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Seldom Seen
Desiree White was walking through the fields of winter wheat and oilseed rape when she saw it.She picked the newspaper bundle out of the ditch and took it to the phone box.Across the baby's tiny body she could see a faint tattoo of Lady Di's face where some of the newsprint had rubbed off. It was like finding a featherless bird fallen out of its nest.
No-one had ever bothered much about Desiree but now everyone is interested in her, in what she saw, in who the parents might be and why they'd dump a baby. Even Bernie Capon, her older brother's best friend, wants to know what she thinks.
As years go by and everyone else moves on with their lives, Desiree feels stuck, unable to forget what she saw that day. Somehow she owes it to the baby to solve the mystery. But when she starts to make connections which bring the truth dangerously close to home, it seems that some secrets are best left alone.
No-one had ever bothered much about Desiree but now everyone is interested in her, in what she saw, in who the parents might be and why they'd dump a baby. Even Bernie Capon, her older brother's best friend, wants to know what she thinks.
As years go by and everyone else moves on with their lives, Desiree feels stuck, unable to forget what she saw that day. Somehow she owes it to the baby to solve the mystery. But when she starts to make connections which bring the truth dangerously close to home, it seems that some secrets are best left alone.
247 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2012
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115 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 10, 2016
Seldom Seen is a mix if genres; part crime fiction, part coming of age story, part magical realism and also a glimpse into the realities of rural life.
For anyone wanting a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller Seldom Seen is not for you; the story develops slowly and in small bits that seem disconnected and more to do with the inhabitants of Desiree's rural community than the death of a baby. Yet persevere, as these separate stories all become linked later on.
It is a slow but engaging mystery, but it's the characters that are the winning aspect of the book, especially Desiree. Only 14 when she discovers the baby, Desiree is suspended between childhood and adulthood, yet is different to the 'average teenager' portrayed in books. Her telling of the story switches from matter of fact bluntness, especially when describing the more horrifying aspects of the story, to her endless imagination, such as visualising her hopes for a relationship as a shadowed house that is dragged behind the car.
All the characters are well drawn and fascinating in that they are seemingly average, everyday people in a small village, yet Ridgard draws out the hidden layers, both sweet and sour.
This is especially apparent in Desiree's family and her somewhat fraught relationship with her mother, who is desperate for new adventures but terrified to leave the house. In fact, the secondary mystery in the novel is that of what happened between Desiree and her mother, and often one I was more interested in than the one of Peewit. This is the name that Desiree gives the baby, which haunts her and causes her to look into the mystery further.
"She came over and lay next to me in the church today. I stopped off on the way home from work, and as soon as I sat beneath the picture window, I felt her come over to me. She's like a lone peewit, always landing close by when there's bad weather on the way - yet more of it heading in my direction."
This slightly mystical feel contrasts with the bleak reality, which is characterised in the countryside surrounding Desiree. This book peels back the layer of chocolate box houses and fields full of fluffy sheep that most people associated with the countryside, and instead is full of mud stretching on forever, mixi rabbits round every corner and the claustrophobia of living in a village where everyone knows everyone else's business.
I live in a small village myself so this is something I can identify with, and its refreshing that a writer portrays a more realistic view of countryside living.
One of the few gripes I had with this book, wasn't so much a problem to me, but might be to others who don't know the area. Ridgard references a lot of places in the Framlingham area, without giving much of a description of what they are. Such as calling Framlingham Fram and not describing what it is, similarly, she mentions discusses Dunwich, which is well-known throughout Suffolk as the village that eroded into the sea, but this wouldn't be widely known elsewhere. All she needed was a line of explanation in some places.
That was really my only issue with Seldom Seen, and that it could have progressed a little faster. But I also think that, in a way, these things almost work for the story; the pace reflects its setting, slow country life, full of community knowledge that seems vital to those who live there but has little meaning to anyone else. Desiree's world is very small and so is the story, yet it is also understandable to readers, wherever they're from.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
For anyone wanting a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller Seldom Seen is not for you; the story develops slowly and in small bits that seem disconnected and more to do with the inhabitants of Desiree's rural community than the death of a baby. Yet persevere, as these separate stories all become linked later on.
It is a slow but engaging mystery, but it's the characters that are the winning aspect of the book, especially Desiree. Only 14 when she discovers the baby, Desiree is suspended between childhood and adulthood, yet is different to the 'average teenager' portrayed in books. Her telling of the story switches from matter of fact bluntness, especially when describing the more horrifying aspects of the story, to her endless imagination, such as visualising her hopes for a relationship as a shadowed house that is dragged behind the car.
