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Touched
A chilling, deeply creepy Hammer novella by Joanna Briscoe, author of the acclaimed, bestselling novel, Sleep With Me.
Rowena Crale and her family have moved from London.
They now live in a small English village in a cottage which seems to be resisting all attempts at renovation.
Walls ooze damp, stains come through layers of wallpaper, celings sag.
And strange noises - voices - emanate from empty rooms.
As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife and a good mother to her young children, her life starts to disintegrate.
And then, one by one, her daughters go missing ...
Rowena Crale and her family have moved from London.
They now live in a small English village in a cottage which seems to be resisting all attempts at renovation.
Walls ooze damp, stains come through layers of wallpaper, celings sag.
And strange noises - voices - emanate from empty rooms.
As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife and a good mother to her young children, her life starts to disintegrate.
And then, one by one, her daughters go missing ...
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 19, 2014
4 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Briscoe
14 books28 followersJoanna Briscoe is the author of two novels, Mothers and Other Lovers, which won the Betty Trask Award; and Skin, which was runner-up for the Encore Award. Her short stories have featured in several anthologies. She was a columnist for the Independent and the Guardian and writes regularly for all the major newspapers and magazines. Joanna Briscoe lives in London with her family.
Sleep With Me, was published by Bloomsbury in July 2005. A new tv-tie in edition, published in 2009, accompanies the TV series adapted by Andrew Davies, starring Adrian Lester and Jodhi May.
You is the unnerving and exceptional new novel from Joanna Briscoe, published by Bloomsbury in July 2011. It is a stunning story of sex, memory and family lies.
Watch the new book trailer for You by Joanna Briscoe
Sleep With Me, was published by Bloomsbury in July 2005. A new tv-tie in edition, published in 2009, accompanies the TV series adapted by Andrew Davies, starring Adrian Lester and Jodhi May.
You is the unnerving and exceptional new novel from Joanna Briscoe, published by Bloomsbury in July 2011. It is a stunning story of sex, memory and family lies.
Watch the new book trailer for You by Joanna Briscoe
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 28, 2016
I received a copy of this novella thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.
What a perfect read on a dim rainy afternoon in England. This chilling and creepy novella by Joanna Briscoe created just the right sense of atmosphere and suspense that I was hoping for as a reader.
Rowena Crane, her husband and her large family have moved from London to a small, idyllic country village, they are renovating two houses into one and the house strangely seems to be resisting the changes in the most unusual of ways.
There is the unexplained damp and wet on the walls, the floors that get wet with no explanation, the peeling wallpaper that has just been applied, strange noises, weird sounds, awful smells, the smells of the past, things that seem to defy all logic.
Rowena has many children, including Evangeline, her third child who is often overlooked being a bit of a strange child, but was such a very cleverly written character. In this novella, Evangeline is different from the other children, and she draws you in to her strange little world. By far my favourite character in this novella.
But something strange is going on when one by one Rowena's daughters start to go missing, despite police efforts, they are not to be found, but there are more things that go bump in the night don't you fear!
I felt the ghostly tension through the entire read, I was so eager to find out the outcome for all the strange goings on in the house and with the family. The ending certainly had some unexpected outcomes.
A really good read, chilling, full of tension, ghostly suggestions, the weird and the wonderful. I really liked this a lot.
What a perfect read on a dim rainy afternoon in England. This chilling and creepy novella by Joanna Briscoe created just the right sense of atmosphere and suspense that I was hoping for as a reader.
Rowena Crane, her husband and her large family have moved from London to a small, idyllic country village, they are renovating two houses into one and the house strangely seems to be resisting the changes in the most unusual of ways.
There is the unexplained damp and wet on the walls, the floors that get wet with no explanation, the peeling wallpaper that has just been applied, strange noises, weird sounds, awful smells, the smells of the past, things that seem to defy all logic.
Rowena has many children, including Evangeline, her third child who is often overlooked being a bit of a strange child, but was such a very cleverly written character. In this novella, Evangeline is different from the other children, and she draws you in to her strange little world. By far my favourite character in this novella.
But something strange is going on when one by one Rowena's daughters start to go missing, despite police efforts, they are not to be found, but there are more things that go bump in the night don't you fear!
I felt the ghostly tension through the entire read, I was so eager to find out the outcome for all the strange goings on in the house and with the family. The ending certainly had some unexpected outcomes.
A really good read, chilling, full of tension, ghostly suggestions, the weird and the wonderful. I really liked this a lot.
May 12, 2016
A strange book, this. It's similar to some of the other novellas in the Hammer series in that, while it does have ghosts, the truly frightening parts have more to do with the way people treat one another.
A married couple, Douglas and Rowena Crale, arrive in a small, seemingly idyllic village with their five children, ready to move into a pair of cottages previously owned by Douglas's elderly mother. One of their daughters, Evangeline, is eccentric and disturbed, described by the locals as 'touched', and takes to wandering the village and countryside, chattering to an imaginary friend and rarely seen by her parents. Another daughter, Jennifer, is uncommonly beautiful, admired - and coveted - by everyone who meets her. Meanwhile, Rowena is tempted into an affair with a dashing neighbour, an escape from the weird, disquieting atmosphere of the cottages, which seem to be resisting the family's attempts to modify them.
I didn't really feel as if there was any climactic moment in this story, but perhaps that's because my expectations were focused on the wrong thing. Certainly, there's something odd about the houses: there's even a sealed-up room in the attic and an inexplicable face-at-the-window moment. But Rowena and Gregory's relationship is the thing that engages the emotions the most (it made me want to get married just so I can have an affair), and the two actions that occur towards the end - - are the real horrors. The inclusion of an epilogue of sorts dims the drama of these events somewhat, but I was relieved to learn that .
There is a lot of ambiguity here, and it can make the book feel quite frustrating: various plot points don't seem to go anywhere. There isn't even a conclusive answer as to whether the person doing the 'haunting' is actually dead, or what Eva was doing in that room when she claimed to be caring for her grandmother (especially curious given that it seems she is not actually mad). Ultimately, it's all a bit too vague to be a great read, but there are enough points of interest to make it intriguing and mildly scary.
A married couple, Douglas and Rowena Crale, arrive in a small, seemingly idyllic village with their five children, ready to move into a pair of cottages previously owned by Douglas's elderly mother. One of their daughters, Evangeline, is eccentric and disturbed, described by the locals as 'touched', and takes to wandering the village and countryside, chattering to an imaginary friend and rarely seen by her parents. Another daughter, Jennifer, is uncommonly beautiful, admired - and coveted - by everyone who meets her. Meanwhile, Rowena is tempted into an affair with a dashing neighbour, an escape from the weird, disquieting atmosphere of the cottages, which seem to be resisting the family's attempts to modify them.
I didn't really feel as if there was any climactic moment in this story, but perhaps that's because my expectations were focused on the wrong thing. Certainly, there's something odd about the houses: there's even a sealed-up room in the attic and an inexplicable face-at-the-window moment. But Rowena and Gregory's relationship is the thing that engages the emotions the most (it made me want to get married just so I can have an affair), and the two actions that occur towards the end - - are the real horrors. The inclusion of an epilogue of sorts dims the drama of these events somewhat, but I was relieved to learn that .
