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An atmospheric tale, shot through with folklore. The writing shimmers' KATE SAWYER, Costa shortlisted author of The Stranding A triple narrative weaves together present-day Scottie, her young self as adopted Charlotte, and the folkloric Thordis.
In The Hollow Sea, Annie Kirby has taken the external societal shaming and internal lived reality of involuntarily childless women and transformed them into an extraordinarily lyrical story. This book insinuated itself into my soul like a poem; whilst taking my mind on a mythical, allegorical adventure that lingers in my subconscious like a painting. Whether you are a parent or non-parent, this extraordinary novel will drench you in beauty. I adored it. A real beauty. A magical story of one woman's infertility combined with a mythical sea world. Beautiful Beautifully written with a hint of mythology and well-drawn characters, this is a captivating story of love and loss that will stay with you An absolutely beautiful story of love, loss, family and motherhood. Told in interweaving strands, it follows the story of Scottie whose mysterious past haunts her, and whose own struggles to become a mother is slowly destroying her . . . I read this book in just two sittings, the lyrical prose pulled me in and held me captivated, and my heart wept and sang in equal measure. Truly stunning The rhythm of the waves was different from anything I’d heard before and yet, at the same time, it reminded me of something. These were the waves that had tugged at my soul, sung to me my whole life.
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The islanders’ deep, almost fundamental, connection with the whales and seals which visit their waters is reflected in their folklore and yet also in their hunting for food. The ecologists arrive with a very different attitude, and with little knowledge of the centuries-old traditions which link the islanders and the sea-dwellers. Scottie is the only one who gets an insight into both worlds. Robin Wood, "This Soaring and Singing Land: James Hanley in Wales". International Journal of Welsh Writing in English, Volume 3, Number 1, October 2015, pp.123–144. University of Wales Press I believe the conclusion of The Hollow Sea may be a divisive one. By never confirming that the more fantastical, mythological, parts of St Hia are real or imagined, Kirby opens herself to acceptance (or otherwise) of the ending, based on which side the reader fell on. While the conclusion of Scottie’s arc feels fitting if the fantastical aspects are taken as purely metaphorical, this is not the case if they are taken verbatim. In this case, the mythological is lost in the conclusion, which is somewhat underwhelming. The ending of The Hollow Sea is a sudden one, and does feel somewhat rushed which may help explain its underwhelming arc. Spending longer on the final act of the novel may have perfected Scottie’s development and offer better justification of her final choices. I found these early flashes to the past disjointed and confusing (they’re also not linear). But once I started to understand it, and Scottie’s and Thordis’ stories, it did pull me in. I was desperate to know how they were connected - one of their main connections is their grief and heartbreak over their struggles to bear children.
After several years trying to become a mother, Scottie has made the heart-breaking decision to leave her home and her husband in search of a fresh start. Upon her arrival on St Hia, the islanders warn her against asking questions about Thordis - but Scottie can''t resist the mystery of what happened to the woman whose story became legend. A stunning debut, part myth and part touching story of infertility and motherhood. I was swept away on a stormy sea and didn't want it to end. Delicious storytelling Adopted child Scottie, who has grown up with no biological relatives and a sense of mystery about her long forgotten past, flees from her husband’s hope and the pressure to give it “one more try” and towards a mysterious island which, when glimpsed across the internet, triggers a sense of recognition: “the taste of sand, peaches, rain and salt”. She’s running away, but she’s also running forward, seeking to find her own roots and identity. Her explorations reveal that the island she is looking for is across the Hollow Sea, which is dangerous, eventually she finds someone to take her there and she begins to piece together things from her forgotten past.A majestic work of the imagination . . . I woke up thinking about it'' Rosie Andrews, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Leviathan In September 2001, to mark what was then believed to be the centennial of James Hanley's birth, a one-day symposium was held at Jesus College, Cambridge. Another important landmark was the publication in 2002 of John Fordham's James Hanley: Modernism and the Working Class by the University of Wales Press, which amongst other things suggests that Hanley is not simply a realist or naturalist, but because of his use of expressionistic techniques, should be seen as a modernist. [64] Fordham's study also contains new biographical material.
The characters past and present are so well described, it’s like you know them. And you go on this journey together. I love how powerful the female characters were; I would compare the women to the storm, they have this magic and power and inner strength. But new arrival Scottie feels a pull she can't ignore. Because behind the curse is the legend of Thordis: a woman whose story feels eerily familiar. No one knows what became of her, but Scottie believes Thordis's fate may answer questions about her own past. Hanley's brother was the novelist Gerald Hanley and his nephew the American novelist and playwright William Hanley. James Hanley's wife also published three novels, as Timothy Hanley. She died in 1980. James Hanley himself died in 1985. He was buried in Llanfechain, Wales. [11] St. Garmon's Church Llanfechain. The Hanleys lived in Llanfechain from December 1940 until 1963, and Hanley was buried there. Works [ edit ] 1930s and 1940s [ edit ] In the 1950s he wrote some of "his finest novels", Closed Harbour (1952), The Welsh Sonata (1954), Levine (1956), and An End and a Beginning (1958), the final volume of the Furys sequence. [30] Characters in extreme situations is also the subject these novels of Hanley's maturity, where the male protagonists, following some trauma, are both unemployed and isolated from family and society. [31]
Adam Bede
Byron again shows his realization of the emotional requirements of good storytelling when he turns almost abruptly from the pathos of Haidée's brief but happy experience of love to a sardonic description of the opera company whose treacherous impresario had sold them as a group into slavery. Island idylls are few and brief, Byron is telling his readers, but misfortune of one kind or another is the common lot of man and may be expected momentarily.
An atmospheric tale shot through with folklore. Annie Kirby's writing shimmers as she weaves together the threads of Scottie's forgotten past and her journey to face a future where she won't be the mother she always hoped to be. Beautiful & hopeful Kate Sawyer, Costa-shortlised author of The Stranding I also struggle to believe anyone would be so mean and uncaring as to break up with their spouse of so many years over the phone, especially after going through all the struggles and heartbreak that Scottie and her husband went through together. That part really made me hate Scottie! A dramatised version of Boy was broadcast on BBC Radio 3's "Sunday Play" on 16 March 1996, [68] and The Furys was serialized on BBC Radio, February/March 2001. It was dramatized for radio and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 FM, 2 March 2001. [69] In 2016 BBC Cymru Wales broadcast in the series 15 Minute Drama, titled "Writing the Century: The Hanleys" on James Hanley and his wife, dramatised by Lizzie Nunnery and directed by Janine H. Jones. The five episodes were based on almost weekly letters from the Hanleys to their son Liam. [70] Bibliography [ edit ]It is not surprising that Hanley should show an interest in extreme situations, given his early awareness of the precariousness of life in the working class world that he came from. [26] Hanley would also have sensed, very early in his life, that individual lives of the working poor and their children was of little value in a modern industrial city like Liverpool. [27] All this encouraged his exploration not only of working class life but also the emotional life of characters on the periphery of society. [28] There is quite a lot of folklore in this and I’m in two minds. I like myths and legends so I would have liked a bit more of that, but you don’t want to stray into complete fantasy territory, as that would have ruined the majesty of the narrative, which is so perfect. The people in the story are described in such detail that you feel you know them and I was invested early on in discovering their story. The format, the writing style is unlike anything I’ve read before. The narrative is so beautiful. I don’t like the sea or open water and at times this book explains why I am scared of it. It’s like an untameable animals, but Annie Kirby also makes it sound like this gorgeous magical creature
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