Displaying the same unique blend of gothic dread and human observation that made his debut, The Loney, such a runaway hit with our booksellers, Starve Acre is both a superb slice of folk horror and a truly chilling exploration of family in the aftermath of loss. At the novel’s heart is the tension between the claustrophobia of village community and the looming, ever-present landscape of Starve Acre itself and its mythical, malevolent Oak. Bringing an attention to landscape worthy of the best nature writers, alongside a piercing understanding of the complexities of intimacy and grief, this is a haunting novel and perfect reading as the nights close in.
A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime
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 and keep the boy out of his mind, has turned his attention to the field opposite the house, where he patiently digs the barren dirt in search of a legendary oak tree.
Starve Acre is a devastating new novel by the author of the prize-winning bestseller The Loney. It 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.
Publisher: John Murray Press
ISBN: 9781529387261
Number of pages: 256
Weight: 320 g
Dimensions: 202 x 134 x 26 mm
Deeply moving, yet strangely disturbing, Andrew Michael Hurley's third novel, Starve Acre, establishes him at the forefront of a growing sub genre in literature that I would describe as modern English folk... More
Richard and Juliette are grieving the loss of their five year old son, Ewan, at Starve Acre, their inherited home in a rural English village. Richard has thrown himself into his work, researching a legendary oak tree... More
Until I read some reviews of this book I had never heard of the folk horror genre, but that sums up this tale well. An unsettling combination of folk lore, superstition, village gossip, a woman in touch with the dead,... More
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