There is a lot of ambiguity here, and it can make the book feel quite frustrating: various plot points don't seem to go anywhere. There isn't even a conclusive answer as to whether the person doing the 'haunting' is actually dead, or what Eva was doing in that room when she claimed to be caring for her grandmother (especially curious given that it seems she is not actually mad). Ultimately, it's all a bit too vague to be a great read, but there are enough points of interest to make it intriguing and mildly scary.
July 3, 2014
Available today!
A copy was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review
Touched is both gripping and hypnotic. It compels the reader to turn each page until the final word has whispered by.
Rowena's mother is long gone and leaves behind her cottage in a quaint English town. The Crales decide to knock the walls between the two cottages to make a larger family home. From the start the we are aware of a sense of foreboding within the house. It's as if the walls themselves resent their presence. Mold oozes from the shadows and the damp seems to reach to the very bones of the family.
The children entertain themselves away from the shadows lurking within the house. They seem drawn to the Pollards - the typical older friendly neighbors who always offer a welcoming cup of tea and slice of cake. Eva feels they are the only ones who understand her connection to her late grandmother. They know that she isn't just strange or crazy. She knows she is the favorite. Even though it is Jennifer whom they fawn over and Jennifer who's face is immortalized in canvas .....
There are many theme's in touched including those of betrayal love and guilt. Rowena seems happy for Eva to make an appearance every now and then but panics when Jennifer suddenly disappears.
Her husband sees her as nothing more than an object that exists to tend to his whims in the kitchen and in the bedroom. It's no surprise that she searches for passion elsewhere.
Each member of the family learns to lie and to suppress any guilt associated with those lies which is what ultimately leads to their downfall.
Shifting shadows and an other worldly presence can make the reader feel like paranormal activity is to blame for this families woes but the truth is far more real...and much more disturbing.
Touched is paced extremely well, never leaving the reader feeling bored. My eye was constantly tempted to jump across the page to see what was awaiting me.
The writing is reminiscent of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and This House is Haunted by John Boyne. It's an incredibly addictive and satisfying read.
Highly recommended !
- See more at: http://www.gobookyourself.info/2014/0...
A copy was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review
Touched is both gripping and hypnotic. It compels the reader to turn each page until the final word has whispered by.
Rowena's mother is long gone and leaves behind her cottage in a quaint English town. The Crales decide to knock the walls between the two cottages to make a larger family home. From the start the we are aware of a sense of foreboding within the house. It's as if the walls themselves resent their presence. Mold oozes from the shadows and the damp seems to reach to the very bones of the family.
The children entertain themselves away from the shadows lurking within the house. They seem drawn to the Pollards - the typical older friendly neighbors who always offer a welcoming cup of tea and slice of cake. Eva feels they are the only ones who understand her connection to her late grandmother. They know that she isn't just strange or crazy. She knows she is the favorite. Even though it is Jennifer whom they fawn over and Jennifer who's face is immortalized in canvas .....
There are many theme's in touched including those of betrayal love and guilt. Rowena seems happy for Eva to make an appearance every now and then but panics when Jennifer suddenly disappears.
Her husband sees her as nothing more than an object that exists to tend to his whims in the kitchen and in the bedroom. It's no surprise that she searches for passion elsewhere.
Each member of the family learns to lie and to suppress any guilt associated with those lies which is what ultimately leads to their downfall.
Shifting shadows and an other worldly presence can make the reader feel like paranormal activity is to blame for this families woes but the truth is far more real...and much more disturbing.
Touched is paced extremely well, never leaving the reader feeling bored. My eye was constantly tempted to jump across the page to see what was awaiting me.
The writing is reminiscent of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and This House is Haunted by John Boyne. It's an incredibly addictive and satisfying read.
Highly recommended !
- See more at: http://www.gobookyourself.info/2014/0...
August 3, 2014
Possible minor spoilers. Maybe.
Nooooope. And to expand a little why so:
Flat, cut-out-of-cardboard boring characters. I don't need to like the people in a book but I do need them to be something else besides a name and one defining trait. Most of the poor folks in this book only got the name. Rowena has five kids; the pretty One, the sort of weird one, pretty one's twin, the boy and the baby. There's her hubby Whatshisface, the hunky neighbor Whoareyouagain and the perfectly-okay-sure-let-them-watch-the-kids-sure-nothings-gonna-happen Mr & Mrs Probablymurderers, also from the neighborhood.
Briscoe's style of writing is really jumpy and hard (for me, at least) to follow. The dialogue between folks is most of the time just weird and sort of forced. Wish I could be bothered to actually fetch the book from the living room and pick an example...meh. The story's really hard to grasp, the timeline feels a bit wonky and there's too many unanswered questions at the end. Everything just happens; feels like there isn't an actual reason for anything. Ugh.
One more tiny thing: on the back cover it says Rowena is "--trying to be a dutiful wife to her husband and a good mother to her five small children--". A good mother? Really? You can hardly tell when one of your kids is gone for days, you have a favorite based on how pretty she is, you actually have to count the buggers at times and you think it's absolutely goddamn dandy that your daughters are spending their days with your contractor (a man you basically don't know at all), as long as you can keep bonking the lusty neighbor in peace.
Also, horror? Thriller? Suspense? No. This isn't any of them. No no no. If you liked this book, more power to you. Just soooo not my cup of tea.
Nooooope. And to expand a little why so:
Flat, cut-out-of-cardboard boring characters. I don't need to like the people in a book but I do need them to be something else besides a name and one defining trait. Most of the poor folks in this book only got the name. Rowena has five kids; the pretty One, the sort of weird one, pretty one's twin, the boy and the baby. There's her hubby Whatshisface, the hunky neighbor Whoareyouagain and the perfectly-okay-sure-let-them-watch-the-kids-sure-nothings-gonna-happen Mr & Mrs Probablymurderers, also from the neighborhood.
Briscoe's style of writing is really jumpy and hard (for me, at least) to follow. The dialogue between folks is most of the time just weird and sort of forced. Wish I could be bothered to actually fetch the book from the living room and pick an example...meh. The story's really hard to grasp, the timeline feels a bit wonky and there's too many unanswered questions at the end. Everything just happens; feels like there isn't an actual reason for anything. Ugh.
One more tiny thing: on the back cover it says Rowena is "--trying to be a dutiful wife to her husband and a good mother to her five small children--". A good mother? Really? You can hardly tell when one of your kids is gone for days, you have a favorite based on how pretty she is, you actually have to count the buggers at times and you think it's absolutely goddamn dandy that your daughters are spending their days with your contractor (a man you basically don't know at all), as long as you can keep bonking the lusty neighbor in peace.
Also, horror? Thriller? Suspense? No. This isn't any of them. No no no. If you liked this book, more power to you. Just soooo not my cup of tea.
