#BookReview: All Among The Barley by Melissa Harrison
Title: All Among The Barley
Author: Melissa Harrison
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published on: 23rd August 2018
Binding: Paperback
ISBN:9781408897997
The fields were eternal,
our life the only way of things,
and I would do whatever was
required of me to protect it.
Fourteen-year-old Edie Mather lives with her family at Wych Farm, where the shadow of the Great War still hangs over a community impoverished by the Great Depression. Glamorous outsider Constance FitzAllen arrives from London, determined to make a record of fading rural traditions and beliefs, and to persuade Edie's family to return to the old ways rather than embrace modernity. She brings with her new political and social ideas – some far more dangerous than others.
For Edie, who has just finished school and must soon decide what to do with her life, Connie appears to be a godsend. But there is more to the older woman than meets the eye. As harvest time approaches and the pressures mount on the entire Mather family, Edie must decide whose version of reality to trust, and how best to save herself from disaster.
A masterful evocation of the rhythms of the natural world and pastoral life, All Among the Barley is also a powerful and timely novel about influence, the lessons of history and the dangers of nostalgia.
COVER PAGE
REVIEW
There are some books which gives peace and serenity to a reader. And, All Among The Barley by Melissa Harrison was one such book for me. It was not a quick read for me, I took a long time to read it patiently. It is a perfect book to read in Autumn season.
The fields were eternal,
our life the only way of things,
and I would do whatever was
required of me to protect it.
BLURB
From the author of Costa-shortlisted and Baileys-longlisted At Hawthorn Time comes a major new novel. Set on a farm in Suffolk just before the Second World War, it introduces a girl on the cusp of adulthood.
Fourteen-year-old Edie Mather lives with her family at Wych Farm, where the shadow of the Great War still hangs over a community impoverished by the Great Depression. Glamorous outsider Constance FitzAllen arrives from London, determined to make a record of fading rural traditions and beliefs, and to persuade Edie's family to return to the old ways rather than embrace modernity. She brings with her new political and social ideas – some far more dangerous than others.
For Edie, who has just finished school and must soon decide what to do with her life, Connie appears to be a godsend. But there is more to the older woman than meets the eye. As harvest time approaches and the pressures mount on the entire Mather family, Edie must decide whose version of reality to trust, and how best to save herself from disaster.
A masterful evocation of the rhythms of the natural world and pastoral life, All Among the Barley is also a powerful and timely novel about influence, the lessons of history and the dangers of nostalgia.
COVER PAGE
The cover page of the book is simple and attractive in saffron colour with image of barley. It is very well suitable with the plot of the book. The book title and the author's name is written in capitals with white ink. I really liked the cover page a lot.
REVIEW
There are some books which gives peace and serenity to a reader. And, All Among The Barley by Melissa Harrison was one such book for me. It was not a quick read for me, I took a long time to read it patiently. It is a perfect book to read in Autumn season.
All Among The Barley revolves around a 14 year old Edie,who lives with her family at Wych Farm.The book is set in the 1930s rural England and the shadow of Great War hangs on the people of Wych Farm and the people have not recovered from the Great War. Soon, an outsider Constance FitzAllen comes to the Wych Farm from England to make a record of the fading rural traditions and beliefs. FitzAllen brings in her own ideas of political and social life and becomes a good friend of Edie. Edie helps her a lot in knowing about the farm and the various traditions.
The writing style of author Melissa Harrison is so amazing that I just dived into the book. I read a lot of portions of the book not just once rather thrice or four times. Her writing style is beautiful and very exquisite. The narration is very nice an subtle in nature. The way she has written about the rural England is very commendable. A very well researched book.
The plot of the story is quite heavy but is very interesting. It is a very well described account of Edie, her family, her adolescence period and her various emotions. Initially, the book moves at a slow pace but it picks up pace in the second half. All the events in the book are written in a very detailed manner.
There are not so many characters in the story but Edie in herself is a complete and a well developed character. I really liked her character and was able to connect with her at various points in the book. I loved how she was so much involved in the books and her relation with her brother Frank was quite different and I loved their conversations.
Overall, it was a nice book filled with simplicity and I had a great time reading it. I would highly recommend this book to the historical fiction lovers.
Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.in/All-Among-Barley-Melissa-Harrison/dp/1408897989?tag=googinhydr18418-21
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Harrison is the author of the novels Clay and At Hawthorn Time, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and longlisted for the Bailey's Women's Prize, and one work of non-fiction, Rain, which was longlisted forthe Wainwright Prize. She is a nature writer, critic and columnist for The Times, the Financial Times and the Guardian, among others.
Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/M_Z_Harrison
* I received a copy of the book from the publisher (Bloomsbury India) in exchange of a review. Thank You.
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