful, and I'm sorry I read it. The rating, such as it is, is for what is successful about the book, not for how much I appreciated it.
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father/husband. The book is quite successful at depicting this. The mother is almost unable to function without direction, and both women are frequent targets for the father's rage and violence. Even Silvie, at age 17, still excuses his behavior, although she can't help pushing his buttons, so she's got a bit of spark in her still.At any rate, I was really disappointed and put off at the story that emerged. The ending seemed highly unlikely and was distasteful, and I'm sorry I read it. The rating, such as it is, is for what is successful about the book, not for how much I appreciated it.
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LibraryThing member streamsong
Sylvie Hampton's father Bill rules his family with an iron fist and an ever-ready belt. Sylvie's mother is completely cowed; Sylvie avoids riling his anger.
Bill is obsessed with the Iron Age Britons and, especially the bog people sacrifices. When he is invited by an experiential archaeologist and
Although the graduate students take the reenactment less than seriously as they sneak into town for a beer or a shower, Bill insists his wife and daughter remain authentically in their support roles.
They forage for food, and create a ghost wall - a barrier with skulls along the top to act as a warning to other tribes.
As they chant and sing and drum, something seems to awaken within them and Bill wants to go to the next step, trying out some of the pre-sacrificial techniques he has read about and learned. And his daughter can't say no ….
I found this quite creepy with the suspense building up like the beating of a drum or a frightened heart. I gulped it all down in one sitting – good thing it was short! - as I couldn't bear to put it down before I learned the ending.
Bill is obsessed with the Iron Age Britons and, especially the bog people sacrifices. When he is invited by an experiential archaeologist and
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some of his graduate students to take part in a two week reenactment, Bill jumps at the chance and takes his family along.Although the graduate students take the reenactment less than seriously as they sneak into town for a beer or a shower, Bill insists his wife and daughter remain authentically in their support roles.
They forage for food, and create a ghost wall - a barrier with skulls along the top to act as a warning to other tribes.
As they chant and sing and drum, something seems to awaken within them and Bill wants to go to the next step, trying out some of the pre-sacrificial techniques he has read about and learned. And his daughter can't say no ….
I found this quite creepy with the suspense building up like the beating of a drum or a frightened heart. I gulped it all down in one sitting – good thing it was short! - as I couldn't bear to put it down before I learned the ending.
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LibraryThing member over.the.edge
Ghost Wall
by Sarah Moss
2018
Farrar, Straus, Giroux
5.0 / 5.0
TRIGGER: extreme child abuse, detailed animal skinning
This left me absolutely numb-its written so well and so cohesively, its hard to believe its fiction. The subject of extreme child abuse and violence were so hard to read and difficult
In the north of England, Silvie and her family join an anthropology class for 2 weeks one summer. It is living out a lifelong obsession of her father. They re enact and live as they did in the time of the ancient Britons during the Iron Age, in a remote area of the country. Using only tools available then (none, except your hands and feet), foraging for roots and hunting rabbits are daily events. The details of catching and preparing the rabbit to eat were very detailed and i had to skip that part....
Also hard to read was the extreme violence and abuse against Silvie by her father. He is violent, and chauvinistic, vicious and cowardly. His attitudes were hard to read, for me. But written so well.
This is outstanding, with great flow. This is not for the sensitive, but it is good to see such abuse being written about.
by Sarah Moss
2018
Farrar, Straus, Giroux
5.0 / 5.0
TRIGGER: extreme child abuse, detailed animal skinning
This left me absolutely numb-its written so well and so cohesively, its hard to believe its fiction. The subject of extreme child abuse and violence were so hard to read and difficult
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to comprehend. The depth and detail of writing in such a short novel is amazing.In the north of England, Silvie and her family join an anthropology class for 2 weeks one summer. It is living out a lifelong obsession of her father. They re enact and live as they did in the time of the ancient Britons during the Iron Age, in a remote area of the country. Using only tools available then (none, except your hands and feet), foraging for roots and hunting rabbits are daily events. The details of catching and preparing the rabbit to eat were very detailed and i had to skip that part....
Also hard to read was the extreme violence and abuse against Silvie by her father. He is violent, and chauvinistic, vicious and cowardly. His attitudes were hard to read, for me. But written so well.
This is outstanding, with great flow. This is not for the sensitive, but it is good to see such abuse being written about.
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LibraryThing member alphacarrotein
Loved it. Powerful, gut-wrenching, and pointed. Worth the read.
