Tania's Book Circus
I adore reading and have very wide and varied taste. Some of my favorite genre's include historical fiction, memoirs, fantasy and non-fiction. Some of my best-loved titles are Sandcastle girls, Poisonwood bible, Daughter of the forest, Knife of never letting go, The snow child, The glass castle and Wolf Hall. I love Juliet Marillier, Jodi Picoult, Philippa Gregory, Deon Myer and Bill Bryson. I read approximately 120 books a year, and I try to keep my reviews short and to the point, so you can spend less time reading them and more time reading the books you'll enjoy. Happy reading!
Haunting and evocative
Secrets weren't nothing but untold lies
I don't think I've ever read any ghost stories, but I was captivated by this dark and mystical novel.
First of all I loved the setting - I can't think of a better place for a story about haints/spirits and hoodoo than the atmospheric marshes of the South. I also savored the many different voices and POV's. I thought they were all extremely authentic and distinct. The use of these multiple female narrators (some living, some dead) to tell a story that crosses multiple generations was brilliantly done.
While she refused to believe in mountain magic, I wholeheartedly believed in Miss Tuggle's powers. She called it science. Amanda called hers conjuring. I saw their abilities as freedom from those who would, given the chance, control them.
Although The Storycatcher never outright scared me, it had me feeling uneasy and on edge all the time. I think Pastor Dobbins was part of the reason - he is so evil, but the author's haunting descriptions was probably the main cause.
A darkness with no name or shape hung in the air, something thick and fearful, always threatening in a heavy sort of way.
Lastly, I loved how the author connected all these characters and stories in the end. The Storycatcher is definitely worth the read.
The story: Shelly Parker, a sixteen-year-old servant who works for the tyrannical Pastor Dobbins and his family, has had the gift of sight for as long as she can remember. When the ghost of Arleen Brown, a poor woman who died on the mountain during childbirth five years earlier, begins to pursue the Pastor’s daughter Faith — hell-bent on revealing a terrible secret that she took to her grave — Shelly is the only person that can help her.
