Rezension

The Gloaming

The Gloaming - Kirsty Logan

The Gloaming
von Kirsty Logan

Bewertet mit 3 Sternen

Peter, a boxer, falls in love with Signe, a ballet dancer. This unusual match somehow triggers nature and becomes something very special. Signe soon falls pregnant, but of the three babies, only one, Islay, survives. After they had their second daughter, Mara, they move to a remote Scottish island into a huge house. This is where their third kid, the long awaited boy, Bee, arrives. Yet, the forces of nature demand donations and soon the rough sea catches young Bee and leaves the family devastated. Islay flees the haunted island as soon as she can. Mara remains there with the parents not only grieving but also deteriorating more form day to day. With the arrival of Pearl, the chance for Mara to have a more positive look on life suddenly opens up. But Pearl is mysterious and she, too, has a close connection to the earthly forces.

 

“The Gloaming” is an outstanding novel. It is not exactly fantasy, nor can it completely be classified as a kind of fairy tale. It is somewhere in between the reality as we know it and hardly palpable forces that come from the earth. They are not supernatural, quite the opposite, they are natural and thus guide the characters and decide on what happens. It is somehow close to very old cultures, old folkloristic sagas and beliefs that revive and are called back to the people’s memory.

 

What I liked best about the novel was the way Kirsty Logan created the atmosphere. Throughout the novel, you have the feeling that there is something about the island or the house, something beyond the characters’ control. It is spooky somehow and gives you the creeps at times. On the other hand, there is a sadness and melancholy which weighs especially on Mara and with is often hard to support.

 

There is something magical in the novel, yet, it wasn’t exactly the kind of book I love to read.