LibraryThing member Beamis12
My first read by this author, but it certainly won't be the last. I'm not sure I can even adequately explain why. It takes place in Northumberland, an archeological expedition, trying to imitate those that lived during the Iron Age. Silvie is seventeen, her father a bus driver with a obsessive
There are mesnings here, and contrasts, some because I don't live in Britain that I didn't get. The history they are living now has an underlying meaning, the ghost wall they build symbolizing the Berlin Wall contrasting with the barriers Molly tries to remove around Silvie, or so I think. The thing is, this is another book short on pages but chock full of symbolism, intriguing. In fact I found her writing to be excellent, and this story to contain fascinating looks at history past and present, combined with a family strory, a young girls awakening, and at the very last a thriller.
I loved the end, though I was holding my breath hoping it wouldn't go where I thought it was. Where it went in the end, made complete sense, fit the story perfectly. So now I'm searching out this authors previous works to see if I find them just as intriguing.
ARC from Edelweiss.
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interest in ancient Britain, and a mother who is somewhat of a doormat. Joining them on the professional end is a Professor with three of his students, including Molly who treats this experiment as more of a lark. Silvies father is an abusive man, who beats his wife and daughter for minor transgressions, instilling fear as a means of control. Needless to say, I despised him. Molly, with her modern ways, will show Silvie a different way of living, and awakens her to new possibilities. The site they are in was the place where an actual bog girl was found, sacrificed by her fellow community members. This fascinates Silvies father greatly.There are mesnings here, and contrasts, some because I don't live in Britain that I didn't get. The history they are living now has an underlying meaning, the ghost wall they build symbolizing the Berlin Wall contrasting with the barriers Molly tries to remove around Silvie, or so I think. The thing is, this is another book short on pages but chock full of symbolism, intriguing. In fact I found her writing to be excellent, and this story to contain fascinating looks at history past and present, combined with a family strory, a young girls awakening, and at the very last a thriller.
I loved the end, though I was holding my breath hoping it wouldn't go where I thought it was. Where it went in the end, made complete sense, fit the story perfectly. So now I'm searching out this authors previous works to see if I find them just as intriguing.
ARC from Edelweiss.
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LibraryThing member fothpaul
This was a great little book. I like my books full of doom and gloom and this had a lot of it. Throughout there is a growing sense of dread as you feel where the book is going. Although it is only short and the writing style is quite brief, you really get a very strong sense of the characters and
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their personalities. The climax of the book is devastatingly beautiful and all to imagineable. I will remember this book for a long time. Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
A teenage girl and her cowed mother are dragged along by a bullying history enthusiast father on an 'experiential archaeology' holiday in Northumberland. Along with a professor and three students, the group are busy foraging, hunting and experiencing Iron Age life. Builds to a dark crescendo-
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powerful writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member Arkrayder
This was a book I really wanted to like but it read like a tense narrative about domestic abuse combined with filler. It just doesn’t deliver.
LibraryThing member Paul-the-well-read
Seeing so many positive reviews of this book is really baffling. As I read them, I see most arrive at four and five star reviews because the story seems interesting. I do have to agree that this portrayal of a true sadist and the effects of his behavior on his family is an interesting read. As a
But this book is presented as a novella and as such, it ought od do a more full sized development of characters and plot.
The plot in this book appears to be about a college class on a "field trip" to try to live as people in the 13th century lived. But this plot is only scantily referred to or developed with almost no explanation as to why the sadist and his family have been included in this field experience.
The father in this novel is a cruel and vicious sadist, but we don't learn much more about him. The mother is victimized by him as is his daughter, both of whom retreat into cowering in fear and submission.
Other characters in the books professor supervising this field experience and the students participating in it, just seem to be there in the plot, there is little attention paid to developing their character of fitting most of them into meaningful and important roles in the story.
Rather than an actual plot and storyline, this novel meanders through a series of episodes, each intending to demonstrate the cruelty of the father of the terrified young daughter.
I think the real problem with rating books as we do here on goodreads is that there are not real criteria which everyone rating a book can follow. Personally, I do like a good story well-told, but I also expect the book to fulfill some or most of the criteria for good writing, be it fiction or non-fiction.
This book does tell a good story, but far the reasons I just discussed, this novel simply is not good enough to spend hard earned money buying.
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short story, it would qualify for its 4 or 5 stars. But short stories are excused for not being full fledged. They can develop characters through general descriptions, and they can get away with plots that provide only enough detail to help the storyline and theme develop.But this book is presented as a novella and as such, it ought od do a more full sized development of characters and plot.
The plot in this book appears to be about a college class on a "field trip" to try to live as people in the 13th century lived. But this plot is only scantily referred to or developed with almost no explanation as to why the sadist and his family have been included in this field experience.
The father in this novel is a cruel and vicious sadist, but we don't learn much more about him. The mother is victimized by him as is his daughter, both of whom retreat into cowering in fear and submission.
Other characters in the books professor supervising this field experience and the students participating in it, just seem to be there in the plot, there is little attention paid to developing their character of fitting most of them into meaningful and important roles in the story.
