This was my first time reading Sarah Moss and I can tell you now it won’t be my last. The story takes place in a Northumberland camp when a bunch of experimental archaeology students are staying for the summer, recreating how the people from the Iron Age used to live. Among them is Silvie. • Silvie is at the centre of this story. A story full of violence. Her father, Bill is obsessed with Ancient Britain and hates how foreign Britain has become. Funny enough, he names her Silvie as a diminutive of Sulevia, a goddess of springs and woods, but fails to see that the origin of the name is Roman. I found this bit of information quite interesting because we are introduced to a man who uses History as he pleases to fit his narrative (ring a bell?). On top of that, he is a despicable and horrible man. He hits both Silvie and her mother. It’s tremendously claustrophobic to read Silvie’s thoughts, how she tries to behave well as to not give him a reason to hit her again, but as we know (and she does too) it doesn’t matter how well she and her mother behaves: anything will set him on edge. He’s ruthless and it’s painful to read, not gonna lie. But at the same time Silvie is a character that despite the violent life she is enduring, is also full of life and light. • The writing is fantastic and atmospheric but the story is told in long, run-on sentences and that might not be everybody’s cup of tea. I did struggle a bit at the beginning but once I got used to it, I could fully enjoy the narrative style. The one thing I wish could be longer was the ending because the story ended too abruptly for me. I wish we could have stayed with Silvie a bit longer. • It is incredible how much Moss achieves in 150 pages. She deals with current themes exceptionally well but I loved how she writes about the bond between past and present the most. All in all a very haunting read. Thanks to @grantabooks for sending me a review copy. • • • #ghostwall #sarahmoss #met_createchange #bookreviews #bookreviewer #literaryfiction #booksofinsta #bookstagramit #bookstagramista #bookstagramespaña #leoyrecomiendo #bookrecommendations #fortheloveofreading #sundayreading #unitedbookstagram #womenwriters https://www.instagram.com/p/BoEcU2jlwCg/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9mksadlnm51