September 8, 2014
I think this is what I would call a 'Marmite book' You either love it, or hate it. It either captures your interest and you need to read more and more until you get to the end to see what's what, or you moan all the way through.
I love Marmite :) so this was a great chilling book for me.
Because I don't read creepy books much, maybe this was as much as I could take without hiding behind the sofa. Things that go bump in the night and I'm half a mile away I can tell you!!!
Anyway, the bit where one by one her children go missing really upped the interest for me, I was then so gripped into it that I had to sit and finish it. Find out what on earth was happening.
My only downfall [if it really is one] was I got a little bit bored of the going over and over of the details of the house. OK it mattered, but just a little bit OTT for me.
On the whole, I liked this book. It was fantastic for me to read something different on a rainy afternoon like this one.
I'd like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone via Net Galley for allowing me to read and give my opinion on this book.
I love Marmite :) so this was a great chilling book for me.
Because I don't read creepy books much, maybe this was as much as I could take without hiding behind the sofa. Things that go bump in the night and I'm half a mile away I can tell you!!!
Anyway, the bit where one by one her children go missing really upped the interest for me, I was then so gripped into it that I had to sit and finish it. Find out what on earth was happening.
My only downfall [if it really is one] was I got a little bit bored of the going over and over of the details of the house. OK it mattered, but just a little bit OTT for me.
On the whole, I liked this book. It was fantastic for me to read something different on a rainy afternoon like this one.
I'd like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone via Net Galley for allowing me to read and give my opinion on this book.
August 28, 2022
This short novel aims for psychological horror and tension to fuel it's furnace, but the story was too often interrupted by exploration of the mother's affair and her basic disregard for her family. I quite enjoyed parts of the psychological build up, but I grew sorely tired of reading how Rowena Crale could not cope with her children, the renovation, and life in general. By the way this was book was written, I got the feeling Rowena felt this way before the family moved to their new home. Rowena is not a character I could engage with, nor empathise with.
The best part of this story is Evangeline. This character is so well created. She feels real and she feels like character that leaps from the page. I found that Evangeline drove this story more that Rowena. There was a magical impish quality about her, she was carefree but also strongly emotive, and this combination made her feel lifelike.
The conclusion did not delight me. It seemed a bit standard for this type of story, and I felt there was not enough lead up to warrant the ending we were given. I'm assuming it was an ending based on revenge.
If not for the distractions in this story, that took the focus away from the psychological tension, I feel this would have been a far better book. I can only base my rating on the book in it's entirety, so it's two stars from me.
The best part of this story is Evangeline. This character is so well created. She feels real and she feels like character that leaps from the page. I found that Evangeline drove this story more that Rowena. There was a magical impish quality about her, she was carefree but also strongly emotive, and this combination made her feel lifelike.
The conclusion did not delight me. It seemed a bit standard for this type of story, and I felt there was not enough lead up to warrant the ending we were given. I'm assuming it was an ending based on revenge.
If not for the distractions in this story, that took the focus away from the psychological tension, I feel this would have been a far better book. I can only base my rating on the book in it's entirety, so it's two stars from me.
March 30, 2016
When I first heard that Joanna Briscoe, a writer I associate more with literary fiction, had written a Hammer horror novel, I was slightly taken aback. But when you stop to think about some of the themes of her earlier works, such as the haunting nature of love and motherhood, or the strangely mutual relationship we have with the houses and rooms we inhabit (and which, in turn, end up inhabiting us), and the paralysing nature of guilt, the whole thing makes a lot of sense. For what are these preoccupations if not driving gothic forces?
Touched is nice and creepy, but in a deft and nuanced way. The prose is elegant, the language exquisite. We’re in Henry James territory here – never quite sure whether something horrendous is being done to the children, or whether the children are the ones doing something horrendous. Indeed, a big part of why this all works so beautifully is the way Briscoe wields our collective memories of 1960s Britain as a double-edged sword. By choosing to set the novel in a time when children still enjoyed the right to roam wild in the long vacs, yet before women/mothers enjoyed the absolute right to be taken at their word when they said a child was missing, Briscoe ingeniously harnesses the period to deliver an is-she-or-isn’t-she plot about a missing daughter (or two), while at the same time continually wrong-footing the reader by alternating moments of soft-focus nostalgia with more haunting aspects of our shared cultural history. (I particularly loved the image which stays with Rowena from the Kennedy assassination.)
An inherent tension in novels which so much as hint at anything supernatural at work is that there comes a point when the author has to pony up and tell the reader whether it’s real or imagined. No matter which way they jump, they risk crushing the expectations of readers whose hearts were in the other camp. Of course, some writers prefer to just sneak off the pitch and leave the reader to fend for herself. My God how I hate it when this happens. I loathe spoilers, so all I can say is that far from shying away from this problem, Briscoe clearly revelled in it. Without warning she was dragging me by the roots of my hair and hurtling me into a solution so darkly clever and unexpected that I defy you to read Touched and feel anything but blind admiration.
Novels which can deliver an ending which is both truly horrifying and yet hugely satisfying at the same time are all too rare. In this case, I was reminded of that trick where the magician rips the cloth off an elaborately laid table and that split second where you’re holding your breath, bracing for the sound of breaking glass. In a masterly stroke of literary conjuring, it only took Briscoe a handful of words to rip the veil away. Not a single plate or glass was disturbed, but I was thrown into a completely different vantage point. Suddenly, it all made perfect sense. Then, it hit me. It actually had the whole time. It’s just that, hopeless romantic that I am, I chose to only see what I wanted to see.
If I could, I’d give Touched five stars for everything up until the moment I’m desperately trying not to give anything away about, and then another five for everything that comes next – including a fascinating ‘afterword’ about how she came to write the book. (Don’t even think about looking at this until the end.)
Overall, while Touched represents something of a departure (or, is it an evolution?) in form, it nevertheless dovetails nicely with her earlier titles Sleep With Me and You. What I always love about Briscoe’s uncanny and unsettling worlds is that not just actions, but feelings, always carry consequences. In the case of Touched, anyone and everyone who is still standing will go on being haunted by the things which have always haunted them. Because this is how hauntings - whether they are caused by unearthly presences, or are simply manifestations of anger, guilt, jealousy and fear, or more poignantly, of lust and love – actually work.
Oh – and, just in case this helps tempt you – it is technically a novella, and so ideal for rattling through in one sitting.
July 20, 2014
This review was originally posted on Between My Lines
This is a book where you can feel free to judge it by its cover. The cover is deliciously creepy and what’s inside is equally haunting and spooky. And even better the writing is delicious too and if this is a sample of what Joanne Briscoe can deliver, then I want more.
The First Line of Touched:
My Thoughts on Touched:
First off this is a novella which is not my favourite format. But it’s not a short novella, it is actually 256 pages and that is more than sufficient for this well developed plot to play out. Any longer and it might have felt dragged out but the length and the pace of the book were perfect to maintain the suspense and intrigue.
