Welcome to Litsy!

Moss drops us into the unexpected setting of an Iron Age re-enactment camp to tell a story of a young girl grappling with male chauvinism, disturbing family dynamics, and how to find her voice. Brilliant.

Well, what a story. All about a group of people reenacting life in an Iron Age settlement. Done for academic purposes along with the family of a over bearing bus driver. The tale is so compelling as Silvie guides us on this voyage around her father while dressed in a scratchy tunic.

I‘m loving this, why be comfortable on holiday, stay in an Iron Age settlement instead!

Sylvie, along with her parents, joins a group of university students from an Experimental Archaeology course in the north of Britain, as they attempt to reconstruct the daily customs of the Iron Age. As the blog Archaeo Reader states, “The obvious archaeological aspect to the story is experimental archaeology--a branch devoted to participating in manufacturing techniques to better understand how past people lived“ Sylvie's abusive father is👇

I read this book in one day and it filled me with dread the whole time. My anxiety was through the roof! So much is packed into this short book. I did feel like it could have been fleshed out a bit more and the ending was a bit rushed. I will definitely read some more from this author.

This is another short book with a lot of layers. It's claustrophobic & menacing. It has a lot to say about domestic abuse, feminism, and nationalism while making a point that people don't seem to have changed all that much. There are certainly negatives: sometimes it feels too short but other times too long and it's a bit heavy-handed. I didn't like where it ended either. I REALLY wanted to see the consequences of several decisions.

Ghost Wall is an eerie book about a 17-year-old named Silvie, who is spending two weeks living like an Iron Age Briton in the wilderness of Northern England, accompanied by her history-obsessed and abusive father and her submissive mother, as well as the professor and students of an anthropology course. This book gave me some serious Midsommar vibes, but, thankfully, it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable to consume as that movie was. 4⭐️

Yesterday's #bookhaul from my local indie book store! Have you read any of these? I'm so excited to check them out. Been dying to read Ghost Wall and Go Tell It On the Mountain, the other two were whim purchases that were new to me (The Seed Keeper was so new it wasn't properly in the system yet!). #catsoflitsy #indiebooks #bookstore

I recently read Summerwater and thought it was spectacular, so I thought I‘d give this one a try. It‘s enjoyable but not quite as good. I feel like it wasn‘t quite fleshed out as much as it could have been and ended rather abruptly. I will certainly be searching for more reads from Sarah Moss.

@AmyG Thank you so much for this wonderful gift! 💖 I‘m looking forward to reading this book (it‘s going on my March TBR) and I really appreciate your thoughtfulness (and upside down and backwards card 😂)! The package arrived cut open, but I think everything was still in there? 🤔

"I looked up, saw Pete watching me watch her, and blushed, felt the sudden heat in my face like pee in pants."
Today in odd similes.

"I was starting to fight my breathing, could get air out but not in, as if my body was already full up, as if there was no space inside my ribs."

And another spooky suspense for October.

Currently reading 💚

This book puts me over the top for my #Goodreads reading goal!
Ghost Wall was not at all what I thought it was going to be. I expected a horror novel. This wasn‘t one; though the subject is horrible.
I‘m not sure how to rate it. It‘s just not for me. #unpopularopinion
The narration was really well done and was the reason I stayed with it.
#audiobook

“They bring her out.”

#FirstLineFridays

#Insomnia means starting a new audiobook.

Ghost Wall is a short sharp novella that packs a punch. I can‘t say I enjoyed it or some of it‘s characters but I appreciated the writing and story telling abilities of Sarah Moss. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Now I have gone back to the beginning to read one of Michael Connelly‘s first books, and I am gripped already.
I don‘t want to do anything else but read it..even talking to my hubby is a struggle😂😂😂

All the details about primitive living, the Iron Age were interesting and the surrounding nature, just in general descriptions were beautiful. Listening to this is were it's at, though some parts were hard to listen to and I was VERY angry.

A short novel about an experiential archeology class reenacting life in Iron Age Northumberland and the girl who's overbearing, abusive father drags her along. But the sexism & xenophobia at the heart of his desires to return to ancient times may ultimately destroy the experiment. A quick, interesting read. I especially enjoyed the audiobook since the characters accents are commented upon at times & the narrator does an excellent job of it.

An audiobook about a student reenactment of an iron age Northumbrian village

A short but haunting novella. My first Sarah Moss and wow can she write. Really glad I decided to read this one. I found myself thinking a lot about -My sister, the serial killer- while I was reading it, because of the common topics they explore at their core.

Short, fantastic read. Eerie, dread-filled, and one of the few books I‘ve read lately that really got in my head.

I ordered some books from some of my favorite indies. These came in today and I can‘t wait to read them! I also got sone hot sauce from Tijuana for Mother‘s Day!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Interesting #novella about a teenage girl who is taken on a trip to south England with her parents to live as prehistoric Britains lived. Took a little bit to get into but it picked up steam. Trigger warning for abuse. Read on #scribd

I was gripped instantly and finished this in one sitting. Granted, it was a short novel, but powerful. For the brevity of pages, the impact is immense and will linger for some time.

Loving this story so far!

Oh wow. Powerful and dark. A Brexit novel for sure. And a commentary on the violence that springs from male insecurity.

Will take me awhile to recover from the opening few pages. A definite dive into a novel shaped by Brexit.

1. Tagged book. On my TBR list since it came out and my book club is reading it for April. 2. I don‘t plan my books out for months like some. I have my book club lists for the year, then aspirations, but will divert time read something compelling that comes to my attention, or if there is a good group read happening on Goodreads or Litsy. @TheSpineView

Dark, powerful book.

This book may be short, but it packs a definite punch. There are so many underlining themes and messages in this story of a family whose father forces them to live as if they were in the Iron Age.

I'll be thinking and analyzing this one for a while.

#lmpbc arrived safely today @Libby1

Thanks so much for the gift card too - but you really shouldn't have!

Finally, finally, finally I have sent the #LMPBC books on, @jenniferw88 , which will eventually get to you, @jhod . You know from past clubs I‘m usually timely with sending things but anxiety has really gotten the better of me recently. ☹️

This is our new cat, Sir Maximus Longbottom - Max for short. He‘s the biggest cat you‘ve ever seen, weighing over 14 pounds. He‘s got super long legs, so we thought we‘d honour the lovely Neville Longbottom.

I‘m intrigued but wary. Starting this one now.

Enjoyable quick read.
A dark book, that highlights ignorance and cruelty and isolation...how those than can not (or are not allowed) to defend themselves fall victim to prejudice, violence and tyranny.
Links the past and the present and highlights youth raising up against oppression and enablement.

Disturbing, haunting & deeply powerful, Ghost Wall is the story of Silvie & her parents spending two weeks living like Iron Age Britons alongside a professor of “experiential archeology” & his students. What happens when a desire to experience authentically goes too far?

What really struck me about this novel was the criticism against idealizing the past. Given the state of the UK these days, more folks should read this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#NewYearWhoDis

4/5 ⭐ GHOST WALL was a quick, absorbing read. It was not quite what I expected and I was pleasantly surprised. It was dark and strange, and made me tense from the very beginning. Recommended! #libraryloot

I really enjoyed this cautionary tale of taking who you are and where you are to extremes. I loved the voice of teenage, Sylvie. So wise and conditioned to her life. She and her family go on an anthropological reenactment trip with a university professor and students. Lets just say it gets a little carried away! Short but packed full!

This came up a lot early last year and I flagged it as a book I really wanted to read. Finally picked it up a few days ago.

Well, it‘s really good. Reads like a short story, has an oppressive feel, kind of like The Handmaid‘s Tale, but it has humor too. Contemporary life interfering with a controlling abusive parent. And prehistory and a little nature. And an open ending of the type that, well I would say expands it. Enjoyed it. Recommended.

4 ⭐

My first book for 2020 is a #newyearwhodis recommendation from @TheLibrarian and it did not disappoint. Although parts of it were hard to get through (TWs for animal cruelty, family violence, child abuse, etc), it's a powerful story. I especially liked the narration, and while the style's unusual, it worked well here.

Thanks for helping me start the new year in the best way, Carrie and @monalyisha

(Photo featuring my best girl, Minnie 💚)

2019 was another outstanding reading year for me! I did not reach my goal of 100 books, but I discovered amazing authors in Max Porter, N.K. Jemisin, Sally Rooney, Akwaeke Emezi, Yoko Tawada, and Maggie O‘Farrell. 2019Top reads:
Normal People: Sally Rooney
Lanny: Max Porter
The Broken Earth Trilogy: N. K. Jamisin
The Plotters:Un-Su Kim
Spring: Ali Smith
Lost Children Archive: Valeria Luiselli
The Beekeeper of Aleppo: Christy Lefteri

Leaving London. 😕 Planning to read this on the flight, which might make it my last book this decade (my other ongoing books will be ongoing a while)

Trip was mixed. Had a good time with my son, saw wonderful stuff, fell in love with London. My daughter got two good days, and 5 sick ones - four entirely in bed and she, of course, just wants to be home. (which is really far away). 😢

Faves of 2019 #adventrecommends Dec 19

Bleak and unsettling and filled with a persistent sense of dread, this book taps into the undercurrent of darkness in human history as well as its political and social present. The atmosphere of this book still makes me tense when I think about it.

@emilyrose_x

Trying to clear the backlog for #NetGalleyNovember.

This was... disturbing!

Silvie accompanies her parents on an experimental archaeology field trip. With her abusive father, it was never going to be an easy week, but things become progressively darker.

I‘ve loved several of Sarah Moss‘s longer novels so approached this with high expectations. Although initially unsure, I was drawn in and it will haunt me for a long while.

I thought the story was excellent... but something about the writing of it left me feeling cold. #unpopularopinion. Maybe I need to try another by Sarah Moss...

#ghosttown Ghost Wall? Close enough. Picked this up at the recent book sale and I love the cover 😍
#movember

#ghosttown #movember
Some ghosts on my kindle 😁

#MOvember #GhostTown That‘s my copy of Ghost Wall on the right from the library ... still not read .... way overdue 😬😳... I may not make a good library member

1. I read a few for the #Scarathlon that was going on, but the most disconcertingly scary was the tagged book Ghost Wall. If you like the scares of reads like The Lottery or Lord of the Flies where things slowly shift from normal to terrifying, all while being a bit too easy to imagine a group of humans going along with dark ideas...it‘s the read for you.

2. Probably my favorite was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

#TwoForTuesday