Take two crumbling creaking gothic mansions, a hostile, sea-fretted landscape, a small group of incomers, stir well, and shiver……….
Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney is a proper, Gothic literature horror story. But it may disappoint some genre aficionados because Hurley is a writer of literary fiction, subject matter of the book, psychological horror. Though there is certainly creepiness and terror, not to mention a whiff of brimstone within its pages, there are no lovingly lingered over schlocky buckets of gore, crude descriptions of unbelievable monsters and triple headed foul breathed roaring demons. The horror is not laughable or BANG! a sudden shock, rather is steadily mounting, seeping anxiety. Hurley carefully winds his readers in, ratcheting up disquiet, and lets the reader’s own imagination paint un-nameable creep.
Yes this was a book I which I had, on a few evenings, to put aside and not continue with as ‘bedtime read’, because I was feeling distinctly anxious, and had to distract myself with lighter hearted fare.
The setting is the 1970s, and forty years later, with the central character and first person narrator looking back to the events of that time. Tonto and his brother Hanny (Andrew) were the teenage children of strict Catholic parents, living in London. Hanny has never spoken, and goes to a special school. His parents, particularly his rigidly doctrinaire mother, fervently hope and pray that God will vouchsafe a miracle. Every year, they go on pilgrimage to a very low level ‘British Lourdes’ on the North West coast, with their priest and a small handful of other church goers. Every year, the place they visit becomes a little more spooky, a little less wholesome, a little darker.
In fact there are other, older forces at work in the treacherous, inhospitable landscape. The ‘shrine’ which Christianity saw as sacred to St Anne, appeared to be in territory where paganism, witchcraft, and possibly devil worship had an earlier background and continue to exert a dark influence.
So…..what we have is almost the classic Gothic set-up, beautifully done, and managing to evoke the memory of some cultish, noirish films – I thought of American Werewolf in London (though not a werewolf is in sight – it’s the clannish, sinister mien of some of the locals) Straw Dogs – ditto, though it’s the mounting menace, rather than graphic violence, and, of course, in evocation of a horribly sinister landscape, Susan Hill’s Woman In Black.
And in the middle of nowhere, not one, but two crumbling old houses with history, and a sucking, treacherous tidal path between the two, sea-fret, bone-cold sea, rip-tides………and, oh, the horror, the horror!
On the floor and on top of the long wardrobes were Victorian curious under dusty glass domes that had always frightened me to death when I was a child. Exotic butterflies, horribly bright, impaled to a stump of silver birch, two squirrels playing cricket in caps and pads, a spider monkey wearing a fez and smoking a pipe……….between our beds sat a clock on which the hours were indicated by little paintings of the apostles. Mummer thought it wonderful, of course, and when we were children she told us the story of each of them: how Andrew had elected to be crucified on a saltire; how James was chosen to be with Jesus during the transfiguration and how he was beheaded by Herod Agrippa on his return to Judea
Hurley has several pin-sharp arrows which hit the target – he is excellent at bringing landscape into being as an important ‘character’ As mentioned, the fact that this is ‘about stuff’ and not just a pile of old horrid gore for the sake of creating a pile of old horrid gore made this compulsive reading. I also liked the sympathetic as well as the unsympathetic view of faith – Hurley presents us with credible and rounded people. And, in with the dark mix there are also characters who are warm, wise, and humorous
An extremely positive review of this in the Guardian (quoted on the book jacket) compared Hurley, as an equal, to Du Maurier, Walpole and Shirley Jackson – writers who delved admirably in dark psychology, told a winching up the horror by degrees tale, and wrote with a suitably sharp and precise pen. Generally comparisons have me snorting in derision. This didn’t.
As well as being a fine fine ‘horror’ there’s also lots of ‘about stuff’. I was left thinking on faith, the losing of faith – there is a marvellous, heart-breaking, sickening (in the right way) section on this.
I wasn’t altogether satisfied with the final ten pages where the narrator is in present time, and some ‘closure’ is reached. It seemed a little bit of a let-down after a marvellous, unsettling journey, but this is not enough to retreat from a five star read
I was delighted to receive this as a copy for review from the publishers, John Murray, via bookbridgr. Hurley’s book was published last year, on a print run of 300 by a small independent publishing house, Tartarus Press. It sold out remarkably quickly and a deserved buzz led to the pick-up by Murray. It certainly feels to me like the book is an organic success, rather than something created by the over spinning and over hyping of money men and women
Recommended. Keep the lights on. One word of warning – this may not be the book for those who do like the genre to be high octane action on every page, but if you like your creep to be slowly and inexorably twisted, by increments, this should get you imperceptibly shivering more and more!
