Starve Acre
'Beautifully written and triumphantly creepy' Mail on Sunday
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
PRE-ORDER SALTWASH NOW: THE DISTURBING NEW NOVEL FROM ANDREW MICHAEL HURLEY
'An impeccable work of folk horror' Irish Times
The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby's son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Convinced that the boy still lives on in some form, and desparate to make contact, Juliette seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Whereas Ricahrd, an art historian, tries to blot out the pain of his grief by turning his attention to the field opposite their house, Starve Acre. Patiently he digs in the barren soil looking for the roots of a legendary oak tree but unearths something which ought to have remained buried.
'I will confidently predict that no reader will guess where it's heading . . . Hurley's ability to create a wold that's like ours in many ways and really not in many others is again on full display' The Times
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this meditative, dread-filled novel from Hurley (The Loney), the lives of bereaved parents Juliette and Richard Willoughby become increasingly bizarre as they attempt to process the death of their five-year-old son, Ewan. On their remote estate, Starve Acre, on the British moors, Richard takes to digging endlessly in the fields for animal bones and mysterious tree roots, while Juliette consults a group of local mystics called the Beacons. After the Beacons perform a spiritual ritual (which they insist is "not a fucking séance") at Starve Acre, questions surrounding the last days of Ewan's life arise and mix with the specter of a local folkloric boogeyman—an eldritch presence buried beneath the soil of Starve Acre itself—making it ever more difficult for Juliette and Richard to hold onto the truth. Hurley has a slow and steady hand in establishing a gloomy, nearly gothic atmosphere, allowing his characters' grief room to breathe even as he tightens the noose in ways readers won't see coming until the chilling and memorable conclusion. This is folk horror that knows how to take its time. Fans of T. Kingfisher and Francine Toon will find a lot to love.
