Book Review
"In the wink of an eye, as quick as a flea,
The Devil he jumped from me to thee.
And only when the Devil had gone,
Did I know that he and I'd been one."
Devil's Day
was released in the UK on 19th October 2017. It is written by Andrew Michael Hurley and published by John Murray Press.I haven't read The Loney, Andrew Michael Hurley's critically acclaimed first novel, but all the good reviews I've read means it has been on my tbr list for ages. But when I saw that Hurley had a new book out I decided to read that first, especially as the blurb drew me in, with talk of an isolated country community, family dynamics and the supernatural.
Devil's Day is beautifully written, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me; there's a good story in there but it was a bit lost in strange pacing, disconnected writing and a family dynamic that I didn't find that interesting.
BLURB
Every autumn, John Pentecost returns to the Lancashire farm where he grew up to help gather the sheep from the moors. Generally, very little changes in the Briardale Valley, but this year things are different. His grandfather - known to everyone as the Gaffer - has died and John's new wife, Katherine, is accompanying him for the first time.
Every year, the Gaffer would redraw the boundary lines of the village, with pen and paper but also through the remembrance of folk tales, family stories and timeless communal rituals which keep the sheep safe from the Devil. This year, though, the determination of some members of the community to defend those boundary lines has strengthened, and John and Katherine must decide where their loyalties lie, and whether they are prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to join the tribe...
Gripping, unsettling and beautifully written, Andrew Michael Hurley's new novel asks how much we owe to tradition, and how far we will go to belong.
Firstly, this is a slow paced book. Normally I don't mind a slow story, I often find the edge of the seat sort of books tiring. But Devil's Day is drowned in scene setting and description and it only really picks up in the last 20%, and then it seems to hurry and come to a conclusion too quickly.
The story also jumps around in time quite a bit without much warning which I found confusing, though I did like how it threaded through John's childhood.
I did like the supernatural element of Devil's Day, I wish there was a bit more of it. But it was subtly done and based on myth and legend, while also tying it into modern times. Hurley brings about the devilish element in all humans and that is perhaps the most frightening element of the story.
There is also some beautiful writing in Devil's Day, the sort that makes you stop and reread a sentence just to appreciate the skill. It is mostly in the description of the landscape, which is really where Hurley thrives, and you can feel the harshness and the beauty of the Endlands.
"It had always seemed a miraculous birth, the river, conjured out of the fells high above, made of nothing but damp air and rain, yet suddenly here and loud."
Threaded through Devil's Day is a sort of awe at the power of nature, and it's ability to not only provide but also destroy. John and his family are at the front line, trying to scrape out a living in a landscape that doesn't much care if they survive or not.
I really enjoyed the nature elements in the story but unfortunately I did not connect with the characters, especially the main character of John. I couldn't get a handle on him. At first he's the son who breaks from tradition and moves away, then he seems to become a completely different person, one that didn't have any strong characteristics to attach a personality to.
Despite my reservations with Devil's Day, I still found the standard of writing high, and there were sections that I was glued to. I still want to read The Loney.
My Rating: 3 Stars
I received a copy of Devil's Day via NetGalley in return for an honest review. My thanks to the author and publisher.
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