As soon as I read the synopsis, I was hooked. Why were the children disappearing? This is one of the books where you need to clear the decks and read over one or two sittings as it will draw you in and you won’t want to stop until you have uncovered all its creepy secrets. I loved that in this book what you were reading about was chilling but even more chilling was the direction your imagination took you in.
The story is subtle but the writing is so descriptive and the prose is so lyrical that I was living in a ghostly reality while I was reading. And the writing made my imagination drift down foggy paths where anything seemed possible. Sometimes my matter of fact personality makes it difficult for me to fully buy into supernatural plots but here I had no difficulty at all and I fully attribute that to the atmospheric writing.
The characters are interesting and unique. I did find it hard initially to empathise fully with Rowena; she seemed like such a poor mother. She was unconcerned initially when Eva when missing as it made her life easier without her around and also was always happy to pass the baby on to her eldest children to look after. But the more you read on, the more you realise why she is the way she is. And you see that she really does care about her little family and I ended up caring about her.
Rowena’s story is a very human one and combines nicely with the paranormal elements. And her unexpected choices at times added interest and fullness to her character. Not always in a likable way but in a way that makes her an intriguing character to analyse. As for her husband...I’d love to smack him one! The children of whom we only get short glimpses of are quite unique and I’d like to have known more about them, especially offbeat Eva who is marching to her own drum.
And finally the little twist at the end again threw me. I wasn’t expecting that and it made me feel quite emotional. And that isn’t something I’d expect from a ghost story.
Overall Touched has amazing prose that creates a creepy atmosphere and induces some spine-chilling moments. At the same time, it’s not over scary (always a good point when for wimps like me!).
Who should read Touched?
If you are looking for an eerie read, with lyrical prose and lots of disturbing appearances and disappearances, then I’d highly recommend this one to you.
Thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Bookish Chat : Do you like ghost stories? Does this sound like something that would interest you? Or share with me what your favourite ghost story is.
This is a book where you can feel free to judge it by its cover. The cover is deliciously creepy and what’s inside is equally haunting and spooky. And even better the writing is delicious too and if this is a sample of what Joanne Briscoe can deliver, then I want more.
The First Line of Touched:
"I have seen Pollard again."
My Thoughts on Touched:
First off this is a novella which is not my favourite format. But it’s not a short novella, it is actually 256 pages and that is more than sufficient for this well developed plot to play out. Any longer and it might have felt dragged out but the length and the pace of the book were perfect to maintain the suspense and intrigue.
As soon as I read the synopsis, I was hooked. Why were the children disappearing? This is one of the books where you need to clear the decks and read over one or two sittings as it will draw you in and you won’t want to stop until you have uncovered all its creepy secrets. I loved that in this book what you were reading about was chilling but even more chilling was the direction your imagination took you in.
The story is subtle but the writing is so descriptive and the prose is so lyrical that I was living in a ghostly reality while I was reading. And the writing made my imagination drift down foggy paths where anything seemed possible. Sometimes my matter of fact personality makes it difficult for me to fully buy into supernatural plots but here I had no difficulty at all and I fully attribute that to the atmospheric writing.
The characters are interesting and unique. I did find it hard initially to empathise fully with Rowena; she seemed like such a poor mother. She was unconcerned initially when Eva when missing as it made her life easier without her around and also was always happy to pass the baby on to her eldest children to look after. But the more you read on, the more you realise why she is the way she is. And you see that she really does care about her little family and I ended up caring about her.
Rowena’s story is a very human one and combines nicely with the paranormal elements. And her unexpected choices at times added interest and fullness to her character. Not always in a likable way but in a way that makes her an intriguing character to analyse. As for her husband...I’d love to smack him one! The children of whom we only get short glimpses of are quite unique and I’d like to have known more about them, especially offbeat Eva who is marching to her own drum.
And finally the little twist at the end again threw me. I wasn’t expecting that and it made me feel quite emotional. And that isn’t something I’d expect from a ghost story.
Overall Touched has amazing prose that creates a creepy atmosphere and induces some spine-chilling moments. At the same time, it’s not over scary (always a good point when for wimps like me!).
Who should read Touched?
If you are looking for an eerie read, with lyrical prose and lots of disturbing appearances and disappearances, then I’d highly recommend this one to you.
Thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Bookish Chat : Do you like ghost stories? Does this sound like something that would interest you? Or share with me what your favourite ghost story is.
February 28, 2015
Well, just don't. That would be my advice to Rowena in this book: or to that matter to the protagonists of The Supernatural Enhancements or The Unquiet House. There seems to be a crop of such stories at present, and it gives one an insight into the difficulties authors face, taking an idea like this and making it fresh - something Briscoe achieves with aplomb - partly, I think, because she sets her story in a chocolate box, Home Counties English village rather than a withered moorland or bleak coast.
Rowena and her husband have come to live in the village of Crowsley Beck, with their five children. Rowena is something of a frustrated 1960s housewife, her husband largely absent (vaguely "at work": we never learn what his work is - or indeed, if he really is there all the time he's supposed to be: some clues suggest otherwise) except when he is a nuisance. The children are varied and, in one case - the unconventional Evangeline - allegedly "odd": another telling period detail concerns Rowena and Douglas's plans to pack her off to a special school, when by modern standards she seems a pretty normal kid.
Part of the house they move to used to be Douglas's mother's. It's soon clear that the way she was cleared out was a bit... murky.., as was her subsequent fate, which sets up one of the spooky strands in this story. That strand unfolds in a fairly conventional manner, as the house itself - or something in it - resists all attempts to remake it in a modern style (knocking through walls, creating a "breakfast nook"). Leaks, stains and mould ensue, together with a presence that is half seen, half implied through much of the book.
Alongside this, there is also human drama as Rowena is both attracted and repelled by a handsome neighbour, and a number of appearances and disappearances among the children. Adding to the dream-like nature of the middle part of the book, Rowena and Douglas seem to just lose track of their children at times. It's almost as if, with so many, they're not sure just who is missing and whether those might simply be camping out in the dreaming summer countryside - or whether something bad has eally happened? It's all very opaque and pleasingly mysterious, building to a sense that the family is threatened, is dissolving, both internally and externally.
I think the story might actually have stopped there. Instead, though, Briscoe does - and rather abruptly - provide clarity on pretty much everything that happened. I'm not sure that was really needed, and it's the only thing that, in my view, detracts from the book.
A good summer read - perhaps, a later summer read, as the nights begin to darken - full of well drawn characters. I wish there were more like this.
Rowena and her husband have come to live in the village of Crowsley Beck, with their five children. Rowena is something of a frustrated 1960s housewife, her husband largely absent (vaguely "at work": we never learn what his work is - or indeed, if he really is there all the time he's supposed to be: some clues suggest otherwise) except when he is a nuisance. The children are varied and, in one case - the unconventional Evangeline - allegedly "odd": another telling period detail concerns Rowena and Douglas's plans to pack her off to a special school, when by modern standards she seems a pretty normal kid.