All the characters are well drawn and fascinating in that they are seemingly average, everyday people in a small village, yet Ridgard draws out the hidden layers, both sweet and sour.
This is especially apparent in Desiree's family and her somewhat fraught relationship with her mother, who is desperate for new adventures but terrified to leave the house. In fact, the secondary mystery in the novel is that of what happened between Desiree and her mother, and often one I was more interested in than the one of Peewit. This is the name that Desiree gives the baby, which haunts her and causes her to look into the mystery further.
"She came over and lay next to me in the church today. I stopped off on the way home from work, and as soon as I sat beneath the picture window, I felt her come over to me. She's like a lone peewit, always landing close by when there's bad weather on the way - yet more of it heading in my direction."
This slightly mystical feel contrasts with the bleak reality, which is characterised in the countryside surrounding Desiree. This book peels back the layer of chocolate box houses and fields full of fluffy sheep that most people associated with the countryside, and instead is full of mud stretching on forever, mixi rabbits round every corner and the claustrophobia of living in a village where everyone knows everyone else's business.
I live in a small village myself so this is something I can identify with, and its refreshing that a writer portrays a more realistic view of countryside living.
One of the few gripes I had with this book, wasn't so much a problem to me, but might be to others who don't know the area. Ridgard references a lot of places in the Framlingham area, without giving much of a description of what they are. Such as calling Framlingham Fram and not describing what it is, similarly, she mentions discusses Dunwich, which is well-known throughout Suffolk as the village that eroded into the sea, but this wouldn't be widely known elsewhere. All she needed was a line of explanation in some places.
That was really my only issue with Seldom Seen, and that it could have progressed a little faster. But I also think that, in a way, these things almost work for the story; the pace reflects its setting, slow country life, full of community knowledge that seems vital to those who live there but has little meaning to anyone else. Desiree's world is very small and so is the story, yet it is also understandable to readers, wherever they're from.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
April 23, 2013
I enjoyed this book because if felt like a fresh voice and fresh subject matter. Gothic horror set in the country , 14 year old main character, dysfunctional family, nosey neighbours, feeling very claustrophobic despite lots of space and working class lives. The main character, Diseree, named after the potatoes is an engaging character and you quickly engage and empathise with her in her isolated existence where she seems neglected yet strong and self-sufficient. She speaks about tough situations in a very matter of fact way and is accepting of those around her with their eccentricities’. You expect something bad to happen to her but because of her isolation and neglect and she has few options apart from working in the local shop, but her resilience and solidness does her good. The book is really more a coming of age novel as she ends up looking after her mother and instigating a family reconciliation and there is a happy ending despite the tension. Other subthemes of the story that I liked were how industrial farming and supermarkets are draining jobs for locals to do. There was also a family looking for the ‘country living ideal’ which left the mother isolated with her children and the father frustrated by the long commute and neighbours with chickens. Also the rest of the community don’t ever really accept the blow ins. Other things I loved about the book were the lyrical descriptions of the countryside and even fields were named, hence the title which described a field embedded between other fields. Fields were locations of significant events in the characters’ lives.
June 30, 2022
In 1981 14year old Desiree finds the body of a baby girl, wrapped in newspaper and discarded in a ditch alongside a field of oilseed rape. For a time she becomes the centre of attention in her small village in rural Suffolk, but when interest in the parentage of the child wanes, people forget and carry on with their lives. However, Desiree remains haunted by the ghost of the baby, whom she calls Peewit, and also struggles with several traumatic events in her own family. She feels she cannot move on until she solves this mystery and for the next six years is obsessed by it. However, as the truth is gradually uncovered, she begins to wonder whether she should have left well alone.
This is a story both about family feuds and secrets which destroy relationships, and also about the secrets which lie beneath the idyll of a perfect village life. It highlights all those shadowy areas which people prefer to ignore or keep hidden. It also explores an altering landscape, a changing community and people’s struggles to adapt.
I think this is a wonderful first novel, one which so perfectly captures the atmosphere of a rural, yet developing and changing Suffolk. The writing is so fluent and assured and, although poetic at times, it never romanticises either the people or the countryside. I found all the characters, and the storylines, utterly convincing, and thought that the author achieved a good balance between the darker and lighter aspects of the story. I also loved the highly-evocative cover design – and the fact that Desiree and her two siblings were named after potato varieties!
This is a story both about family feuds and secrets which destroy relationships, and also about the secrets which lie beneath the idyll of a perfect village life. It highlights all those shadowy areas which people prefer to ignore or keep hidden. It also explores an altering landscape, a changing community and people’s struggles to adapt.
