Wednesday 14 October 2015

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

This is a book that is great to read in October – the accident season. For Cara and her sister, Alice, step-brother Sam and friend Bea, October must be endured as the month where the danger of accidents lurks behind every strange face, sharp object, passing car and even in each home.

Despite the danger, the fear, which is highlighted by Cara’s mother’s attempts to keep them safe, these young and broken souls fight bravely for their world and the right to live free in it.

A beautiful read. Haunting and evocative, eerie and mysterious, you are drawn in to so many images and imaginings, your head is whirling with the vivid shadows and the chilling realities. At first, it proved a little too much for me in a busy month, with not much time to read, and I struggled to get into it. The distinction between real and imagined is (intentionally) not always clear either, which, once you get used to just adds to the charm of the book. I am so glad I kept going.

The characters dance through the pages while the extravagant prose paints wild streaks across the landscape. I couldn’t stop singing their song - “So let’s raise our glasses to the accident season, To the river beneath us where we sink our souls, To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling, One more drink for the watery road.”

You won’t enjoy this if your reading pleasure depends on factual accuracy, details being correct, and mysteries being solved. If however, you are prepared to balance the mystical with the earthly, you will join the chant and love the song. As for me, I think I may sing it every October.

This is a 5 star read for me.

ISBN: 9780552571302


2 comments:

Blogs said...

hmmmm....this one intrigues me, gonna have to read it! thanks for the reviews, these are great

Bev Bouwer said...

It is worth a read, Victoria. Different to what I usually read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.