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The Western Wind 9781787330597 Books

Download As PDF : The Western Wind 9781787330597 Books

The Western Wind 9781787330597 Books

There’s a tiny, isolated village in Somerset, England, separated from outsiders by a twisty river and no bridge. On Shrove Tuesday, 1491, the novel’s narrator and parish priest of Oakham, John Reve, is awakened by news that the body of the wealthiest villager, Thomas Newman, was sighted in the river’s fast moving current, before being swept away again. The only evidence of Newman is a green scrap of his clothing found in the bulrushes. Was this an accident, a murder, or a suicide?

Samantha Harvey wouldn’t simply write a straightforward historical novel or mystery. She’s an unconventional (but accessible in her narrative immediacy) writer who reveals many layers of character while advancing her plot, as I learned in DEAR THIEF, a novel that centers on a woman writing to a childhood friend who stole her husband. Furthermore, THE WESTERN WIND is told backwards in time, from Shrove day 4 to Saturday, February 14th, day 1. This, to me, seals the contract of reader and writer, because the reader must actively attune and allow for the challenges that come with reverse telling. Like Reve, we want to know what happened. I experienced more than a few double takes. In the end, you will be mightily rewarded!

In 1491, the Renaissance has not reached everywhere; this is the late Middle Ages in Oakham, replete with religion and superstition embracing a monumental part of everyone’s lives. Minor transgressions are confessed to John Reve, and he informs us that he has the only confession box in England, placed there to allow people slightly more privacy, but crudely built and offers minimal concealment.

The priest is concerned about losing his flock, as many have been confessing privately to traveling friars. John is a complicated man, a priest with his own self-doubts and periodic crises of faith. To make matters worse, his superior, the unnamed dean, with “a nose for the nasty,” has traveled to the village to demand that the answer to Newman’s fate be concluded swiftly, offering to let whoever confesses to Reve (the dean thinks Newman was murdered) will be pardoned. The confessions that unfold are a large part of the novel.

John thoughtfully examines the tragedy of Newman, who had new ideas and a plan to build a bridge that would liberate the villagers from confinement and poverty. Some other residents were indebted to Newman, or had indeterminate ties to him. Additionally, Reve is praying for a western wind to blow away the evil spirits. He worries that the prevailing eastern winds would give Oakham more to tremble about and suffer.

Although told in first person, Reve is privy to most secrets, providing us with a window into everyone’s lives, an omniscience of sorts. However, there’s nobody but John to tell us about John.

As character development goes, John Reve is the most rich and compelling. Although he is the most known to us, he is paradoxically the most ambiguous. Contemplative, witty, flawed, and compassionate, he knows all the secrets and how best to help others. But whom can he confess to? Is he a reliable narrator? Time reversed will reveal the facts and the author’s brilliance of swiveling time to get to the truth.

And don’t worry that the prose will be medieval and stilted. Harvey evokes time and place in more atmospheric and indelible, visual ways, such as sights, smells, and sounds. Ball is played with a pig’s bladder and a drum out of goat hide. While the language is easily accessible, there is no question that you are in ancient times, with its textured period detail.

“My heart beat, and beat again, and I thought: one day it will beat and not beat again. Then what’s in store for me? And the light undid itself, separating out the grain of the stone into a dull, disparate yellowish-grey, the texture of cloth before fulling. I’d forgotten to eat and was hungry.”


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The Western Wind 9781787330597 Books Reviews

