Wild Fell
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
"The crumbling estate called Wild Fell, soaring above the desolate shores of Blackmore Island, has weathered the violence of the seasons for more than a century. Built for his family by a 19th-century politician of impeccable rectitude, the house has kept its terrible secrets and its darkness sealed within its walls. For a hundred years, the townspeople of Alvina have prayed that the darkness inside Wild Fell would stay there, locked away from the light. Jameson Browning, a man well acquainted with suffering, has purchased Wild Fell with the intention of beginning a new life, of letting in the light. But what waits for him at the house is devoted to its darkness and guards it jealously. It has been waiting for Jameson his whole life...or even longer. And now, at long last, it has found him."--Provided by publisher.
Reviews with the most likes.
Pros: highly descriptive & immersive writing, some terrifying scenes
Cons: wraps up very quickly
Jaime Browning tells a true ghost story by relating scenes from his childhood when he had a powerful ‘imaginary' friend. As an adult things come to a head when he buys an island with an old manor house called Wild Fell, where, unknown to him, several people have died in the past.
It took me a few pages to get used to the highly descriptive writing the author used - being more comfortable nowadays with the sparse prose that's become popular. But the book is incredibly immersive, making this character driven story fascinating and hard to put down.
The first scene is told from a young woman's point of view, and Rowe does a phenomenal job with it. Most of the book details common events of childhood: bullying, first love, etc., which makes the terrifying elements, when they appear, that much starker by comparison. And some of the scenes are really scary.
I found the finale a little abrupt, but it's a ghost story so you do expect a quick wrap up. It's a modern ghost story (as opposed to This House is Haunted, which is set in the 1800s), so it's easier to relate to on a personal level.
