Red Shift

This book is designated “young adult,” but it's a challenging read. The writing is spare. Action is mostly communicated by dialogue without attribution and there's little description and no explanation of what is going on. Yet, although the writing is spare, there is a lot going on. The story takes place in three time periods in the same geographical area. The three storylines have some things in common, including an ancient axe head, a man who is troubled by disturbing visions and a woman who attempts to protect and love him. In each time period the people are experiencing terrible violence of different kinds. The three threads are brought together at the end of the book in a way that's unexpected and powerful, but also raises questions. I recommend this if you like to mull over your books for days after reading the last page!

I first read this book as a teenager and found it haunting and moving. I come to reread it 30 odd years later and still find it a powerful book. Alan Garner is one of our finest writers and here he concocts a story made up of three interlinking strands. All feature a troubled boy protagonist and a 5000 year old stone axe. The present day story features two teenage lovers, Jan and Tom. Tom lives with his parents in a caravan, fighting his inner demons while trying to cope with his feelings for Jan. Another story features Roman legionnaires, survivors of the massacred Ninth legion who seek sanctuary on Mow Cop hill. The final strand is set in the Civil War and tells of the massacre at Barthomley, near Mow Cop.

Mow Cop, it's castle and folly tower, it's church and the surrounding landscape all loom large in the story. The three protagonists are linked by visions all seemingly connected to the stone axe.

Garner roots his tales in the landscape and Red Shift is no exception. It's a short novel, less than 200 pages long. But he packs a powerful emotional punch into those pages, as the tragedy and mystery unfold in each strand. There are no easy resolutions here and the book is all the more affecting for that.

A fine read.