This story, set in 1850s England ,
starts out seeming to be a simple historical novel, perhaps a historical
romance. We have two young women and a young man who are best friends, but who,
in their early twenties, are feeling attraction for each other. In a rural area
just outside London , they are cut
off from most people and have spent most of their free time together for years.
Soon- very soon- fantastical elements enter the story. The narrator, Jane
Silverlake, has an odd power- she hears objects. Everything makes sounds. And
when in direct contact with her skin, others can hear these strange sounds. Her
friends, Maddy and Nathan, are aware of this.
The novel jumps around in time a lot, frequently going back
over the same time span with added information. The story revolves around the
disappearance of Nathan and the search for him; no one knows if he is dead or
alive. He had become obsessed with a cult that seeks a paradise called the
Empyrean- and thinks Jane can help them get there. The leader of the cult will
stop at nothing to achieve his paradise; Maddy and Jane will stop at nothing to
find Nathan. There is more to Jane’s abilities than hearing the souls of
objects and this may be the key to Nathan’s fate. As images of a chthonic
goddess start appearing around London ,
Jane tries to figure out her powers
This is a very dark story. The first layer is the simple one
of friends roaming the woods; the further the novel goes, the deeper we dig
into their psyches and emotions, as well as into the backstory of Nathan’s
interest in the cult. At the deepest layer, we find that nothing is as we
thought it was, and the ended totally surprised me. Well crafted and very
detailed, this book held my attention all the way.
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