I think this is a wonderful first novel, one which so perfectly captures the atmosphere of a rural, yet developing and changing Suffolk. The writing is so fluent and assured and, although poetic at times, it never romanticises either the people or the countryside. I found all the characters, and the storylines, utterly convincing, and thought that the author achieved a good balance between the darker and lighter aspects of the story. I also loved the highly-evocative cover design – and the fact that Desiree and her two siblings were named after potato varieties!
March 30, 2020
7/10
I think I really connected with this book because it's set in rural rural RURAL Enligh sountryside - and so am I! I loved the ending and how everything tied together, but I did find it slow at times. I would say though that this is accurate to rural life so, I guess, good on you Sarah Ridgard!
I think I really connected with this book because it's set in rural rural RURAL Enligh sountryside - and so am I! I loved the ending and how everything tied together, but I did find it slow at times. I would say though that this is accurate to rural life so, I guess, good on you Sarah Ridgard!
January 15, 2013
This is a beautiful book. Literally. The cover is a triumph.
Inside, the words are equally elegant as we learn about life in rural Suffolk in the 1980s. But this is not a romantic view of cosy cottages, this is a tale with death and poverty and mental illness and deceit. Beware, the book has a high body count! It also includes subjects such as: nuclear power; the use of pesticides on the land; class conflict; sibling rivalry, all handled in a subtle and compelling way.
We are taken into the world of a young girl who has discovered a dead baby in one of the fields. The mystery of `who was the mother` is the thread through the narrative, but the plot encompasses much more. Once I had settled into the contemplative pace of the book the world set out before me was so clear, so entwined, that I couldn't stop reading.
A great literary thriller, which deserves to do well.
Inside, the words are equally elegant as we learn about life in rural Suffolk in the 1980s. But this is not a romantic view of cosy cottages, this is a tale with death and poverty and mental illness and deceit. Beware, the book has a high body count! It also includes subjects such as: nuclear power; the use of pesticides on the land; class conflict; sibling rivalry, all handled in a subtle and compelling way.
We are taken into the world of a young girl who has discovered a dead baby in one of the fields. The mystery of `who was the mother` is the thread through the narrative, but the plot encompasses much more. Once I had settled into the contemplative pace of the book the world set out before me was so clear, so entwined, that I couldn't stop reading.
A great literary thriller, which deserves to do well.
May 29, 2025
Difficult to find a book that transports you through time and space into 20th century England as well as Seldom Seen does. Thrillers aren't usually my thing but this devastating, mysterious and raw story made me feel like I'm there, on Drunken Mary, among the oilseed rape flowers, waiting for the hum from the pole to bring me both awareness and escape.
July 7, 2021
Set in Suffolk and concerning the people whose lives are, one way or another, still rooted in the soil, who still navigate using field names. When the weekenders go home and the dark nights draw in this is what is there - and it's a dark and wonderful tale.
March 1, 2019
Loved this book: a real evocation of Suffolk.
August 13, 2024
Gave up. Too jumpy for me. Had to concentrate hard for me.
August 5, 2025
Not for me, I didn't really get into this
August 25, 2012
Seldom Seen is set in a small Suffolk village, and follows Desiree Smith and her family during the summer of the royal wedding in 1981, and also six years later when Desiree is a young woman of 21. It begins with a pivotal moment in Desiree's life when she makes the gruesome discovery of a dead baby, wrapped in newspaper and abandoned in a ditch. This discovery is to have repurcussions throughout the whole village and for Desiree personally.
Seldom Seen has the most wonderful opening line: "I should never have started crawling around in ditches, kicking up people's secrets." Desiree is a sullen teenager in 1981, a girl who fades into the background, skulks around in shadows and sees many things. Her father is a good man, but tired, unhappy in his work and troubled by his marriage to Desiree's mother, whose behaviour becomes increasingly erratic as the book progresses.
The book has a marvellous sense of place, and is deeply rooted in the Suffolk countryside; the air, the smells, the passage of the seasons, all are transmitted perfectly to the reader. But it's the dark, shadowy places that are this book's primary concern. There are hidden, ugly things beneath the picture perfect rural idyll and the natives of this small community know that there is more to village life than fetes and jumble sales. Seldom Seen is an unsettling read in more ways than one.
This book has a very large cast of characters, and I did occasionally get confused amongst the Dawns, Cheryls and Shirleys, but apart from that small hiccup I found this a brilliant read. I liked the author's style of writing - particularly her portrayal of Desiree as an awkward teenager and how she is affected by the secrets she uncovers. Minor characters, such as Elmy the old farmer who is troubled by something bad he did in his youth, or even a couple of chickens which Desiree looks after, are well realised, and really helped add to the richness of this village setting.
