Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - All Among the Barley

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison

4 reviews

carolinebl's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I loved this book; the writing was brilliant. Melissa Harrison’s background in nature writing makes her perfectly equipped to capture the countryside in all its shades of light and dark. I went into this novel blind, which was the right choice.

It attempts to find a middle ground, merging the troubles of the harvest, politics, mental health and childhood into womanhood. The setting in 1933/34 was one ripe for exploration. I wish that Connie’s fascism was explored further at the end, if Edie had began to understand why John found her so dangerous. The balance between outside and inside wasn’t quite achieved. Everything climaxed at once, but Connie’s meeting felt less cohesive with the fire and Edie’s psychosis. It was still a strong ending, more realistic than the positive one I had hoped for (I thought that her interjections meant that she had moved away - not to a psychiatric hospital!).

I feel I’m still digesting everything. I didn’t cry.

Content Warnings