Immerse In Call Of The Curlew Depicted By Elizabeth Brooks Presented In EPub

saw Eowyn Ivey's blurb on the cover of this book and, since I loved her novel 'The Snow Child', I thought I'd take a chance.
I was very disappointed however, because though the book was atmospheric and the setting was bleak, the story was bland, slow and boring.
It goes back and forth in time from preWorld War II and the World War II era to the present.


The book opens with Virginia, age, finally having found a sign that tells her it is time to take her life.
The sign is the skull of a Curlew, a bird found in the marshland which is near her house.
Her plan is interrupted by the unforeseen appearance of a young girl who is a stranger to her.


The early timeline takes place inand Clem is in the process of taking nine year old Virginia home from her orphanage.
On their way home, they meet an acquaintance of Clem's named Max Deering and Clem appears uptight, Max offers to give Clem and Virginia a ride home because they still have quite a ways to walk but Clem declines his offer.
When they arrive home, Clem's wife Lorna appears not that excited about Virginia's arrival,

As time progresses, Virginia begins to hear her new parents arguing, often in whispers, and usually about Max Deering.
The ambience in the home is stressful and filled with secrets, Clem is a wildlife writer and an expert on birds, Virginia and Clem become very close though Lorna and Virginia have quite an emotional distance between them,

It is apparent that something happened in the past that made Virginia feel guilty enough to take her life as an old woman and, as the book progresses, bits of the secret are very slowly revealed much too slowly for me.


I found the book repetitive and filled with portents of things to come, Stress and tension build but the pace is indolent and creeps along throughout, The style is gothic noir which I usually enjoy but I was unable to feel like I really knew any of the characters.
I wanted to love this book, but it was so unspeakably sad, Written with a light touch murmured conversations, spare movements, halfglances, moments of unease that makes it seem like a much gentler novel than it really is, filled as it is with meaning "about sacrifice, the urge to belong, and revenge," as the novelist Claire Fuller describes it on the dust jacket.
I did love the historical time period World War II is in the background, but this is not a war novel and the remote, unsettling, bleak setting of the marshes of Salt Winds.
Most of all, the character of Virginia, who as a naive, unworldly orphan is unable to decipher the dynamics among the adults of her adopted family and her village as an adult, she comes to understand and regret them all too well.
It's a Gothic comingofage tale, and the story gradually sucks the reader in and doesn't let go, all the way up to the riveting, regrettable, but inevitable ending.
Highly recommended. I had a relaxing selfcare day today and read callofthecurlew and what a gem of a book it was! Great characters, fantastic plot, a dual timeline from presentday to World War II and the writing was beautifully paced and compelling.
A haunting, wellwritten novel. Definitely five! I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher Tin House Books in exchange for an honest review.


I give this book,which rounds up to,

This was an incredibly atmospheric read, The setting, particularly the marsh, had a life of its own, The author did a fabulous job describing the setting which helped set the tone and the mood for the novel.


As for the story itself, I was into it, but I wasnt thrilled by it, I think it was because I had such high expectations going in, On the cover, the book is described as being reminiscent of Jane Eyre, which is one of my all time favorite books.
Its really tough to top that book, As I was reading the book, it was hard not to compare it to Jane Eyre, The story just didnt move me as much as I would have liked it to, I never felt that connected to Virginia,



I did like the dual storylines of Virginia when she was adopted which was the main storyline and Virginia as an old woman.
I think the alternation between the two were really well done, The author coordinated the unfolding of events between the two perfectly, The contemporary chapter would subtly reveal something that the next historical chapter would delve into in great detail.


For me, the strongest part of the book was Mr, Deering. He was a fearsome villain, I never knew what he was going to do because he was so unpredictable and creepy, It was so unsettling every time he entered Salt Winds, Hes one of the best villains Ive encountered in literature this year,

Overall, this book has a fantastic setting and villain, but the story leaves more to be desired.
Call Of The Curlew is another novel released this year with phenomenal characterisation, The character of Virginia Wrathmell slowly captivates your heart, as you turn the pages, It is quite tricky to explain, as we dont just meet theyr old Virginia, but we meet her atyrs old and watch her come of age in difficult circumstances.


