Swan River Press
"There hadn’t been monks at the abbey since 1600. Not living ones, that is."
When the puckish spirit of a monk begins haunting the storied village of Pulborough, known for its ancient abbey, Maud Garner, manager of the Coach and Horses Inn, arranges for the famous ghost hunter, Walter Prince, to come investigate. And from there, things spiral out of control.
I read 'The Vorrh' (UK / US) by Brian Catling about a year or so ago after reading a host of glowing reviews by folk I admire but whilst I could see why they'd like it I personally found it to be a little bit smug and a tad aimless. It was though very nicely written and so I decided, when I saw that Swan River were releasing a new work by him, to give him another go.
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) by Brian Catling about a year or so ago after reading a host of glowing reviews by folk I admire but whilst I could see why they'd like it I personally found it to be a little bit smug and a tad aimless. It was though very nicely written and so I decided, when I saw that Swan River were releasing a new work by him, to give him another go.Munky is the story of the arrival of a ghostly monk into the abbey at Pulborough and the impact his arrival has on the congregation and the town.
Right from the off I found myself reminded of Max Porter's excellent 'Lanny', not in plot or style but in the more nebulous realm of 'feel'. I can't put my finger on why really but they just felt like they shared a reality.
The narrative of 'Munky' is loose to say the least. We are provided with snapshots of a larger story, glimpses into the reactions and the behaviours and we are left to fill in the blanks ourselves in a way that is simultaneously irritating and satisfying.
It's a super fast read - again like 'Lanny' - what I think of as a single sitter. It's like watching one of those wonderful little one off supernatural TV plays they were so good at making in the 70s like 'The Stone Tape' or 'Murrain' (to name two by Nigel Kneale) and as much as I enjoyed it I think I'll get even more out of it on repeat readings.
Buy it here UK / US
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I've had The Vorrh on my TBR mountain for ages now, and jumped at the chance to sample this author in a more managable size from SRP. I loved it, so far it's one of my favourite books of 2020, not that I read tons of new books. I love to make a film of it.
ReplyDeleteI have to be honest that I enjoyed Munky a hell of a lot more than i did The Vorrh which I thought just kinda burbled about throwing around ideas without really knowing what to do with any of them.
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