Michael Graeme

Following the break-up of his marriage, Richard Hunter returns from the US to the English village of Durleston, where he grew up. He finds work as a teacher at the local primary school, although his heart doesn’t really seem to be in it – the main thing that seems to keep him going is his infatuation with the school’s aloof and career-focussed headmistress, Davinia. Estranged from his family, he has little contact with anyone outside of work. Recurrent anxiety attacks cause him seek out the isolation of Durleston Wood, where he takes long walks, reminiscing about his childhood and generally pondering how he has reached middle age with so little to show for it.

It is on these walks that he becomes aware of a woman who appears to be kept a prisoner in a remote cottage in the wood by a local criminal. Should he help her escape? But then again, does she really need his help? After all, she is not physically imprisoned there – it is more that she seems to consider herself unable to leave. I won’t reveal much more about the plot, except to say that it revolves around Richard’s relationships with the apparently submissive woman in the wood and the apparently unattainable Davinia – and their relationships with violent, abusive men.

Although he may sound like a hopeless case, Richard proves to be an engaging and sympathetic narrator, with a keen observational sense and a high degree of self-awareness. This prevents him from wallowing in self-pity and allows him to see the occasionally humorous side of his own predicament. Meanwhile, Durleston Wood itself is portrayed atmospherically and the novel has a general undercurrent of violence/threat combined with sexual tension, which reminded me of some of Ian McEwan’s work.

And then there is the question of how much of what we are reading is actually real. After all, here we have a central character who wanders around Durleston Wood, sometimes holding imaginary conversations with previous girlfriends from long ago - so who’s to say that certain parts of the novel presented as “reality” aren’t in fact an elaborate fantasy on his part? Come to that, who’s to say that the entire novel isn’t essentially a symbolic representation of competing impulses battling it out in Richard’s head ?

For me, this ambiguity made “In Durleston Wood” all the more complex and intriguing. But you can just as easily take it at face value and read it as a more straightforward mystery/romance. As for what it’s about, I think it’s concerned with how we’re peculiarly adept at constructing psychological prisons – sometimes for ourselves, sometimes for others – either because we like the security of them or we like the feeling of power it gives us over others. It’s also about the difference between desire and love – Richard in particular is acutely aware of how easy it is to feel the former and how difficult, even frightening, it can be to transform it into the latter. But that’s just what I took away from it. Why not read it for yourself (the ebook version is free) and see what you think. See: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/368142… (plus d'informations)

This is a very nice "Let's escape from the soul-sucking modern urban world and move back to wild nature" story. My enjoyment of it was likely enhanced because I was at home in an urban area when I began it and ended it just after spending a day rambling in rural Orkney.

But unlike the protagonist, I rather enjoy cities and find a lot in them that's vibrant, alive, and hopeful. I also love the outdoors and nature, so I could appreciate the pull of wild moors, breathtakingly beautiful mountains, and crystal lochs. In trying to decide whether I liked this book by Michael Graeme enough to give it four or five stars, I had to consider whether I was being objective, or mildly resentful for portraying cities as "grey", "soul-less", and lacking of meaningful human interaction. And though protagonist Scott Matthews was generally referring to London and Glasgow of the 1980s (the settings of much of the book), there was enough universalizing that I occasionally muttered to him, "Then move already, damn it, and stop whining! It's obvious that you're going to".

"The Singing Loch" has a very nice narrative flow, well-drawn characters, and lovely descriptions of rural Scotland. It has just enough romance to give it a little charm, but not enough to detract from the more interesting tension between humans and their place in nature, and the competing interests of corporations and individuals where land use is concerned. I was all set to give it a five, but at the last minute switched to a four. That's not because of the (relatively minor) typos or the fact that I'd pretty much worked out the mystery on my own before the reveal. It's a free book currently on Smashwords, so I won't quibble on those. (And the typos are simply that and not grammatical atrocities; the author is obviously a good writer.) It's just that the city-lover in me found the last bit a little simplistic and preachy in its exhortation to humanity. I agree with much of what it said, but as I said earlier, I might have been a little annoyed on behalf of cities and their own bit of wild life. In any case, I liked it very much and recommend it.… (plus d'informations)

Another of the freebies that came with the reader app on my phone.

I remember quite liking this when I read it, but I'm questioning it a bit now. I liked the premise, and it has an interesting style, but it left me feeling a bit unsatisfied somehow, and I can't place my finger on why. That said, I remembered it well enough to go add it to goodreads, which says something I guess.

I did like it well enough I will likely look for more by the author, and I'll probably have to re-read this to see if I can figure out why it left me a little unsettled.… (plus d'informations)

I ordered this book on my Kindle because it was free. I thought it was about an Amish girl. HA!! Was I ever wrong.

Richard is driving somewhere and suddenly finds himself in a town that is not listed on any map. This has happened before so he finally turns around and just parks his car. Suddenly a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of him with a tire iron demanding his keys. Seems like suddenly appearing in a parallel universe happens to Richard a lot, but it is a first for Parker and Katie.

Parker steals the car but is continually brought back to this little town.

The story is short; I read it in about an hour. It was....ok. I really didn't like the ending. I would say more but that would give it away for anyone who is bored enough to want to read it. The book just seemed to stop. The ending was like running through a field and suddenly having a brick wall appear in front of you. I might have given it at least 2 stars if not for the ending.

I found this book on feedbooks.com. It's only about 28 pages. If you have a Kindle or Sony....… (plus d'informations)