Rather than an actual plot and storyline, this novel meanders through a series of episodes, each intending to demonstrate the cruelty of the father of the terrified young daughter.
I think the real problem with rating books as we do here on goodreads is that there are not real criteria which everyone rating a book can follow. Personally, I do like a good story well-told, but I also expect the book to fulfill some or most of the criteria for good writing, be it fiction or non-fiction.
This book does tell a good story, but far the reasons I just discussed, this novel simply is not good enough to spend hard earned money buying.
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LibraryThing member Paul-the-well-read
Seeing so many positive reviews of this book is really baffling. As I read them, I see most arrive at four and five star reviews because the story seems interesting. I do have to agree that this portrayal of a true sadist and the effects of his behavior on his family is an interesting read. As a
But this book is presented as a novella and as such, it ought od do a more full sized development of characters and plot.
The plot in this book appears to be about a college class on a "field trip" to try to live as people in the 13th century lived. But this plot is only scantily referred to or developed with almost no explanation as to why the sadist and his family have been included in this field experience.
The father in this novel is a cruel and vicious sadist, but we don't learn much more about him. The mother is victimized by him as is his daughter, both of whom retreat into cowering in fear and submission.
Other characters in the books professor supervising this field experience and the students participating in it, just seem to be there in the plot, there is little attention paid to developing their character of fitting most of them into meaningful and important roles in the story.
Rather than an actual plot and storyline, this novel meanders through a series of episodes, each intending to demonstrate the cruelty of the father of the terrified young daughter.
I think the real problem with rating books as we do here on goodreads is that there are not real criteria which everyone rating a book can follow. Personally, I do like a good story well-told, but I also expect the book to fulfill some or most of the criteria for good writing, be it fiction or non-fiction.
This book does tell a good story, but far the reasons I just discussed, this novel simply is not good enough to spend hard earned money buying.
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short story, it would qualify for its 4 or 5 stars. But short stories are excused for not being full fledged. They can develop characters through general descriptions, and they can get away with plots that provide only enough detail to help the storyline and theme develop.But this book is presented as a novella and as such, it ought od do a more full sized development of characters and plot.
The plot in this book appears to be about a college class on a "field trip" to try to live as people in the 13th century lived. But this plot is only scantily referred to or developed with almost no explanation as to why the sadist and his family have been included in this field experience.
The father in this novel is a cruel and vicious sadist, but we don't learn much more about him. The mother is victimized by him as is his daughter, both of whom retreat into cowering in fear and submission.
Other characters in the books professor supervising this field experience and the students participating in it, just seem to be there in the plot, there is little attention paid to developing their character of fitting most of them into meaningful and important roles in the story.
Rather than an actual plot and storyline, this novel meanders through a series of episodes, each intending to demonstrate the cruelty of the father of the terrified young daughter.
I think the real problem with rating books as we do here on goodreads is that there are not real criteria which everyone rating a book can follow. Personally, I do like a good story well-told, but I also expect the book to fulfill some or most of the criteria for good writing, be it fiction or non-fiction.
This book does tell a good story, but far the reasons I just discussed, this novel simply is not good enough to spend hard earned money buying.
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LibraryThing member boredgames
enigmatic and brutal. like a very long short story
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
Ghost Wall is narrated by the teenage daughter of a Northumbrian bus driver who takes part in a reenactment of pre-Roman life as part of a class in experimental archaeology. Sylvie and her mother are there, wearing tunics and obeying Sylvie's father as he joins with the professor in guiding the
Sarah Moss has here written a short novel that is exactly as long as it needs to be. There is a lot packed into the pages of this book, but it never feels rushed or condensed. Sylvie is a wonderful character to follow, combining an innocence with a knowledge of the world a seventeen year old should not have. There's a lot of subtle menace here, and the reactions and the interactions between the participants in this field trip are sharp and wonderfully written.
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project. As the two men become more and more involved in exploring possible spiritual rites practiced by early Britons, her father's controlling behavior amplifies. Sarah Moss has here written a short novel that is exactly as long as it needs to be. There is a lot packed into the pages of this book, but it never feels rushed or condensed. Sylvie is a wonderful character to follow, combining an innocence with a knowledge of the world a seventeen year old should not have. There's a lot of subtle menace here, and the reactions and the interactions between the participants in this field trip are sharp and wonderfully written.
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LibraryThing member Treebeard_404
Haunting. (No pun intended.)
Awards
Women's Prize for Fiction (Longlist — 2019)
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2020)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2020)
Polari Book Prize (Shortlist — 2019)
Ondaatje Prize (Shortlist — 2019)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Fiction — 2019)
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2020)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2019)
RUSA CODES Listen List (Selection — 2020)