pickThis was the perfect follow-up to the previous story I read, Blackwood's "The Man Whom the Trees Loved". Another tale in which the forest is alive and holds communion with souls sensitive to its slow, vital energy.
Merowdis is the beloved sister of Ysolde, an unearthly child whose connection to animals & the woods is discouraged by her parents, and enabled by her sister.
The story is a gothic fairytale full of Jungian archetypes, interweaving ⬇️
"A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really." ???
I couldn't face the world yesterday, so I chose to stay protected inside the bubble of comfort and safety of home. I stayed off of social media and the news. I read, I cocooned, I drew. I finished this pumpkin charcoal drawing I had been working on a little at a time. Today I'm back at work but am remaining largely offline, and I found this gorgeous book that sounds very autobiographical. I can't wait to immerse myself in it!
so-soThe cover is so beautiful for this teeny tiny 60 page fantasy story. I love Susanna Clarke but this one didn‘t do too much for me.
Some new ones 📚
•Life as a Late-Identified Autistic is aimed at a somewhat younger target audience than the title led me to believe, but it still looks interesting, and as a quicker read than I'd anticipated, one I might get to sooner.
• The Wood at Midwinter I'll read immediately. Big font, wide spacing, lots of illustrations, so it's even shorter than its already scant 64 pages might suggest. ⬇️
One of the things I miss about Broadhurst's Booksellers is that they would've drawn this to my attention at publication. As it is, publication was 24 October 2024, so I'm not too far behind the curve, and it's on its way to me from Blackwell's.
It's a 64 page short story originally written in 2022 for a BBC audio broadcast. I'd love to have another novel from Susanna, but with her chronic fatigue syndrome I'm grateful for anything she publishes.
pickI wasnt lying when i said a quick read! About 20 mins because i read slow! The illustrations are beautiful and really give life to the story. At the end Susanna gives an explanation on how the story came to be and it was very interesting. I definitely recommend giving this one a read.
I know its the night before Halloween, but library books wait for no one so im diving into this quick read!
so-soI got a hold of Susanna Clark's newest. Out October 22, 2024 this slim short is rather more of a one scene play. At 60 pages there isn't much to it. It is a fairytale, one written almost for children. I honestly wasn't too impressed (I need shorts this short to be hit me on the head amazing). The most interesting part is at the end talk about her influences it was interesting to read how much Kate Bush and Jorge Luis Borges shaped her writing
Became my 1000th book on my tbr. Can't wait for it to come out! So glad she's still writing
The Wood at Midwinter | 
Clarke's story is shorter than I'd imagined, as it has an afterword in which she speaks of her creative process, and the influences out of which she spun both this work and Piranesi. If I thought I couldn't love Clarke more, I was wrong, as she tells of her lifelong love of Kate Bush's music, and the album 50 Words for Snow is a direct influence here, and that Merowdis's saintly ⬇️ 5d
On its own, it is an interesting and atmospheric, if small, tale, but taken in context of Clarke's other works, it has a larger dimension. Sit it alongside the stories in The Ladies of Grace Adieu, and it becomes a vibrant miniature, another silver thread in the tapestry of the world of Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrel. 5❄️ 5d