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Black Spring by Alison Croggon
The Blurb On The Back:
An evocative reimagining of WUTHERING HEIGHTS, Emily Brontë’s timeless tale of doomed love.
When Oskar Hammel seeks refuge in the grim Northern Plateau, he discovers a patriarchal society where vendetta holds sway and wizards enforce the code of blood and vengeance.
Through a shocking encounter with the brooding Damek and his wilful young wife, Lina, Hammel uncovers a story of destructive longing and possessive desire beyond his bleakest imaginings.
When a romantic indiscretion compels Oskar Hammel to leave the city, he rents a house in the grim and unforgiving Northern Plateau, a backwards place governed by the Blood Laws (a form of vendetta where male villagers kill each other until a wizard declares the matter resolved).
Following a supernatural experience at the house of his landlord, Oskar’s housekeeper, Anna, tells him the story of the romance between Lina (the wilful daughter of the local lord who was born a witch) and Damek (a boy adopted by Lina’s father). Passionate, wild and impossible their love will destroy each other and all who come near them …
Alison Croggon’s YA fantasy is a reimagining of WUTHERING HEIGHTS that takes the main elements of the original novel and reworks them to entertaining effect while staying true to the core themes.
I was apprehensive about reading this as I loathe WUTHERING HEIGHTS, but the deviations from the original kept me turning the pages. I particularly enjoyed the wizards, personified by the cruel and arrogant Ezra who wanders the countryside with a ragged mute boy, enforcing the Blood Laws against the terrified villagers. The way the vendetta destroys the affected villages, whittling away the men and forcing the payment of taxes to the king is chillingly depicted and comes with a final twist that’s brilliantly revealed.
Brilliant, beautiful, wilful, selfish, arrogant and considered by all to be a witch owing to her stunning violet eyes, I liked Lina’s determination not to be owned by anyone, even as I was irritated by her selfishness. By contrast, Damek is more thinly characterised with his motivations and origins unexplored and I felt that Croggon made a mistake in missing out the effect of his revenge on the next generation (not least because it robs the story of a sense of final hope) because it meant he had nowhere to go.
I enjoyed Oskar’s narration and his characterisation as a self-involved fop. I also liked Anna, who develops fully as a character with her own story and whose voice of reason and propriety I enjoyed. A section that recounts Lina’s diary worked less well for me, mainly because it felt too contrived.
All in all, this was a vivid, well-told book that takes elements from WUTHERING HEIGHTS but (for me) riffed on them to more entertaining effect. I look forward to reading Croggon’s other books.
The Verdict:
Alison Croggon’s YA fantasy is a reimagining of WUTHERING HEIGHTS that takes the main elements of the original novel and reworks them to entertaining effect while staying true to the core themes. I was apprehensive about reading this as I loathe WUTHERING HEIGHTS, but the deviations from the original kept me turning the pages and I look forward to reading Croggon's other books.
BLACK SPRING was released in the UK on 3rd January 2013. Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC of this book.
When Oskar Hammel seeks refuge in the grim Northern Plateau, he discovers a patriarchal society where vendetta holds sway and wizards enforce the code of blood and vengeance.
Through a shocking encounter with the brooding Damek and his wilful young wife, Lina, Hammel uncovers a story of destructive longing and possessive desire beyond his bleakest imaginings.
When a romantic indiscretion compels Oskar Hammel to leave the city, he rents a house in the grim and unforgiving Northern Plateau, a backwards place governed by the Blood Laws (a form of vendetta where male villagers kill each other until a wizard declares the matter resolved).
Following a supernatural experience at the house of his landlord, Oskar’s housekeeper, Anna, tells him the story of the romance between Lina (the wilful daughter of the local lord who was born a witch) and Damek (a boy adopted by Lina’s father). Passionate, wild and impossible their love will destroy each other and all who come near them …
Alison Croggon’s YA fantasy is a reimagining of WUTHERING HEIGHTS that takes the main elements of the original novel and reworks them to entertaining effect while staying true to the core themes.
I was apprehensive about reading this as I loathe WUTHERING HEIGHTS, but the deviations from the original kept me turning the pages. I particularly enjoyed the wizards, personified by the cruel and arrogant Ezra who wanders the countryside with a ragged mute boy, enforcing the Blood Laws against the terrified villagers. The way the vendetta destroys the affected villages, whittling away the men and forcing the payment of taxes to the king is chillingly depicted and comes with a final twist that’s brilliantly revealed.
Brilliant, beautiful, wilful, selfish, arrogant and considered by all to be a witch owing to her stunning violet eyes, I liked Lina’s determination not to be owned by anyone, even as I was irritated by her selfishness. By contrast, Damek is more thinly characterised with his motivations and origins unexplored and I felt that Croggon made a mistake in missing out the effect of his revenge on the next generation (not least because it robs the story of a sense of final hope) because it meant he had nowhere to go.
I enjoyed Oskar’s narration and his characterisation as a self-involved fop. I also liked Anna, who develops fully as a character with her own story and whose voice of reason and propriety I enjoyed. A section that recounts Lina’s diary worked less well for me, mainly because it felt too contrived.
All in all, this was a vivid, well-told book that takes elements from WUTHERING HEIGHTS but (for me) riffed on them to more entertaining effect. I look forward to reading Croggon’s other books.
The Verdict:
Alison Croggon’s YA fantasy is a reimagining of WUTHERING HEIGHTS that takes the main elements of the original novel and reworks them to entertaining effect while staying true to the core themes. I was apprehensive about reading this as I loathe WUTHERING HEIGHTS, but the deviations from the original kept me turning the pages and I look forward to reading Croggon's other books.
BLACK SPRING was released in the UK on 3rd January 2013. Thanks to Walker Books for the ARC of this book.