Part of the house they move to used to be Douglas's mother's. It's soon clear that the way she was cleared out was a bit... murky.., as was her subsequent fate, which sets up one of the spooky strands in this story. That strand unfolds in a fairly conventional manner, as the house itself - or something in it - resists all attempts to remake it in a modern style (knocking through walls, creating a "breakfast nook"). Leaks, stains and mould ensue, together with a presence that is half seen, half implied through much of the book.
Alongside this, there is also human drama as Rowena is both attracted and repelled by a handsome neighbour, and a number of appearances and disappearances among the children. Adding to the dream-like nature of the middle part of the book, Rowena and Douglas seem to just lose track of their children at times. It's almost as if, with so many, they're not sure just who is missing and whether those might simply be camping out in the dreaming summer countryside - or whether something bad has eally happened? It's all very opaque and pleasingly mysterious, building to a sense that the family is threatened, is dissolving, both internally and externally.
I think the story might actually have stopped there. Instead, though, Briscoe does - and rather abruptly - provide clarity on pretty much everything that happened. I'm not sure that was really needed, and it's the only thing that, in my view, detracts from the book.
A good summer read - perhaps, a later summer read, as the nights begin to darken - full of well drawn characters. I wish there were more like this.
October 28, 2016
I suspect this Hammer commissioned novella will be liked or disliked, with little mid-ground. I took it on as part of my much anticipated Halloween reading and found it tremendous.
I further suspect Briscoe is strongly influenced by Shirley Jackson, this book has very much the same sniff to it as the superb We Have Always Lived In The Castle.
After the death of the grandmother who lived next door a family renovate to make the two houses one. In this hot summer in a Hertfordshire village Rowena passes the days with her 5 young children while her husband, Douglas works in London city. Her daughter Eva is different to the other children, slightly 'touched' as the neighbours say. She dresses in her dead grandmothers Victorian clothes and is plain, whereas her sister Jennifer is so beautiful that she is a child actress.
There is that (appealing) air of madness throughout, but it is an innocent summer of madness. But who is losing their marbles? Is it indeed Eva, Bob (the young brother) with his imaginary friend Freddie perhaps, Rowena herself, or the strange character of Pollard the builder in charge of the renovations.
The ages of the children and the time that the book is set become evident through snippets strewn cleverly around the story. These sort of clues are really how Briscoe tells the key parts of the story in such a captivating manner.
I am hard to please with ghost stories these days, and very much an addict of the classics, (never so good as Poe, the James's, or Jackson). But this is special - quite eerie and worrying and it is a great time of year to 'enjoy' it. It will give the reader a set of characters that will not be forgotten for a long time, and may even sneak into the odd dream....
I further suspect Briscoe is strongly influenced by Shirley Jackson, this book has very much the same sniff to it as the superb We Have Always Lived In The Castle.
After the death of the grandmother who lived next door a family renovate to make the two houses one. In this hot summer in a Hertfordshire village Rowena passes the days with her 5 young children while her husband, Douglas works in London city. Her daughter Eva is different to the other children, slightly 'touched' as the neighbours say. She dresses in her dead grandmothers Victorian clothes and is plain, whereas her sister Jennifer is so beautiful that she is a child actress.
There is that (appealing) air of madness throughout, but it is an innocent summer of madness. But who is losing their marbles? Is it indeed Eva, Bob (the young brother) with his imaginary friend Freddie perhaps, Rowena herself, or the strange character of Pollard the builder in charge of the renovations.
The ages of the children and the time that the book is set become evident through snippets strewn cleverly around the story. These sort of clues are really how Briscoe tells the key parts of the story in such a captivating manner.
I am hard to please with ghost stories these days, and very much an addict of the classics, (never so good as Poe, the James's, or Jackson). But this is special - quite eerie and worrying and it is a great time of year to 'enjoy' it. It will give the reader a set of characters that will not be forgotten for a long time, and may even sneak into the odd dream....
August 26, 2014
1. 5 stars
The blurb I’d read said this was a ‘deeply creepy’ novella. It sounded enticing even though I don’t usually really horror; so I gingerly opened the first page worried it'd lead to a sleepless night.
However… it was not deeply creepy. It wasn’t even scary. The only thing creepy was the behaviour of some of the key characters (and in a WTF way; not in an eerie way).
There was A LOT happening in this novella despite its short length. In fact I think there was far too many threads and the author wasn’t really sure what she wanted the novel to be. Was it making a comment on families and relationships? On fidelity and love?
Either way the characters weren’t particularly realistic, plot not really feasible and the house was most definitely not scary.
It seemed as if a lot of questions went unanswered and I’m still trying to work out what did actually happen.
I received a copy via NetGalley for review purposes.
The blurb I’d read said this was a ‘deeply creepy’ novella. It sounded enticing even though I don’t usually really horror; so I gingerly opened the first page worried it'd lead to a sleepless night.
However… it was not deeply creepy. It wasn’t even scary. The only thing creepy was the behaviour of some of the key characters (and in a WTF way; not in an eerie way).
There was A LOT happening in this novella despite its short length. In fact I think there was far too many threads and the author wasn’t really sure what she wanted the novel to be. Was it making a comment on families and relationships? On fidelity and love?
Either way the characters weren’t particularly realistic, plot not really feasible and the house was most definitely not scary.
It seemed as if a lot of questions went unanswered and I’m still trying to work out what did actually happen.
I received a copy via NetGalley for review purposes.
July 22, 2014
A chilling novella. Rowena and her husband move into the property next to his mothers home and they start to combine the two homes after moving the mum to a goddaughters. The house resists all attempts to change- spotting damp patches on new wallpaper and the walls almost impossible to knock down.
Eva who wanders aimlessly at times, disappears. It seems odd that the family aren't more concerned about her- but she is apparently a free spirit. They find a concealed room where the mum had obviously tried to recreate her youth with mementos.
Then another of Rowena's daughters goes missing. She has recently starred in a film in the village and the police investigate her disappearance more thoroughly.
Lots of secrets and intrigue and wondering where the story will go and what other chilling events may happen. I will look out for more by this author.
Eva who wanders aimlessly at times, disappears. It seems odd that the family aren't more concerned about her- but she is apparently a free spirit. They find a concealed room where the mum had obviously tried to recreate her youth with mementos.
Then another of Rowena's daughters goes missing. She has recently starred in a film in the village and the police investigate her disappearance more thoroughly.
Lots of secrets and intrigue and wondering where the story will go and what other chilling events may happen. I will look out for more by this author.
April 11, 2016
1.75 stars
Unfortunately I really didn't enjoy this story. I didn't enjoy the actual story, I struggled with the writing style, there were several parts of the story that just did not make sense to me at all and I really did not like the main character of Rowena.
I have given this 1.75 stars as opposed to a 1 star rating as I can see how this would be the type of book that would appeal to many people. Unfortunately, on a personal level I just did not enjoy the story.
[Disclaimer: Digital copy provided by Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review]
Unfortunately I really didn't enjoy this story. I didn't enjoy the actual story, I struggled with the writing style, there were several parts of the story that just did not make sense to me at all and I really did not like the main character of Rowena.