Told in reverse timeline over a period of four days through confessions to a priest, this is more the story of a small village than a mystery. It's set in 1491 and, to be fair, it's not really accurate from a historical aspect but it does have terrific atmosphere. John Reve, the priest, is an intriguing character, willing to both listen to and argue with his parishioners as they unwind. The dead man, Thomas Newman, incited strong feelings and while you think you know what happened, the fullness of the story is not clear until the end. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Good writing and an interesting plot device made this a well done read.
This novel gets better after the first one hundred pages. It is slow and not very exciting.
I have not finished reading it yet.There are some beautiful descriptions of rural life. I am
still reading it and will finish it because it is that interesting.
A strangely compelling story set in fifteenth century England, in a small remote village, cut off from most of society by a river which as yet does not have a bridge. In the early hours of Shrove Saturday, the wealthiest man in the village is swept away by the turbulent waters, and the questions begin,- accident, murder or suicide?
in a reverse chronology, told from the perspective of the village priest, Reve, we learn much about the inhabitants of the village, their fears and faith, and their superstitions , and eventually we learn the truth about the tragedy.
In the pages of this book, the author has created a self contained world, populated by richly crafted and well realised characters, none more so than the narrator John Reve. The prose style is dense, but lushly so, rich and earthy as the soil of Oakham itself. As a reader I found myself transported back in time, and lost in the world she had created.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.
WELL WRITTEN TRANSFER IN TIME TO HUMANITY IN AN AGE BEAUTIFULLY RECREATED.
Good character development. Well written book.
I appreciated the window this novel provides into the time and place, which has in it the ring of truth.
Boring, boorish, don’t waste your time, ridiculous story. How it was ever recommended is beyond me one boring chapter after another
There’s a tiny, isolated village in Somerset, England, separated from outsiders by a twisty river and no bridge. On Shrove Tuesday, 1491, the novel’s narrator and parish priest of Oakham, John Reve, is awakened by news that the body of the wealthiest villager, Thomas Newman, was sighted in the river’s fast moving current, before being swept away again. The only evidence of Newman is a green scrap of his clothing found in the bulrushes. Was this an accident, a murder, or a suicide?

Samantha Harvey wouldn’t simply write a straightforward historical novel or mystery. She’s an unconventional (but accessible in her narrative immediacy) writer who reveals many layers of character while advancing her plot, as I learned in DEAR THIEF, a novel that centers on a woman writing to a childhood friend who stole her husband. Furthermore, THE WESTERN WIND is told backwards in time, from Shrove day 4 to Saturday, February 14th, day 1. This, to me, seals the contract of reader and writer, because the reader must actively attune and allow for the challenges that come with reverse telling. Like Reve, we want to know what happened. I experienced more than a few double takes. In the end, you will be mightily rewarded!

In 1491, the Renaissance has not reached everywhere; this is the late Middle Ages in Oakham, replete with religion and superstition embracing a monumental part of everyone’s lives. Minor transgressions are confessed to John Reve, and he informs us that he has the only confession box in England, placed there to allow people slightly more privacy, but crudely built and offers minimal concealment.

The priest is concerned about losing his flock, as many have been confessing privately to traveling friars. John is a complicated man, a priest with his own self-doubts and periodic crises of faith. To make matters worse, his superior, the unnamed dean, with “a nose for the nasty,” has traveled to the village to demand that the answer to Newman’s fate be concluded swiftly, offering to let whoever confesses to Reve (the dean thinks Newman was murdered) will be pardoned. The confessions that unfold are a large part of the novel.

John thoughtfully examines the tragedy of Newman, who had new ideas and a plan to build a bridge that would liberate the villagers from confinement and poverty. Some other residents were indebted to Newman, or had indeterminate ties to him. Additionally, Reve is praying for a western wind to blow away the evil spirits. He worries that the prevailing eastern winds would give Oakham more to tremble about and suffer.

Although told in first person, Reve is privy to most secrets, providing us with a window into everyone’s lives, an omniscience of sorts. However, there’s nobody but John to tell us about John.

As character development goes, John Reve is the most rich and compelling. Although he is the most known to us, he is paradoxically the most ambiguous. Contemplative, witty, flawed, and compassionate, he knows all the secrets and how best to help others. But whom can he confess to? Is he a reliable narrator? Time reversed will reveal the facts and the author’s brilliance of swiveling time to get to the truth.

And don’t worry that the prose will be medieval and stilted. Harvey evokes time and place in more atmospheric and indelible, visual ways, such as sights, smells, and sounds. Ball is played with a pig’s bladder and a drum out of goat hide. While the language is easily accessible, there is no question that you are in ancient times, with its textured period detail.

“My heart beat, and beat again, and I thought one day it will beat and not beat again. Then what’s in store for me? And the light undid itself, separating out the grain of the stone into a dull, disparate yellowish-grey, the texture of cloth before fulling. I’d forgotten to eat and was hungry.”