A so nearly excellent read, but fell badly at a far too ambitious and implausible ‘wrap’
For most of this roughly 400 page first novel by Cecilia Ekbäck, I was absorbed and immersed, and able to suspend my disbelief over some inconsistencies or improbabilities. However, within the final 50 pages, the author attempted a far too complicated trail of red herrings and multiple conspiracies, which rather weakened the undoubted strength of the book – the ability to capture a historical period, within an isolated sombre geography – Swedish Lapland in 1717, and a conglomeration of rather diverse, scattered communities, travellers and residents.
Without revealing spoilers, a small family, with clearly some not quite revealed `history’ and cupboards which might contain the odd skeleton, leave their coastal community of Ostrobothnia in Finland, to come to the mountainous, forested settlement of Blackasen Mountain. Mother Maija, an `earthwoman’ – midwife, father Paavo, previously a fisherman, and their two daughters, 14 year old Frederika and 6 year old Dorotea come to settle a homestead originally owned by Paavo’s uncle, who appeared to leave the homestead in rather mysterious circumstances.
Mystery in fact is everywhere. Maija, her own grandmother and Frederika have second sight, and can commune, willingly or unwillingly with elemental forces and the dead. Paavo is prey to extreme terrors and has become landlocked, unable to engage in his watery trade.
Blackasen Mountain itself has some curious, unsettling dark past, involving people who have gone missing. The landscape (beautifully described) is harsh, secretive, unforgiving and almost alive.
The two daughters discover a slaughtered body. The scattered community are tight-lipped about what might have happened, and are inclined to try and convince themselves and each other that this is the work of a bear, or of wolves.
Meanwhile, on a wider stage, Sweden has been in conflict with Russia, the Swedish King may not be altogether the most popular and secure of monarchs, a Calvinist Church is trying to maintain and control hierarchies within society, and older, animist, shamanist beliefs are still more potent beliefs for some, than Christianity. There are also conflicts between the settled Swedish homesteaders and the nomadic community of Lapps.
The small community, with its isolated homesteads, its nomadic winter Laplander visitors, is both closed in on itself and mutually suspicious of itself.
A small cast of characters, and the probability that it is someone within the community, rather than bear or wolf who is the murderer.
Wikimedia Commons, Canis lupus standing in snow
Almost everyone appears to have secrets; and, because of this, almost everyone might have motive.
History, crime, thriller, and the ratchet turned up into horror with the highly plausible (given the culture of the time and place) supernatural elements, and some stunning writing which brings home the harshness and difficulty of survival, and the terrifying, brooding beauty of the land itself, kept me engaged as Maija and Frederika, driven by the strength and fierceness of their own natures, are drawn into the need to understand and investigate. Mother and daughter also have their own conflicts with each other, and with the acceptance, or otherwise of the ‘gifts’ they have.
Character, relationships, narrative, setting, descriptive writing are all engaging. If only the author had known when to stop, and when a conspiracy and a whole raft of red herrings are just a bunch of fish too far.
This did, just, get the 4 star rating which means it made this blog, as in the end, on reflection the absorption of the reading experience for most of the book pulls this up into `recommended’ despite the crashing, thumping overdone complexities of the final solutions.
However……… Ekbäck is for sure a writer to watch
And for those who care about such things……please be aware that though wolves may figure in the story, as creatures who inhabit the cold Northern forests, and though I mentioned there are supernatural elements, please be assured nothing so crass as that oh-so-predictable and formulaic appearance of a werewolf mars the pages of this book! Werewolves are thankfully conspicuous only by their absence!
I received this as an early ARC from the Amazon Vine UK programme. It is due for publication in February 2015
Pre-publication comparisons have been to Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites and Stef 
Penney’s The Tenderness Of Wolves, both stunning first novels. I didn’t find the comparisons unwarranted, for most of my read, even though in the end this author had had a rather clumsy tumble, where Kent and Penney were sure-footed all through
Lady Fancifull 
I have this sitting in my TBR pile….4 stars is worthy I am glad it made it.
Well I do believe it is well worth the read, and on one level my initial crossness which arose in the closing stages were BECAUSE I had been very much appreciating the book, and was absorbed.
I see some are comparing this to Burial Rites – have you read that ?
Oh yes………..and, almost unusually, as the comparisons are often odiously misplaced as the book compared to is immeasurably finer, with this one, it didn’t seem a gross comparison. It’s certainly not as consummate a piece as Hannah Kent’s book, but the comparison is understandable, and not just for subject matter or setting. Of course I’m now minded to read Burial Rites again, particularly as the temperature begins to drop, and who knows, it snows.
Not snowing here 🙂
Nor here, but when or if it does those dark, cold, Nordic fastness books will be jiggling to be attended to again – Burial Rites, The Tenderness of Wolves, Snow Falling On Cedars, Dark Matter, and a little collection of non-Wallander Mankels. Walks in the woods will be mandatory, and I shall try to exercise my imagination to believe wolves are lurking, even if it only turns out to be a dog walker with their poodle
Snow must make the landscape very eerie.
Indeed. I think its the silence, as if the air is holding its breath.
