Dolly
Susan Hill
(Vintage)
Quiet Edward and headstrong Leonora are sent to spend the Summer
at the home of their eccentric Aunt Kestrel in the English fenland. During the
time they are there they encounter something unearthly that will reach its cold
dead hand far into their adult lives.
This could be the set-up for a children’s story, or the sort
of potboiler bought to read on the beach by people who avoid bookshops outside of
holidays and Christmas. In the hands of Susan Hill, it is something altogether
more disturbing.
Drawing on the tradition of M R James she delivers a tale
of unsettling events in a remote and atmospheric place. One that is shaped by a
morality that is as harsh as it is inescapable.
All this in just 152 pages, less space than it takes for
writers with more burnished literary reputations to clear their throats.
It is possible to read this book in a couple of hours, the
story it contains is sure to stay with you for far longer. When it comes to
producing that most English of literary forms, the ghost story, Susan Hill has
the chops to stand comfortably alongside the greats of the genre.
Good Reads 23rd July 2024