I do hope booksellers give this one a good spot on their displays. With such a beautiful cover and arresting opening line, it should fly off the shelves.
Seldom Seen has the most wonderful opening line: "I should never have started crawling around in ditches, kicking up people's secrets." Desiree is a sullen teenager in 1981, a girl who fades into the background, skulks around in shadows and sees many things. Her father is a good man, but tired, unhappy in his work and troubled by his marriage to Desiree's mother, whose behaviour becomes increasingly erratic as the book progresses.
The book has a marvellous sense of place, and is deeply rooted in the Suffolk countryside; the air, the smells, the passage of the seasons, all are transmitted perfectly to the reader. But it's the dark, shadowy places that are this book's primary concern. There are hidden, ugly things beneath the picture perfect rural idyll and the natives of this small community know that there is more to village life than fetes and jumble sales. Seldom Seen is an unsettling read in more ways than one.
This book has a very large cast of characters, and I did occasionally get confused amongst the Dawns, Cheryls and Shirleys, but apart from that small hiccup I found this a brilliant read. I liked the author's style of writing - particularly her portrayal of Desiree as an awkward teenager and how she is affected by the secrets she uncovers. Minor characters, such as Elmy the old farmer who is troubled by something bad he did in his youth, or even a couple of chickens which Desiree looks after, are well realised, and really helped add to the richness of this village setting.
I do hope booksellers give this one a good spot on their displays. With such a beautiful cover and arresting opening line, it should fly off the shelves.
November 29, 2013
Seldom Seen is a little gem of a book set in rural Suffolk (with a brief visit to Norfolk) in the 1980s, not far in time and place from where I was growing up just over the border in Essex, so the book felt very familiar to me.
It tells the story of Desiree White, an awkward teenager, who hides in ditches and knows lots of secrets about her community. She discovers a baby thrown in the ditch wrapped in newspaper, which sets of a chain of events disrupting her, her family and friends, and her community. It felt a very fresh, original read, and I loved the descriptions and the sense of unease at some of the things that happen in a small community.
My only problem - which is a problem for me rather than the book - is that I'm so busy at the moment I haven't been able to read as much as I usually do, and I think I would have engaged with the book a lot better had I been able to read at my normal pace. Definitely a recommended read.
It tells the story of Desiree White, an awkward teenager, who hides in ditches and knows lots of secrets about her community. She discovers a baby thrown in the ditch wrapped in newspaper, which sets of a chain of events disrupting her, her family and friends, and her community. It felt a very fresh, original read, and I loved the descriptions and the sense of unease at some of the things that happen in a small community.
My only problem - which is a problem for me rather than the book - is that I'm so busy at the moment I haven't been able to read as much as I usually do, and I think I would have engaged with the book a lot better had I been able to read at my normal pace. Definitely a recommended read.
June 7, 2013
I think I read this novel too slowly so it fell a bit short of the pacing it deserved. A nice sense of build up throughout, of impending doom. Of small rural communities where everyone knows everything and at the same time nothing about everyone's business. The land itself was a central character - revealing and hiding at its will. I think Ridgard shows real promise and I'll keep an eye out for her in future.
August 17, 2013
It's late at night and I have just finished this book after starting this morning. It reminded me of Twin Peaks in many ways with its small town carry-ons and ghostly undertones. I loved the main character, she showed beautifully how still rivers can run deep. The depth with which the whole community was drawn is breath taking. A beautiful and compelling read. Totally recommend.
April 2, 2013
The woodcut style cover drew me to this book but what kept me reading was the story that was gradually revealed. I particularly liked the lore of the field names and the way that the author obviously knew her setting inside out.
February 29, 2024
Ridgard plays with a variety of genres throughout, carefully crafting her protagonist and her accompanying family. Sadly, the text’s references to the Suffolk landscape simply didn’t hit home for me, as I found it a challenge to work through the text. Not awful, just not for me.
January 3, 2013
The story is set in the area where I live and has a really strong sense of place. I thoroughly enjoyed it, poor little Peewit....
February 2, 2013
Absolutely loved this..... particular resonance for me as I'm a Suffolk farmer's daughter.....
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August 27, 2014#suffolk #recommended
May 29, 2013
well... if you haven't already .... then get stuck into this fabulous story - it's addictive reading !
March 31, 2015
Sorry, but I didn't understand or take to this book. I couldn't blend into the story and so I grew bored and struggled through it until the end. Shame, really.
September 21, 2014
Very well written, but so very, very bleak!
December 22, 2014
Very evocative of that part of Suffolk
July 17, 2016
yep, the nasty side of the countryside is always the people. Well written, enjoyably nasty and oddly familiar in places.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews