Burr

by Brooke Lockyer

A ’90s-era Southern Ontario Gothic about holding on to the dead, voiced with plaintive urgency and macabre sensuality.
In the small town of Burr, Ontario, thirteen-year-old Jane yearns to reunite with her recently deceased father and fantasizes about tunnelling through the earth to his coffin. This leads her to bond with local eccentric Ernest, who is still reeling from the long-ago drowning of his little sister. Jane’s mother, Meredith, escapes into wildness, enacting the past on the abandoned bed that she finds in the middle of the forest, until her daughter’s disappearance spurs her into action.
The voice of the town conveys the suspicions and subliminal fears of a rural community—a chorus of whispers that reaches a fever pitch when Jane and Ernest disappear from Burr together. Throughout, the novel is haunted by Henry, a former wrestler who once stood on his bed in the middle of the night, holding up the weight of the ceiling in his sleeping hands.
Mixing realism and the fantastic, Brooke Lockyer’s debut novel investigates the nature of grief and longing that reach beyond the grave.

Genres: Gothic, Horror, Fiction, Canada

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Olympia D · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Lyon]

I don’t think there’s a plot to this book
Nothing is going on… really…

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Rounding up from 2.5) It’s wild reading two books set in the early 1990s back-to-back - one (Paul Takes the Form of A Mortal Girl) that does an excellent job of evoking a feeling of the past, and one (this one) which…doesn’t. So much of the dialogue, as well as Jane’s internal monologue felt far, far too contemporary. You know that meme about how some actors don’t “work” in period dramas because they have a face that knows about cell phones? That’s how I felt reading this. The story was interesting enough, but much of the writing just…wasn’t very good.

[Amarah H-S · Rating 4 out of 5]

incredible way to tell a story - i loved the fragmented narrative style, the nods to everything nineties and also victorian, the picture of a small town and its character, and the vivid ontario-ness of the book. i feel like gothic novels are all about atmosphere, and this book absolutely nails it.

and it made me feel a lot. the characters in this book felt so real, as did their grief.

[Alison Gadsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully written novel shares a unique and dark story about grief. Told from the perspective of Jane, her mother Meredith, a small town outcast named Ernest and the town itself, who stands in judgment offering the real unsavoury attitude of small town people.

When Henry dies suddenly at the age of 42, his daughter and wife are abandoned to all the what-ifs and how-comes that sort of shocking death leaves behind. Jane is desperate to communicate with her father and dreams of many magical ways she can talk to him, including attending a seance in Toronto with the strange recluse, Ernest, who many believe has a detestable obsession with the young Jane. Meredith, meanwhile, finds a bed in the forest and starts recreating a life with Henry abandoning her daughter in the process.

What I loved about this novel is its pacing, its honest portrayal of grief and the depths it can drag us down into, and the setting. We move very quickly among the perspectives, which pulled me into the story more than I thought it would, but it somehow gives each character space to breathe. Like, while I was reading an Ernest section, I am still thinking about Jane and Meredith and also imaging what the town thinks of all of it. There were moments where the grief and loss was so beautifully and honestly written, I wanted to take notes and have the characters' thoughts and feelings to guide me through my own experiences. The setting is fantastic. I love that the town has its own chapters and I love that it's set in Southwestern Ontario in the 90s. Both these things amplify the alienation and aloneness one can feel when they're suffering a huge loss.

There is also a fantastic scene in an art gallery in Toronto where a funeral rite is displayed as an art installation, and honestly if you read it only for that, you will be moved to think about death in very different ways.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would really like to make this a 3.5 review - I did definitely enjoy it and look forward to what the author writes next! I love stories set in southern Ontario, I love weird death-obsessed teenage girls and grieving women who live in a different reality.

I don't know if the things I liked less are the fault of the book, necessarily- I didn't expect the Ernest plotline to go the way it did and it made me feel kind of weird when I think it was meant to feel more endearing maybe, but I had no positive feelings toward him really, even though I can't exactly justify it- I'm still sitting with that feeling and trying to tease it apart. My only real criticism is that some really important relationship advancements don't necessarily feel earned- in the beginning, Jane's relationships to Annie and Meredith are falling apart, because much of the story focuses on Jane and Ernest, I don't feel it's necessarily earned/makes sense how those other relationships evolve toward the end.

There's much to love about this book though, it really gripped my attention, generally really interesting story-wise, I really like Jane and Meredith, I like the role of the town as a character, I'm happy to have read this :)

[Scout Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2.5 rounded up) I feel like nothing really happened after the book hit it's "climax" and that it should've ended sooner. The resolution to some relationships didn't feel deserved and I finished it not really feeling anything or like I took anything away from it. I would've enjoyed it more if the book wrapped up much quicker after returning from Toronto and got to the final two Chapters much sooner.

However, I really enjoyed the level of detail and description used in the writting, (Meridith goes to the Drive In Theater stands out to me) and being from southern Ontario certainly made it an enjoyable book to read.

[DelphiniumPrince · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really, really loved this book. It was quiet, and bizarre, and beautiful. I adore the shifting POVs in this work, it really helped to flesh out the small town and these little lives in ways that felt intimate and familiar. Burr reminded me a lot of Lanny by Max Porter (albeit less in the horror aspect and more in the small town weirdness), so if you are a fan of that book I would highly recommend this! I really don’t know what else to say, other than I look forward to whatever else this author releases. Thank you for creating such a beautiful story.

[Not Sarah Connor Writes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - If Southern Ontario Gothic really is a genre then Burr fits perfectly in it. I loved the feel and vibe of the book as well as the flow of the writing. I'm excited to see what else Lockyer writes!

Read the full review on my blog!

[August Bourré · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad. Could have used a little less “here is a million years of history” before getting to the main plot, though, as the actual relationship between the two main characters felt super rushed as a result. But that seems a very Canadian literary move.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in London, I very much enjoyed this novel for the aesthetic, and the 90s references. I especially appreciated the author’s ability to express grief in the lives of these characters. The chapter from Meredith’s POV about motherhood will stay with me for awhile.

[Charity Citron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I found it super artsy. Being an Ontario, Canada 1979 born female. I felt this book in my bones. Might just listen to a little Hole this afternoon and paint my fingernails black ;) Go girl.

[Jane Hildebrand · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Just not for me!

[Natalie Believe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet, confronting, and occasionally jarring book about coming of age and grief.

[Lisanne Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magical book about family and grief in a small town in Southern Ontario. Nature imagery, gothic elements and unusual twists keep the reader engrossed in the tale. I highly recommend this book!

[Amy Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written story! I loved all the characters storylines.

[Jenna Ellquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good. Not as amazing as some and it was kinda weird at points. But overall well written and very interesting.

[Katie Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5
Interesting perspective. Dark and gothic. Fun that it's set near London, Ontario. However, felt that there wasn't a strong story arc and the characters lacked growth throughout the novel.