I have given this 1.75 stars as opposed to a 1 star rating as I can see how this would be the type of book that would appeal to many people. Unfortunately, on a personal level I just did not enjoy the story.
[Disclaimer: Digital copy provided by Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review]
August 5, 2014
The trouble with reading a LOT of stories of this sort is that you so quickly become hard to enthrall and surprise. Touched didn't manage the latter, but did manage the former.
I felt the ending was a little unsatisfying, ultimately, but it was only the last ten pages. The rest was gloriously creepy. Exactly the sort of 'ghost story' I like - one where you are never sure if the evil comes from an inhuman outside force or the heroines own mind.
I felt the ending was a little unsatisfying, ultimately, but it was only the last ten pages. The rest was gloriously creepy. Exactly the sort of 'ghost story' I like - one where you are never sure if the evil comes from an inhuman outside force or the heroines own mind.
October 25, 2020
Ugh, I LOVED that.
Particularly the way Joanna Briscoe writes -- my god, the imagery, the gloriously unusual turns of phrase, and breathtakingly gorgeous poetics. Admittedly, her sentences go a trifle overlong, and there's a curious running together of time but perhaps that was a technique specific to this novella, to the unravelling of the character? I won't know until I read another of her novels.
I'm certainly not a fan of the Sixties -- if I had known the novella was pretty much entirely set in that era, I prolly wouldn't have started it. And for a long while, I was expecting the action to jump forward to present day. As it was, the present day stuff only bookends the narrative.
It was very Shirley Jackson to me, in the best way, where it really goes into the mundane horror of being a wife, of being a mother, the loneliness, the endless drudgery for a partner and animalistic children who take you entirely for granted. I loved that the narrative didn't hold back on that aspect nor the physicality of a woman post-partum. And coupled that with actual ghosts and a house that was so creepy and so viscerally disgusting and unnerving it prompted me to do a bit of intense cleaning after I finished the novella, I kid you not. I've just realised that's why.
Halfway through, realising I was deeply deeply enjoying this read on so many levels from linguistic to feminist to genre, I started to wonder how it would end, hoping it would be rewarding. And ohhh yesss, it was. Both in terms of worst fears confirmed and a lovely sort of healing in the present day.
Everything I could have wanted from a horror read, albeit in truncated novella form.
Particularly the way Joanna Briscoe writes -- my god, the imagery, the gloriously unusual turns of phrase, and breathtakingly gorgeous poetics. Admittedly, her sentences go a trifle overlong, and there's a curious running together of time but perhaps that was a technique specific to this novella, to the unravelling of the character? I won't know until I read another of her novels.
I'm certainly not a fan of the Sixties -- if I had known the novella was pretty much entirely set in that era, I prolly wouldn't have started it. And for a long while, I was expecting the action to jump forward to present day. As it was, the present day stuff only bookends the narrative.
It was very Shirley Jackson to me, in the best way, where it really goes into the mundane horror of being a wife, of being a mother, the loneliness, the endless drudgery for a partner and animalistic children who take you entirely for granted. I loved that the narrative didn't hold back on that aspect nor the physicality of a woman post-partum. And coupled that with actual ghosts and a house that was so creepy and so viscerally disgusting and unnerving it prompted me to do a bit of intense cleaning after I finished the novella, I kid you not. I've just realised that's why.
Halfway through, realising I was deeply deeply enjoying this read on so many levels from linguistic to feminist to genre, I started to wonder how it would end, hoping it would be rewarding. And ohhh yesss, it was. Both in terms of worst fears confirmed and a lovely sort of healing in the present day.
Everything I could have wanted from a horror read, albeit in truncated novella form.
March 5, 2018
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
Rowena Crale and her family have moved from London.
They now live in a small English village in a cottage which seems to be resisting all attempts at renovation.
Walls ooze damp, stains come through layers of wallpaper, ceilings sag.
And strange noises - voices - emanate from empty rooms.
As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife and a good mother to her young children, her life starts to disintegrate.
And then, one by one, her daughters go missing...
Take a dash of classic horror location (haunted cottage in a remote English village - complete with ghostly noises and damp walls etc), add to that a woman who supposedly loves her 5 children but knows very little about what they are doing (not to mention she is sleeping with the hunky neighbour while the author claims she is trying to be a "dutiful wife"...) and a dash of plot threads that never seem to go anywhere, nor tie together and this is what you get...
One confusing mess of "I wanna be Shirley Jackson but have no idea how"...
Paul
ARH
Rowena Crale and her family have moved from London.
They now live in a small English village in a cottage which seems to be resisting all attempts at renovation.
Walls ooze damp, stains come through layers of wallpaper, ceilings sag.
And strange noises - voices - emanate from empty rooms.
As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife and a good mother to her young children, her life starts to disintegrate.
And then, one by one, her daughters go missing...
Take a dash of classic horror location (haunted cottage in a remote English village - complete with ghostly noises and damp walls etc), add to that a woman who supposedly loves her 5 children but knows very little about what they are doing (not to mention she is sleeping with the hunky neighbour while the author claims she is trying to be a "dutiful wife"...) and a dash of plot threads that never seem to go anywhere, nor tie together and this is what you get...
One confusing mess of "I wanna be Shirley Jackson but have no idea how"...
Paul
ARH
June 11, 2019
I got 3/4's of the way through this novella before it really got going and caught my interest. I wasn't keen on the writing style, which I found difficult to follow at times. It wasn't easy to connect with the characters, I was left guessing at the ages of the children, until one child's age was mentioned more than half way through the book, (unless I missed this due to my difficulty with the writing style...). The ending left me wanting, with unanswered questions.
June 3, 2017
A wonderful ghost story - I loved it.
July 2, 2017
It was ok thin book I read while waiting for a friend in Hospital didnt grab me
June 24, 2020
Creepy
This is very good. Excellently written with some real chill inducing moments. I didn't want it to end. Joanne Briscoe is such a good writer. Highly recommended.
This is very good. Excellently written with some real chill inducing moments. I didn't want it to end. Joanne Briscoe is such a good writer. Highly recommended.
Read
April 24, 2023I read a lovely article by Briscoe about writing horror, and then I read this book. She writes beautifully, but this story was not for me.
October 11, 2023
This is a very atmospheric and creepy story.
Hauntingly clever, I really enjoyed it.
Recommended reading.
Hauntingly clever, I really enjoyed it.
Recommended reading.
August 3, 2014
Touched is another of Hammer's series of horror novellas by well-known authors, which also includes Helen Dunmore's The Greatcoat (excellent), Jeanette Winterson's The Daylight Gate (disappointing) and Sophie Hannah's The Orphan Choir (another excellent one). I find it hard to resist this series at the best of times, and when I read that Touched was partly inspired by Joanna Briscoe having spent her early years in the village that formed the setting for the brilliant film The Village of the Damned, which was in turn adapted from the novel The Midwich Cuckoos by my hero John Wyndham, I was never going to be able to last long without reading this one.
