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Starve Acre

Author: Andrew Michael Hurley

Published by: John Murray

Pages: 244

Format: Paperback (Proof copy)

My Rating ★★★★★

The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five, Starve Acre, their house by the moors, was to be full of life, but is now a haunted place.

Juliette, convinced Ewan still lives there in some form, seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Richard, to try to keep the boy out of his mind, has turned his attention to the field opposite the house, where he patiently digs the barren dirst in search of a legendary oak tree.

My thoughts:

Starve Acre is a novel about the way in which grief splits the world in two and how, in searching for hope, we can so easily unearth horror.

This is a folk horror tale, full of menace and fuelled by guilt. Richard and Juliette Willoughby, and their young son Ewan moved to Richard’s family home in the Yorkshire Dales following the death of his parents. The house known as Starve Acre has unhappy memories for Richard as he recalls his father’s mental breakdown. The unfriendliness of the house and the surrounding fields haven’t changed.

From the very first pages Hurley creates a rising sense of dread in this brief, unforgettable novel.

The more time Ewan spends in the field, the more erratic he becomes, and before his first year at school is over, his parents have to pull him out for an act of brutal violence. Soon, he is dead. As the story moves between the events leading to Ewan’s death and its aftermath, we learn that the family had previously been ostracised by the villagers, due to the boy’s increasingly violent behaviour.

This leaves the couple even more isolated and alone in their grief. As the tension builds the author shows off his unique talent for evoking the menace of this northern landscape. The remote location generates a sense of dread whereby the ghost may be lingering in the suspicious setting. It is wild, rural England at its most bleak.

Juliette closes herself off from the world after her son’s death. She spends all her time in Ewan’s old bedroom, weeping, listening for him or reading stories into thin air. She is convinced that the boy still lives there somehow, in some form. The Willoughbys’ neighbour Gordon introduces her to a group called ‘the Beacons’, who claim to be able to make contact with the dead, or something like that – their methods and aims are deliberately vague.

When a visit from the Beacons coincides with Richard unearthing the complete skeleton of a hare, Juliette’s supernatural beliefs are only strengthened. It is clear that something terrible has been invited in from the wild world outside to cross the threshold. There is an otherworldliness to the hare, and it’s time at Starve Acre has significant consequences.

Andrew Michael Hurley has a real gift for the gothic style, horror tinged, atmospheric storytelling that immerses the reader here in a chillingly dark and disturbing world. Hostile locals, grieving parents, a sinister oak: Starve Acre is an unforgettable folk horror read. It is beautifully written and distinctively creepy.

I honestly could not have predicted or guessed where the story was heading, particularly in the novel’s startling final sentence. I mean, that ending... That ending kept me awake. It was so far from anything I could have imagined happening. It’s just, it’s horrible and morbidly fascinating and totally shocking. Such an unpredictable twist, and it works entirely.

Starve Acre was a perfect, page-turning reading for a dark night, especially suited for this time of year. I loved it.

Overall reaction:

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