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Helm
Helm | Sarah Hall
8 posts | 3 read | 4 to read
"Sarah Hall's writing has conquered the body and the soul and now it conquers the wind itself. She gets better with every word she writes."-Daisy Johnson, author of Sisters and The HotelFrom the twice-Booker-nominated writer of Burntcoat, a bold and astonishing literary masterpiece that explores faith, connection, and our relationship to the natural world.Helm is a ferocious, mischievous wind -- a subject of folklore and awe, part-elemental god, part-aerial demon blasting through the sublime landscape of Northern England since the dawn of time.Through the stories of those who've obsessed over Helm, an extraordinary history is formed: the Neolithic tribe who tried to placate Helm, the Dark Age wizard priest who wanted to banish Helm, the Victorian steam engineer who attempted to capture Helm -- and the farmer's daughter who fiercely loved Helm. But now Dr. Selima Sutar, surrounded by infinite clouds and measuring instruments in her observation hut, fears human pollution is killing Helm.Rich, wild, and vital, Helm is the story of a singular life force, and of the relationship between nature and people, neither of whom can weather life without the other.
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AmandaBlaze
Helm | Sarah Hall
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I enjoyed Helm a lot. I liked the structure of interwoven of separate stories. They gave a fuller description of the wind Helm than if it would have been a single narrative. I found some of the stories to be pretty funny. There was also the climate angle. How our refusal to counter climate change is not sustainable for winds like Helm, or living things.
4 stars.

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AmandaBlaze
Helm | Sarah Hall
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Helm had all five of November's #WickedWords.
@AsYouWish

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charl08
Helm | Sarah Hall
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Forgot to take a picture of the lovely green endpapers, so here is the cover again...

I'm a fan of SH, including her short stories, so no surprise that I loved this novel, stories across time linked by the one named wind in the UK. From climate change scientists measuring plastics now, back to early man's first stone monuments, "Helm" is watching...

38 likes1 stack add
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charl08
Helm | Sarah Hall
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There is the north, she thinks, where levelling-up means Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, and stops with the BBC effect. And then there's the other north.

Bookwomble I want to read this, but feel I need to wait for the paperback. Look forward to reading your review 😊 1mo
charl08 @Bookwomble I am lucky to have a great library system that pre-ordered multiple copies... 1mo
JillR “Levelling up” and “Northern Powerhouse” fade into the distance as I await yet another late running Transpennine train into Manchester this morning 😆. In the meantime, very much looking forward to reading this. 1mo
charl08 @JillR Hope you made it ok. I've been there. Helm is worth the wait! Futilely: *shakes fist at people responsible for underfunding public transport* 1mo
36 likes4 comments
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charl08
Helm | Sarah Hall
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We are three-quarters through October & a magnificent gilding of leaves has occurred across Eden, as if illuminators had been working in the branches...

The geese are away, so tidy in their formations overhead - a mournful desertion.

Sparklemn Lovely 1mo
40 likes1 comment
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charl08
Helm | Sarah Hall
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Sit to the right of the carriage, he was advised by the conductor: less scenic, but better for viewing Batty Moss and the brooding uplands Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen. The small, ingathered towns pass by, ancient ruined castles with ginger cattle grazing around their mounds, whitewashed village churches.

Article discussing the geography: https://www.faber.co.uk/journal/members-map-sarah-hall-on-places-of-significance...

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charl08
Helm | Sarah Hall
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Visiting pooch is unimpressed by any deviation from a strict schedule of her game, sorry Sarah Hall.

squirrelbrain How dare you try to read a book at playtime?! 1mo
Tamra Reading is boring 🐶 1mo
42 likes1 stack add2 comments
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charl08
Helm | Sarah Hall
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