🙂
After all that work!!! Where was the editor? 400 pages? It has to be right to tackle this, and unfortunately, I will give it a pass because of this review/end of the book problems.
Oh, shame. Worth reading I think, Obviously reviews limited at the moment as publication is 3 months away, so just 9 reviews from Viners on Amazon UK. Lowest rating is 3 star, and even one of the 3 giving that rating was recommending it. Mind you, I am a sucker for the setting, both time and space, so part of my great enjoyment was her inhabiting the environment so well, and I shivered nervously and full of awe, in the silent snow filled forests, hearing the snap of twigs, and wondering if the wet breathing noises were mine, or……………(rapid waking to find wet purring cat attempting early breakfast alarm)
I agree with Stepheny. Where was the editor???? So sad.
PS – aren’t the landscape and wolf photos I found gorgeous? I keep looking at them, alternately drooling with yearning delight and whimpering in fear
I believe that the publication blurb lists 376 pages rather than the 405 in my review copy. Perhaps the offending complicated plot tie-ups involving the world and his wife have been cut! Okay, my rational side says the type face will be a tad smaller or the size of the book a tad larger.
I’m certainly keen to read her second, when published – I think she has been offered a 2 book deal, and book 2 is mid write. Whereas there have of course been other first novels I’ve been MUCH more irritated by, and resentfully completed because they were ARCS, so I had to. Yes, I know, there have been other first novels where the head shaking has been awed disbelief that this WAS a first novel, so consummate did it seem.
It’s probably a tribute to this writer that i ended up feeling disappointed in and FOR her – ‘I expected better from you’ type of thing because they were doing well!
Just read the review, and comments – I really do fancy the setting, and the historical period, so I’ll probably look out for it…but yes, 400 pages is quite a commitment. That’s the one of the (few) downfalls of being a blogger – you feel obliged to finish all the book, whereas if you’d bought it you’d feel free to toss it aside!
T’is true, to review a book it seems only fair to finish it. I do read more than I review – unless its ARCS, and then, its struggle on time. At least with NetGalley if its really bad I abandon it unreviewed with an email explaining why I won’t be revewing it, but Amazon Vine there’s no choice. Review or no more products! Hence, forced to continue with something dire 1 star reviews await!
I actually didn’t know you could mail NetGalley with an explanation as to why you wouldn’t be reviewing the book. I’m not part of Amazon Vine, I assumed it would be “full up” but then again, if you’re “blacklisted” for not reviewing a book then perhaps I should post more reviews on Amazon…that sounds really mercenary doesn’t it, trying to “move in” because someone else got sent a rubbish book! But I really wasn’t sure whether to put reviews on there, what do you think? How good are they at selecting books which match your taste?
And I MUST organise a spreadsheet to get my reading order properly organised, especially as there’s a good few 2015 books in the list now…! Btw, I’m reading Chapman Pincher’s autobiography, as you’ll see on my W-W-Wednesdays meme (shameless plug !)…you’ve possibly read it; I think it’d appeal to FictionFan too, although as a hugely prolific reader, she’s probably read it too…but I’m so enjoying it, I’m “rationing” it out…sounds insane, I know, but us readers all have our eccentricities…!
Well NG do say ( or some publishers do) to please email if you can’t post a review. And they have a suggested but not fixed percentage of books reviewed to books taken. As it’s the publisher who decides whether requests are granted or not it’s very different from Amazon. In Vine (and no one really knows why Az invite people, though of course they do massive ego stroking which some believe) goods are extremely and I mean extremely randomly offered. If something appears in your queue which you fancy you can ask for it. There are plenty of Viners who howl with anger because they are not readers and are only offered books and plenty of passionate readers equally screaming with frustration that all they get offered are nappies and dog food when they have neither babes nor pooches! But if you DO take something with Vine there is 100% obligation to review it. This leads, with conscientious reviewers to laceratingly savage and detailed 1 star reviews of a truly dire tome they felt forced to complete in order to fairly review, having obviously taken it in expectation of it being well written and to their tastes. And, as the reasons for invite to the programme are not in any way linked automatically to quality of reviewing – some get invites on a handful of reviews saying little more than ‘awesome’ or ‘ the parcel turned up two weeks late ‘ – and not always properly spelled either – some Viners just regard the reviewing requirement as a huge imposition and their Vine reviews also will be of the quality of the above kind!
It’s a bit of a lottery really. One I’m delighted to be part of, but with no clearer idea than when I joined why I get offered what I do. Sometimes those offers are on the nail and I take them, and sometimes they are beyond weird eg the nappies, dog food, et al
I ration excellent reads too! There’s reading to pass dead waiting time and there’s reading which deserves total focus and savoring and which approaching the end of is as much a sorrow as it might be satisfying!
PS, later edit – if you do get the Vine invite, take it. There is no OBLIGATION to take what you are offered. There are Viners (or at least there were), who said they maybe took something once a year or less often, others take as much as they can. I personally can’t see any point in taking books which i don’t expect to be able to strongly recommend, as its a waste of my time to read a knowing turkey and then have to waste even more of my time by savaging the turkey, but the unexpected turkey oversold as pure gold makes me very very cross indeed, and being forced to stick with it in order to write a fair review makes my savagery grow!
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