Ceecee's Reviews > Sorrow Spring

In 1978 Prosperina Fuschia Pine, known as Rina, is dumped by her mother Lily in the village of Sorrow Springs to live with her aged and taciturn Aunt Agatha. It’s a strange place to say the least and Rina is frightened on more than one occasion by what she sees. As she is still quite young and naive much of what she learns is incomprehensible to her.

In 2019 Rina’s niece Cate begins a search for an aunt she knows nothing about. Is her father Emesh confused or does Rina actually exist? What will she discover?

I find this to be slow at the start and it takes a while for me to get into it. What happens to Rina and what Cate learns is interesting, taking the storytelling into strange sisterhood territory, known as The Sistren. There are traditions, omens, rooks aplenty, folklore and more earthly interventions. A strong sense of the sinister does come across which Rina’s Aunt Agatha definitely adds to. For a lot of the plot line there’s a feeling that something dreadful is going to happen and it usually does.

Although I like the premise, I think the novel is way too long and if I’m honest, a certain amount of boredom sets in chiefly because it’s all pretty much the same theme. What I absolutely can’t get my head around is the HUGE amount of dialogue especially in the 1978 timeline. There’s way too much in my opinion. The 2019 narrative flows much better and there’s a good mystery here. As for the ending, well, that’s a rapid turnaround in thinking and I’ll say no more!

Overall, it’s a mixed bag read for me with some good parts where I’m engaged and enjoying it and other sections which drag.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.