The novel opens with Virginia in the present day, It is New Years Eve and she is waiting for a sign, A sign of her death on the marsh, When it arrives in the unusual fashion of the skull of a Curlew, I didnt grasp the significance straight away, But it becomes very clear as the novel progresses and on the last few pages,

December, saw Virginias arrival from Sinclair house a local orphanage to Salt Winds, Where she is finally brought to live with her adopted parents Clem and Lorna Wrathmell, Virginia doesnt instantly bond with Lorna, that will come much later, But her instant love and affection for Clem, is beautiful to see, She meets Bracken the dog and Mrs Hill the cook, Life at Salt Winds, seems to be one of luxury, Virginia has previously unknown, Clem is sure to issue a stark warning to Virginia about the dangers of the marsh, . .

“Tollbury Marsh is good for birds but bad news for people, so you must promise me that youll not set foot on it.
Never ever Clem

With every great story comes a great villain and this novels villain is Max Deering.
He is rude, obnoxious and full of selfrighteousness, Virginia took an instant dislike to him and she isnt the only one, However, this beingpeople werent so quick to ignore or distance themselves from their neighbours, They relied upon them intensely during the war and the home front effort was evident throughout history, So, the Wrathmells find it increasingly difficult to keep Max from their door, As he continues to darken it,

There is a particular incident with Mr Rosenthal, a German Jew is belittled by Max and spoken of as though he is unworthy.
I suppose due to Virginias upbringing in an orphanage this strikes a chord with her, it becomes something she will never forgive Max Deering for,

Back to the moderndayand Virginia sees the arrival of an uninvited guest at Salt Winds.
Sophie is a young woman claiming to be lost upon the marsh paths, Something Virginia knows to be untrue and yet serves to make her further grumpy, She reluctantly invites in her new guest,

The Curlew has reminded her how to hate Virginia

In JuneMax Deering suffers a personal loss when the train carriage carrying his daughter Juliet is bombed.
Leaving Max alone with son Theodore, This pushes the Deerings closer to Salt Winds, much to Virginias disgust!
She is invited to Theodoresth birthday party and sets off on the walk with her father Clem.
When he spots an enemy plane fallen down upon the marsh, Despite the great risk to himself, Clem decides to attempt to save the enemy, Clem is never seen again, A search party is organised, Yet no sight of Clem can be seen, An optimistic Virginia remains adamant he will return,
It is at this point Virginia and her adoptive mother begin to bond, It is a relationship that is beautiful to watch develop but is not without its dangers from outside predators.


“We cannot afford to make an enemy of Max Deering” Lorna

As Mrs Hill begins to lose her patience

with Lorna, old secrets are brought to the surface.
Virginia learns more and more about her adoptive parents and their pasts, Then the women must unite as they rescue Mr Rosenthal, They hide Jozef Rosenthal in the attic, away from Maxs prying eyes, But is Jozef who he says he is

In the modernday Sophie makes some confessions about her own ancestry when she spots her grandfather on a photo in Virginias house.
It would appear young Sophie has a tie to Virginias past too,

This novel is simply beautiful
I bought this book solely on the beauty of its cover.
I knew nothing else about it apart from the information contained within the short blurb on the back, which made it sound intriguing enough.
And it was intriguing, for the most part, The writing style was assured, The jumps betweenand the time of the Second World War were well handled, It had a couple of interesting characters, It had a fairly strong sense of time and place, It had some gothic undertones, It was atmospheric. In other words, all the ingredients were in place for this to be a book I really enjoyed, maybe even loved.
Unfortunately, things didn't pan out that way, I liked it well enough, don't get me wrong, but I was left somewhat disappointed, The whole thing just felt a bit flat to me, Despite a couple of the characters the main ones being well realised, I never felt like I was able to connect to them as much as I would have liked.
I felt like something was holding me back from them, yet I can't quite put my finger on what it was.
Also, the big secret which is teased in the blurb as having changed the course of the main character's life, came across as a bit "much ado about nothing".
I'm not saying what happened was nice because it wasn't, but was it really enough to haunt her for the rest of her life, and to make her take the course of action that she did at the end I personally don't think it was.
I think part of the problem was that the blurb seemed to promise so much more than the book actually delivered.
I was expecting a huge tragedy or a dark, sinister mystery, yet I didn't really get either of them.
The book flirted with both, but that's as far it went, It's a shame because on paper this could, and should, have been a book that I ended up raving about.
Instead it joins my list of books that were good but certainly not great, It kept me wanting to turn the pages but I don't think it will linger on long in my memory.
It should be noted that this is Elizabeth Brooks' debut novel and I will be looking out for future work from her, despite this one's flaws, as I think she has great potential.
A very slow read for me, Took forever to finish. Kinda weird story in spite of the fact that I could find absolutely no fault with the writing.
Don't know who I would recommend this book to, It's not for everyone that's for sure, Elizabeth Brooks' novel, Call of the Curlew also published as The Orphan of Salt Winds, caught my eye whilst browsing in the library.
I don't think I had heard of it before, but after reading the blurb and the various reviews dotted over its cover Eowyn Ivey calling it 'bewitching' was enough for me I was suitably intrigued, and took it home with me.


