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In the Wake

In the Wake

Set on the shores of modern-day Nova Scotia, two women are stagnated by grief and their own flawed versions of the past. Can the truth set them free?
When Emily and her family move back to Nova Scotia from Calgary, it is a return to the coastal landscape that already haunts her—and the waters where her father died. She meets her neighbour Linda, a gruff but loving widow and Linda’s grown son, Tom, who struggles to stay on an even keel. As they settle in, Emily and her husband, Daniel, learn more about the short but turbulent history of the house they’ve just bought. With Daniel away for work, Emily becomes caught up in the lives of her neighbours, relying on Linda’s friendship and growing closer to Tom, despite his unsettling knack for appearing when she least expects him. As the tension in each family builds, both Emily and Linda must confront long-unanswered questions.
With its nuanced depictions of marriage, parenting, grief and mental illness, and humorous, understated dialogue, Davison’s debut is at once suspenseful and subtle.

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Oliver Hallett

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Newfoundland & Labrador

average rating is 5 out of 5

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In the Wake

The Hunter and the Wild Girl by Pauline Holdstock is a beautifully written and captivating novel of two different lives colliding and changing one another. I'd read that the prose was especially impressive and that definitely proved to be true. The lack of quotation marks or em dashes to indicate dialogue did trip me up, even towards the end, but the vivid descriptions and the myth-like storytelling more than made up for any brief spots of confusion.

This novel has one of my favourite openings I've ever read, immediately dropping the reader into a scene so evocative that I felt like if I looked up from the book I'd see it playing out in front of me.

This book can be rather emotionally taxing - and not what I would call an easy read - but the way it contemplates grief, freedom, and what it means to be human is so captivating.

The Hunter and the Wild Girl is a fascinating, harrowing, stunning novel that takes readers through a dark fairytale that ponders what makes a person and the long lasting effects of grief. This is definitely a book I'll be holding on to for years to come.

I recommend this book.

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