Hild by Nicola Griffith

review by Maryom

Seventh century Britain is a divided land of small kingships, each jostling for power over the others; a world of shifting alliances and almost constant war in which even small children are caught up in the power-play, seen as either threats to power, or useful bargaining tools. When her husband, an exiled possible-heir to one of these kingdoms, is murdered, Breguswith seeks refuge for herself and her two daughters with Edwin, King of Northumbria. The eldest, Hereswith, will follow the 'normal' life set out for all royal daughters, to become a 'peacemaker', married off to a distant king to forge an alliance, but for the younger, Hild, there are different plans - following a dream, Breguswith has raised her younger daughter to become a seer, a "light of the world". Hild's uncannily accurate predictions gain her a place at Edwin's court but her position still remains tenuous and dangerous. Although Hild's visions often give Edwin forewarning of his enemies' plans and enable him to outmanoeuvre them, they don't always predict the future a king wants to hear.

 Hild is a captivating glimpse of life in the so-called Dark Ages, which feels like a mix of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall and GRR Martin's Game of Thrones; there's all the intimate observation, the capturing of quiet moments outside the rush of historical events of the former, coupled with the blood-thirsty power-struggles of the latter - and the length of both, for this isn't a short slim volume but a 500+ page epic that only covers the early part of Hild's life.
 Hild is an unusual young woman. With her special position as seer, she doesn't fit in to the expectations and assumptions of those around her. She isn't being groomed for marriage in the way that her sister is, instead she learns to fight and defend herself, and leads her men into battle. Perhaps because of this she feels more 'modern' than the other women but none of them seem mere puppets under men's control. Breguswith particularly is shown as trying to influence events and warp them to her advantage, both through personal connections and trade.

As with Wolf Hall, this isn't a book to hurry over but one that had me wanting to savour almost every page, to absorb the moment as Hild herself does, to sit with her and watch the flight of birds or the ripples in a pond. I loved the depth of historical detail that brought day to day life, well, to life - the women's work in the weaving sheds or dairy proving more fascinating to me than battles.



Although this is described as the story of St Hilda, it isn't one of Christian virtues or evangelism. Seventh century Britain is a violent, turbulent place and Edwin, with designs on becoming High King, is out to gain every political advantage -  adopting the Christian faith is just one of them. I know virtually nothing about St Hilda, but Hild is far from the meek-mannered, deeply-religious woman I'd expected and there's also perhaps more sex than you would expect in the life of a saint. None of this affected my enjoyment of the book but it might come as a surprise to some.



 Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Little, Brown
Genre - adult historical fiction

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

review by Maryom

One morning in early May 1977, Lydia Lee doesn't show up for breakfast. Her bed hasn't been slept in, no one has seen her since the day before, and the family's worst fears are soon confirmed when her body is discovered in a lake. The police can find no evidence to suggest anything other than suicide. This isn't enough to convince her family. To them Lydia was a bright, happy high-achiever, studying hard for college entrance but with a wide circle of friends. What reasons would such a girl have to take her own life?  Her mother Marilyn believes this tragedy must be the work of a perverted killer. Her brother Nathan thinks the boy down the street, Jack, knows more about Lydia's death than he's letting on.  Hannah, the youngest child, always slightly ignored by the rest of her family, catches the others in unguarded moments and sees things they don't. Her father James, meanwhile, paralysed by shock and grief, turns outside the family for support and sympathy, a move which could tear them all apart.

Everything I Never Told isn't a crime novel as such; there's no frantic police search for a serial killer or last minute twist which uncovers a hidden psychopath. Rather, like another stunning debut Carys Bray's A Song for Issy Bradley, it's a portrayal of a family coping with tragedy; a tragedy that, as the Lees' family history is revealed, seems to have been almost inevitable.
Although outwardly an averagely happy, successful family, beneath the surface the Lees had hit a point of being so dysfunctional that something had to give somewhere. Moving forwards and backwards, through the aftermath of Lydia's death, and the events that led up to it, watching events unfold from the perspective of each member of the family, the author piece by piece reveals the secrets the family have hidden and the lies they've spun to each other. The threads lead back to the point when Marilyn, studying hard to break her mother's domestic mould and qualify as a doctor, meets and falls in love with lecturer James Lee, son of Chinese immigrants. James desires nothing more for him and his family than to fit in as average Americans; Marilyn is almost the opposite - she wants to challenge stereotypes and for her favourite daughter to achieve what she didn't. Both are blinkered though and do not see the reality of their children's lives.
The writing is understated and concise, the plot brilliantly constructed, pulling the reader in, and building gradually to the reveal of how Lydia died. For a début, it's a stunner, and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Little, Brown
Genre - adult fiction