The Loney Amazon UK
The Loney Amazon USA
I believe it is only currently available in digital in the States, and won’t make it to hardback till 2016. Available both ‘in wood’ and in digital in the UK.
Not for me then – I mainly read at night and I can’t handle simple ghost stories!!!!!
Oh, what a shame – perhaps you should plan a holiday to the far North during the period of longest daylight, and take the book with you!
Ah yes – Petersburg white nights! 🙂
Sounds delicious! But if it’s as scary as that picture of the lugworm, I can quite see why it interfered with your sleep! That picture alone may give me nightmares…
Come on, you know you want to get closer to the sucky sand and the coiling roiling sea fret
While it doesn’t sound like the book for me, I must say that I ::love:: the cover art! Fabulous!
There ought to be the possibility to buy covers separately!
I’ve only seen the cover of the book (which is lovely but looked a bit whimsical for my current reading mood. A good gothic winter read is always good though – thank you for the recommendation.
I think I can promise you a whimsy free zone. It took ME persuading to request the book as I thought it would be same old same old tedious schlock and gore, because of the genre. Probably I was put off by the Stephen King endorsement. I know King is a good writer in the genre, but as I only am drawn to lit fic writers who may write ‘horror’ thought this might still be more genre. And I believe Tartarus Press, who originally published the small run of 300 specialises in horror.
Paradoxically I think those who got this BECAUSE of the King endorsement have been disappointed because of the book’s slower creepiness and more insidious ratcheting of something disturbing going on. It’s unease is darker for never quite having things spelt out. Which for me, made it all the more believable and scary in my head.
Generally I’m not one for creepy novels but you’ve definitely sold me on this. That lugworm picture is sort of mesmerising – I want to look away but I keep going back to it!
If only I could have found a giffy wriggler of it!
I’m glad you didn’t!
I saw this in the shop and was utterly fascinated by it! And the comparisons to Du Maurier etc. are certainly interesting. I like the idea of horror that’s actually ‘about stuff’, as you said, so I’ll probably be picking this up at some point 🙂
I’m already hoping he is hard at work on a second book!
Wow… you definitely sold me on this one! Am in the States and tried to order it for my Kindle, but can only pre-order it for delivery on May 10, 2016. Hrm. Will keep looking around the Internet…
On the other hand, it will give my TBR a break if this can’t officially be added until May! 😀
Oh I am so sorry, I thought it WAS available on Kindle in the States. Of course, you could always order it from Amazon UK. The only reason I also review on Amazon.com is because I have ordered from your side of the pond with things not released here. I did this quite a lot when the exchange rate was very advantageous to us this side!
You’re right; I can buy from Amazon UK so long as I buy an actual book and not a Kindle version! I’d only tried to buy Kindle books in the past (to save shipping a book such a long way) and, when I couldn’t, I thought Amazon wouldn’t allow me to shop the UK site from the US.
How exciting! Clearly I should buy many books now. I’d hate to waste space and packing materials by shipping a mostly empty package with only a single book inside…
Attagirl – that’s the best excuse for a HUGE TBR pile I can think of
I am not big fan of horror but you make The Lonely sounds so appealing plus We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson is an all time favourite book and any writer likened to MS Jackson ( and De Maurier!) is worth a read in my books. Another one for the seriously groaning bedside table 😉
Well, if it’s any consolation I’M not a horror fan either – and Shirley Jackson made me rethink my attitude to the genre, just as Doris Lessing made me rethink my attitude to SF – it’s the writing that matters, and there are good writers whose subject matter is within a genre – and then there are genre writers. The Loney is much more an exploration of faith, beliefs, miracles, and ‘forces’ arising – and the psychology of growing up in a house with quite rigid beliefs. Let that bedside table groan some more!
For me too, horror doesn’t usually appeal; it just doesn’t engage me. After the first paragraph of your review, I thought ‘good’; subtle, atmospheric and psychological is definitely of more interest. I’m also interested in the exploration of faith you describe as an element in the story. Thank you LF, this is one I probably wouldn’t find myself without a trusted recommendation.
Thank you. I love how we all rely on each other to bring new stuff to each other’ s attentions. I had held off from this until some reviewers on Amazon suggested this was not the usual horror schlock fest. The ‘ what goes on’ of faith is really central in this one, and I think Hurley does well in sewing together ‘ horror’ and a lot more. It belongs well in a tradition where writers were doing much more than just trying to outdo each other in ramping up shock and terror without any real context. The anxiety I felt in Hurley’s book was properly earned!