Luckily I wasn't at all disappointed by Touched, which is a great little chiller of a book that brings together multiple sinister threads into one increasingly unsettling narrative. In 1963 the Crale family - parents Rowena and Douglas, non-identical twins Rosemary and Jennifer, loner Evangeline, toddler Bobby and newborn Caroline - move into a cottage formerly occupied by Douglas's elderly mother in an idyllic village, and set about knocking down the wall between it and the house next door in order to make it into a family home. However, the house seems reluctant to cooperate. Damp patches appear; strange smells come and go, from cat pee to disinfectant and an old woman's perfume . Little Bobby talks of mysterious intruders, and Rowena is plagued by nagging sensations that there is a sixth child in the house.
If you're thinking this sounds like a standard haunted house narrative, it's really so much more than that. There's also Evangeline for a start, who talks of an imaginary friend, insists on dressing in her grandmother's old Victorian clothes, and forms an unlikely, disturbing friendship with Pollard, the local builder working on the house, and his childminder wife. There's Jennifer too: unlike her stolid, reliable twin Rosemary, Jennifer is stunningly beautiful, so much so that her looks are constantly commented upon even in her early teens. Yet when Jennifer is asked to play a one-line part in a film being made on location at the village, she seems strangely, eerily vacant on camera.
There's an enormous amount going on in Touched, and it's not always clear what might be supernatural and what might be a more earthly threat. If I did have any complaint about this book, it would be that there are perhaps too many plot strands for such a short novel - I could happily have seen it spun out for another 200 pages - but that's not exactly a damning criticism.
Touched is not only (very) creepy and unsettling like all the best ghost stories are, it's also beautifully evocative of its setting and period. This is a deeply worthy addition to the Hammer series.
Luckily I wasn't at all disappointed by Touched, which is a great little chiller of a book that brings together multiple sinister threads into one increasingly unsettling narrative. In 1963 the Crale family - parents Rowena and Douglas, non-identical twins Rosemary and Jennifer, loner Evangeline, toddler Bobby and newborn Caroline - move into a cottage formerly occupied by Douglas's elderly mother in an idyllic village, and set about knocking down the wall between it and the house next door in order to make it into a family home. However, the house seems reluctant to cooperate. Damp patches appear; strange smells come and go, from cat pee to disinfectant and an old woman's perfume . Little Bobby talks of mysterious intruders, and Rowena is plagued by nagging sensations that there is a sixth child in the house.
If you're thinking this sounds like a standard haunted house narrative, it's really so much more than that. There's also Evangeline for a start, who talks of an imaginary friend, insists on dressing in her grandmother's old Victorian clothes, and forms an unlikely, disturbing friendship with Pollard, the local builder working on the house, and his childminder wife. There's Jennifer too: unlike her stolid, reliable twin Rosemary, Jennifer is stunningly beautiful, so much so that her looks are constantly commented upon even in her early teens. Yet when Jennifer is asked to play a one-line part in a film being made on location at the village, she seems strangely, eerily vacant on camera.
There's an enormous amount going on in Touched, and it's not always clear what might be supernatural and what might be a more earthly threat. If I did have any complaint about this book, it would be that there are perhaps too many plot strands for such a short novel - I could happily have seen it spun out for another 200 pages - but that's not exactly a damning criticism.
Touched is not only (very) creepy and unsettling like all the best ghost stories are, it's also beautifully evocative of its setting and period. This is a deeply worthy addition to the Hammer series.
July 10, 2014
The cover is hauntingly inviting. It was the first thing that caught my attention. After reading the excerpt, I then decided I was definitely interested in reading the book. The lovely ladies at Random House UK kindly sent me a copy to review.
A promising start, we are introduced to the family and their new house in the quaint little country village. However things don't seem to be turning out as perfect as Rowena is expecting. Unfortunately for me that is when the story became rather slow, the plot difficult to figure out as it seemed to be jumping from one thing to another, never really spending enough time on any characters to build a bond. I really was beginning to enjoy Eva's character and then poof, its gone. However after the halfway mark the story seemed to settle and focus more and I found it more enjoyable to read.
I understand the story is covering different elements and themes of the characters and their experiences, however I would have enjoyed the book more if it had of remained focused on perhaps one or two elements and not the amount that was written within the story. There just seemed to be too much going on at certain times and not well enough tied in together.
Anywho, as I said, after the halfway mark I started enjoying the book more. Things settled into place and I found myself wanting to read on to see what was going to happen.
If you get the opportunity to read this book, go for it. Besides a slight lull, a little bit of character, descriptive writing hopping, it does pick up and by the end I enjoyed it. I'm sure you will too!
Congratulations to Joanna Briscoe, may you have many future successes!
Kimmy
Opinionated Cupcakes
A promising start, we are introduced to the family and their new house in the quaint little country village. However things don't seem to be turning out as perfect as Rowena is expecting. Unfortunately for me that is when the story became rather slow, the plot difficult to figure out as it seemed to be jumping from one thing to another, never really spending enough time on any characters to build a bond. I really was beginning to enjoy Eva's character and then poof, its gone. However after the halfway mark the story seemed to settle and focus more and I found it more enjoyable to read.
I understand the story is covering different elements and themes of the characters and their experiences, however I would have enjoyed the book more if it had of remained focused on perhaps one or two elements and not the amount that was written within the story. There just seemed to be too much going on at certain times and not well enough tied in together.
Anywho, as I said, after the halfway mark I started enjoying the book more. Things settled into place and I found myself wanting to read on to see what was going to happen.
If you get the opportunity to read this book, go for it. Besides a slight lull, a little bit of character, descriptive writing hopping, it does pick up and by the end I enjoyed it. I'm sure you will too!
Congratulations to Joanna Briscoe, may you have many future successes!
Kimmy
Opinionated Cupcakes
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 18, 2014
RATING: 3.5
A Hammer Novella.
Perhaps it is not always the strange ones who are strange.
1963. Rowena Crale has moved from London to the small sleepy village of Crowsley Beck with her husband and five children. The cottage they are renovating doesn't seem to want them there - the walls refuse to budge, strange patches of damp keep appearing, and there are rancid smells. When some of the family members start hearing strange voices and noises, Rowena decides to investigate.
Daughter Evangeline is to be sent to a school for troubled children in September, while daughter Jennifer is model-like and fawned over by the villagers. Evangeline's strange habits are the norm to her parents, who are not overly concerned when she disappears for weeks on end. When the same fate befalls Jennifer, however, panic ensues. Is there something paranormal at work or is it something a little closer to home, and much more sinister?
I really liked this book. It was creepy, atmospheric, and while it didn't give me the willies as much as something like The Woman In Black, it did succeed in building tension and making me doubt people and possibilities. I found Rowena an interesting character, but I would have loved a little more insight into what went on in Evangeline's mind.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
A Hammer Novella.
Perhaps it is not always the strange ones who are strange.
1963. Rowena Crale has moved from London to the small sleepy village of Crowsley Beck with her husband and five children. The cottage they are renovating doesn't seem to want them there - the walls refuse to budge, strange patches of damp keep appearing, and there are rancid smells. When some of the family members start hearing strange voices and noises, Rowena decides to investigate.