On New Year's Eve in, Virginia is ten years old, She is an orphan, whose parents passed away when she was just an infant, At this point in time, she is being taken to the 'mysterious' grand house, Salt Winds, to begin a new life with her adoptive parents, Clem and Lorna Wrathmell.
The house borders a salt flat named Tollbury Marsh in the East of England, a 'beautiful but dangerous place'.


At first, the Second World War, which has just begun, feels far away from the Wrathmells' secluded home.
However, whispers in the nearby town regarding the local knife grinder, a Jewish German man, begin to spread, and something sinister simmers below the idyllic surroundings.
The German plane crashing into the marsh is a real turning point for Virginia her adoptive father goes to rescue the pilot and does not return.
As she first waits hopefully for his return, and then begins to grieve Clem, she realises that she is as embroiled in war as anyone else.


When the plane comes down, Brooks writes, rather beautifully: 'It was the grace of the thing that astonished her in retrospect.
You'd expect a burning fighter plane to make a great hullabaloo: howling engines, roaring flames, a great boom as it hit the ground, nose first.
But if this one made any noise at all, Virginia didn't notice, All she recalled, later on, was the slow arc it traced through the sky on its way down, like a spark floating from a bonfire.
Even the explosion was gentle from their vantage point: a little orange flower that budded, bloomed and withered, all in a moment, far away on the edge of the marsh.
'

I found the narrative within Call of the Curlew wonderfully beguiling, The opening paragraph, which is set at the end of, really sets the scene: 'Virginia Wrathmell knows she will walk on to the marsh one New Year's Eve, and meet her end there.
She's known it for years, Through adolescence and adulthood she's spent the last days of December on edge, waiting for a sign, So when one finally arrives, in her eightysixth year, there's no good reason to feel dismayed, ' This sign turns out to be the skull of a curlew, which she finds on her doorstep, 'All these years,' Brooks writes, 'she's been wondering what the sign will turn out to be, and she's come up with the strangest ideas.
Words forming on a misted window, An anonymous note. A ghost. She's never imagined anything as perfect as a curlew's skull, '

Despite the air of mystery about it, there is a really comforting warmth to be found within Brooks' prose.
The descriptions, of which there are many, are wonderfully vivid: 'Virginia glanced at the flatness to her left, where the silence lay.
It was too dark to see the silhouettebird now, The deep, arctic blue of the sky was reflected, here and there, in streaks of water, and there was a single star in the sky, but everything was black.
'

Brooks has such control when she shifts Virginia's story from the present day to the past, and then back again.
Given this structure, we learn a lot about the two Virginias rather quickly the sometimes crotchety, headstrong old lady, and the curious young girl.
Although Virginia is the author's focus, other characters become clear too, as do their relationships with one another.
It is obvious from the outset, for instance, that Clem and Lorna's marriage contains a great deal of upset, and is fraught with issues.


I found Call of the Curlew wholly absorbing it is the best kind of historical novel, in that you sink into it.
Its landscape is so clear, and its characters hold a great deal of interest, I enjoyed the omniscient perspective, which allowed Brooks to shift from one individual to another, whilst never losing sight of Virginia and her thoughts and feelings.
I loved the air of mystery, and the many things left unspoken until far later in the novel.
I was caught up in Virginia's story from the outset, The threads of story which weave throughout have been beautifully layered, and it put me in mind of other authors which I have always enjoyed, namely Kate Morton and Helen Humphreys.
I would highly recommend Call of the Curlew to anyone looking for a historical fiction fix.
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