Winterset Hollow: A Novel

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Eamon is our main character and while he tends to seem apart from the rest of the cast, I feel like he has many relatable characteristics. I, for one, adore him and kind of just want to give him a hug. But then you’ve got this complex group of characters, and each of them only adds to the tale. The animals especially delighted me to no end. Runny is a personal favorite because of his intensity and hidden layers. Mark took a resigned breath and forced a pitiful smile, returning the gentleman’s greeting in the words of his people, the largely unaffected. “Sup.”

Even his own mother had passed during childbirth, so to a young man who couldn’t possibly know any better, the gift of a lonesome life was always to be valued over the death of living otherwise. That sentiment was etched so deeply in his heart that it took Eamon years of painful adjustment to understand that nobody really cared enough about him to wish him any sort of hereditary mortal harm, and though that gave him some solace from his childhood anxieties, it also made him feel somehow more insignificant. There were times when he wished he was the center of some grand conspiracy, if only to feel like the focus of something other than a handful of utility bills at the end of the month. Times when he wished that somebody would pay enough attention to hate him. Anything really.” Runny explained that the tourists had arrived on Barley Day. The day to say goodbye to summer and to friends and... Growing up, I sought out and consumed a steady diet of ‘dark-fantastical.’ Movies that had those fantasy elements, but also the hero’s quest, of trying to overcome the longest of odds to survive and defeat evil. I also loved reading the fairy tale stories, but also the anthropomorphised tales. I grew up during the perfect time period where there was a lot of this to watch and read. Think ‘Watership Down,’ ‘Chronicles of Narnia,’ ‘Legend,’ ‘Labyrinth,’ ‘The Dark Crystal,’ ‘The Last Unicorn,’ ‘Winnie the Pooh,’ ‘The Wind In The Willows,’ ‘Willow,’ and so, so many more. The first two movies I ever saw in theatres was a double feature; ‘The Land Before Time’ and ‘The Great Land of Small.’ The one piece that I continually return to, time and time again, is ‘The Neverending Story.’ Both the movie and the book hold special places for me, to the extent that my son is named after the amulet within the story – Auryn.

Caroline grabbed one of the menus and took a moment to look at the drawing on the cover—a perfectly fine charcoal sketch of a hare hiding among some tall grass, his fur covered by a plaid overcoat and his head topped with a gray flat-cap. “I mean, it does look like him,” she said. “With no one near to shed a tear for the rabbit in the rye.” Nope. That is the ferry. This is The Standard,” the captain said, gesturing broadly with his hands out to his side. The purple prose. I didn’t think it had a very good flow because of the overly grandiose writing style.

The animal characters were perfect. They were so detailed with a sadness and a darkness that pulled at my heart strings and My heart genuinely aches for them.Everyone has wanted their favorite book to be real, if only for a moment. Everyone has wished to meet their favorite characters, if only for a day. But be careful in that wish, for even a history forged in ink can be repaid in flesh and blood, and reality is far deadlier than fiction . . . especially on Addington Isle. Even the manor itself is dripping with character, providing insight into the nature and history of its proprietor and his relationship with the animals on which his authorial fame flourished. As Runny Rabbit and Eamon traverse the expansive, trophy-filled halls shortly after the latter’s arrival, readers are treated to Durham’s rich and incisive prose in detailing the interior of the Addington family’s estate, and later when Finn the Fox faces off against several of his human guests in a game of poker, the former provides deliciously sly musings on the nature of sport and winning in dialogue rife with characteristically vulpine wit—something admirers of the classic Reynardian character archetype will doubtless appreciate.

Winterset Hollow is a wonderfully unique tale with likeable characters (both protagonists and antagonist). I could seriously rave about this book all day, but my absolute favorite part is the masterfully crafted writing. Just beautiful. The setting, a remote island with a large estate, is amazingly well crafted. There are so many creepy, atmospheric details that hint at revelations that come later in the story. I think the the setting, all the different places we visit on the island (the house, the maze, the gardens, the cave), was my favorite part of this book. Excellent. Caroline shoved another fry between her typically demure lips, put a hand on her chest and collapsed against the window, overcome by the sheer deliciousness of it all. “God, he gets me in a way you never could,” she razzed, never missing an opportunity to throw a barb the way of her beau. “Tomatoes need love too. So much love.”

Some readers won’t mind this, however – especially because the novel is tremendously fun, and the writing remains of a very high quality.