Daughter Evangeline is to be sent to a school for troubled children in September, while daughter Jennifer is model-like and fawned over by the villagers. Evangeline's strange habits are the norm to her parents, who are not overly concerned when she disappears for weeks on end. When the same fate befalls Jennifer, however, panic ensues. Is there something paranormal at work or is it something a little closer to home, and much more sinister?
I really liked this book. It was creepy, atmospheric, and while it didn't give me the willies as much as something like The Woman In Black, it did succeed in building tension and making me doubt people and possibilities. I found Rowena an interesting character, but I would have loved a little more insight into what went on in Evangeline's mind.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 25, 2014
Rowena and Douglas have moved to a cottage in the country with their five children. They are in the process of having the cottage knocked into one with the next door cottage which used to be Rowena's mother in law's house. The dividing wall is resisting all the builder's efforts to knock it down. Evangeline, Rowena's third daughter is rather strange as she insists on wearing her grandmother's clothes and disappears for days at a time often to stay with the Pollards - who are even stranger.
This novella sends shivers down your spine because no one seems to behave quite normally. Some of the children seem a little less than normal intelligence and yet that is maybe just an impression rather than fact. There are windows in the cottage which do not seem to relate to any of the known rooms. Rowena herself seems to be suffering from guilt over her own shortcomings as a mother and wife and lusts after their next door neighbour.
Altogether this is a very strange reading experience - not quite horror but still full of tension and disturbing events which leave you wondering about them even after you've finished reading the book. It is well written and spooky happenings are well described and the tension mounts convincingly. I found the ending a little disappointing which is why I have not given it five stars but others may well feel differently about it. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.
This novella sends shivers down your spine because no one seems to behave quite normally. Some of the children seem a little less than normal intelligence and yet that is maybe just an impression rather than fact. There are windows in the cottage which do not seem to relate to any of the known rooms. Rowena herself seems to be suffering from guilt over her own shortcomings as a mother and wife and lusts after their next door neighbour.
Altogether this is a very strange reading experience - not quite horror but still full of tension and disturbing events which leave you wondering about them even after you've finished reading the book. It is well written and spooky happenings are well described and the tension mounts convincingly. I found the ending a little disappointing which is why I have not given it five stars but others may well feel differently about it. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.
October 1, 2015
1963: Rowena Crale and her family have recently moved into an old house in a small English village. But the house appears to be resisting all attempts at renovation. Walls ooze damp. Stains come through layers of wallpaper. Ceilings sag. And strange noises - voices - emanate from empty rooms.
As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife to her husband and a good mother to her five small children, her life starts to disintegrate. And then her eldest and prettiest daughter goes missing. Out in the village, a frantic search is mounted - while inside the house reveals its darkest secret: a hidden room with no windows and no obvious entrance. Boarded up, it smells of old food, disinfectant - and death...
Set in a world where appearances are everything, and nothing is as it seems, Touched is unsettling, claustrophobic, and utterly gripping.
”Where is Eva?’ said Rowena as the sun sank in honeyed shadows over the green, geese flying overhead. No one knew.’
The author grew up in Letchmore Heath village the location for 1960 film Village of the Damned from the John Wyndham classic The Midwich Cuckoos and this novella has the same feel - appearances can be deceptive. The book exudes a feeling of hot suffocation and a dreamy, almost, drowsy madness. The writing is beautiful and the characters of Rowena and Evangeline are fully realised in all their "touched" fragility. Haunting....
As Rowena struggles with the upheaval of builders while trying to be a dutiful wife to her husband and a good mother to her five small children, her life starts to disintegrate. And then her eldest and prettiest daughter goes missing. Out in the village, a frantic search is mounted - while inside the house reveals its darkest secret: a hidden room with no windows and no obvious entrance. Boarded up, it smells of old food, disinfectant - and death...
Set in a world where appearances are everything, and nothing is as it seems, Touched is unsettling, claustrophobic, and utterly gripping.
”Where is Eva?’ said Rowena as the sun sank in honeyed shadows over the green, geese flying overhead. No one knew.’
The author grew up in Letchmore Heath village the location for 1960 film Village of the Damned from the John Wyndham classic The Midwich Cuckoos and this novella has the same feel - appearances can be deceptive. The book exudes a feeling of hot suffocation and a dreamy, almost, drowsy madness. The writing is beautiful and the characters of Rowena and Evangeline are fully realised in all their "touched" fragility. Haunting....
March 22, 2021
This tale is a rather elegant ghost story set in the sixties, with several different areas of focus - oh, how to explain without giving away spoilers?! Well, I shan't. I'll just say that I really enjoyed this novella and found it a little different to most standard ghost stories I've read in the past.
I thought that the start of the book seemed to jump around a bit and I found it a bit of a struggle to stay focused on it. I did read this over the course of a few days and I have to say that my brain wasn't begging me to pick it up again at any opportunity, like with some books. Having said that though, the second half of the book seemed to settle down and I enjoyed it a lot more. I particularly liked the character of Eva, a rather eccentric little girl with a lot of personality, who was very well written.
Overall, this is a great little novella, certainly worthy of a read if you enjoy ghost stories or tales of a supernatural flavour.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free e-copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, all opinions are my own.
I thought that the start of the book seemed to jump around a bit and I found it a bit of a struggle to stay focused on it. I did read this over the course of a few days and I have to say that my brain wasn't begging me to pick it up again at any opportunity, like with some books. Having said that though, the second half of the book seemed to settle down and I enjoyed it a lot more. I particularly liked the character of Eva, a rather eccentric little girl with a lot of personality, who was very well written.
Overall, this is a great little novella, certainly worthy of a read if you enjoy ghost stories or tales of a supernatural flavour.
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free e-copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. However, all opinions are my own.
September 19, 2015
I consider myself an admirer of Joanna Briscoe's previous work but this is getting a bit ridiculous. We could say that this book moves into a different genre, it's a mystery or suspense or something on the slightly creepy side - and YET the story is more or less the same in most of her books. This one took the sensuous aspect of houses and spaces that are cluttered and damp that she already explored in the previous book 'You', but removing the interesting aspects of the plot there and tracing a story that doesn't quite develop here. In fact the story doesn't matter much, what matters are the walls oozing with dampness, the sagging ceilings and the mysterious smells. As in her other books, you can count on a married woman having an affair, a child being seduced (unclear to what extent) by an adult, children keeping big secrets from their parents. This was the less gripping of all her books, sadly.
June 11, 2016
Set in a village in England in the early 1960s, this semi-supernatural story features a young family that is renovating a house that appears haunted, or at least resisting all attempts at renovation. Strange things begin happening to the family as well. The author does a good job of showing how people's lives become haunted by the choices that they make, and the story was tied together well at the end (especially by the author's Afterward). However, I thought that the characters and the setting weren't described as well as I would have liked, so it sometimes felt like I was missing something from the story. I also thought there were too many minor characters who weren't developed well enough and didn't add much to the story.
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