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The Curse of Beckett's Wood
‘There was always something about a wood. The trees were ideal silencers, resisting the movement of sound, and deadening all but the closest noises. He could hear his own breathing in the cooler air’. (Chapter Two, Part One)
Beckett’s Wood, known locally as ‘The Beckett’ holds secrets. Things have happened there; things never to be brought out into the open. Yet like vapours they linger and spread, and follow. The Beckett lies at the edge of the village of Empton, high up on the Mendip Hills, and it’s here, in the 1950s that a cyclist arrives to begin the first part of this three part novel. The village, the rural folk, and the wood draw him under its strange spell until he forgets that he ever was a visitor. The sinister grip of the place becomes a strangle hold so that grotesque events happen and secrets are born, secrets that will cast a shadow, a very long, evil shadow.
‘And then, opening the top of the boiler, she coldly tossed in my little card. Even as the iron lid clanged shut, I could hear all my hard work being devoured by the flames. The image of her ravaged face was soon blurred over by the tears that flooded my own eyes’. (Chapter One, Part Two)
Part two, is written almost as a confession. Now set in the present, David Harper explains his relationship with his mother, one that is full of her cold cruelty. As a seven year old boy he assumes that his love for her must be bad love; that’s the only possible explanation he can come to. The abuse she metes out to him grows as he grows into adolescence, developing and morphing into physical and sexual rages. The reasons for her behaviour are mysterious, almost as if she’s been affected by the shadow of a curse from a dark past. As he reaches adulthood, his mental balance is out of kilter. He can neither keep relationships, hold down jobs or behave in a normal way and his life spirals into a hell’s depth. It’s only after he gets help that he can see the faint silhouette of the curse that’s shaped his life, and he’s able to gain the first understandings of those long, bad shadows.
‘Norman took hold of the weeds that obscured the stone and read the words out loud. David didn't know whether his emotions were the result of his vindication, or at seeing the resting-place of his friend. Perhaps it was both. Either way, it was enough for Helen to attempt to comprehend David's tortured life’. (Chapter One, Part Three)
With the air of a detective novel very clearly portrayed in the final part of this book, the hunt is on for clues that point towards the key to the secrets that have so far been unearthed. Nothing however, could have prepared David for the things he finds out about his past and his own self, things that unsettle him and threaten to drag him back towards the insanity he knows all too well. His visit back to the place where Empton once existed reveals more truths. The story, now meandering through twists and turns builds to the kind of climax that seems to point towards the only plausible outcome available, until these very twists play their cards to set up an ending that no one could foresee.
Beckett’s Wood, known locally as ‘The Beckett’ holds secrets. Things have happened there; things never to be brought out into the open. Yet like vapours they linger and spread, and follow. The Beckett lies at the edge of the village of Empton, high up on the Mendip Hills, and it’s here, in the 1950s that a cyclist arrives to begin the first part of this three part novel. The village, the rural folk, and the wood draw him under its strange spell until he forgets that he ever was a visitor. The sinister grip of the place becomes a strangle hold so that grotesque events happen and secrets are born, secrets that will cast a shadow, a very long, evil shadow.
‘And then, opening the top of the boiler, she coldly tossed in my little card. Even as the iron lid clanged shut, I could hear all my hard work being devoured by the flames. The image of her ravaged face was soon blurred over by the tears that flooded my own eyes’. (Chapter One, Part Two)
Part two, is written almost as a confession. Now set in the present, David Harper explains his relationship with his mother, one that is full of her cold cruelty. As a seven year old boy he assumes that his love for her must be bad love; that’s the only possible explanation he can come to. The abuse she metes out to him grows as he grows into adolescence, developing and morphing into physical and sexual rages. The reasons for her behaviour are mysterious, almost as if she’s been affected by the shadow of a curse from a dark past. As he reaches adulthood, his mental balance is out of kilter. He can neither keep relationships, hold down jobs or behave in a normal way and his life spirals into a hell’s depth. It’s only after he gets help that he can see the faint silhouette of the curse that’s shaped his life, and he’s able to gain the first understandings of those long, bad shadows.
‘Norman took hold of the weeds that obscured the stone and read the words out loud. David didn't know whether his emotions were the result of his vindication, or at seeing the resting-place of his friend. Perhaps it was both. Either way, it was enough for Helen to attempt to comprehend David's tortured life’. (Chapter One, Part Three)
With the air of a detective novel very clearly portrayed in the final part of this book, the hunt is on for clues that point towards the key to the secrets that have so far been unearthed. Nothing however, could have prepared David for the things he finds out about his past and his own self, things that unsettle him and threaten to drag him back towards the insanity he knows all too well. His visit back to the place where Empton once existed reveals more truths. The story, now meandering through twists and turns builds to the kind of climax that seems to point towards the only plausible outcome available, until these very twists play their cards to set up an ending that no one could foresee.
567 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 1, 2014
Every so often you read a book that is so well written and insightful it has the ability to transport you into the story and that is exactly what the first novel from author Richard Coppin did for me.
The Beckett as it's affectionately known is a piece of land with stunning views and natural beauty on the outskirts of the village of Empton, so what is it about the place that seems to leave a sinister mark on those that venture there? The Curse of Beckett's Wood is a mysterious and chilling tale following the life of David Harper, a cyclist that arrives in the picturesque village of Empton and is soon taken under by the spell of the place and the people there. No matter how far away he travels, or how much the time passes Beckett's Wood and the curse that started there has etched itself deep into his life. The sinister grip of Beckett's Wood is like a strangle hold on David and he soon finds his life is one where bad events happen and secrets are born; secrets that cast a long, dark shadow across David's life from which there is no escape.
Murder, passion, childhood abuse, bullying, revenge and fragmented and distorted versions of reality all play a part in David's life and with each page that you read you can't help but find that like the curse of Beckett's Wood, David Harper has etched a little place in your life.
The book covers a range of difficult issues such as mental health, bullying and sexual abuse but unlike a lot of books that I have read in the past, the author covers these issues in a way that doesn't leave you feeling open and raw afterwards, instead giving you a glimpse into what it's like to experience these issues firsthand - to build the walls and defences to cope each day and to see the strength that only someone can experience from within.
If you enjoy books that are full of twist and turns, mystery and have a sinister side to them then I highly recommend you give this book a read.
A must-read!
The Beckett as it's affectionately known is a piece of land with stunning views and natural beauty on the outskirts of the village of Empton, so what is it about the place that seems to leave a sinister mark on those that venture there? The Curse of Beckett's Wood is a mysterious and chilling tale following the life of David Harper, a cyclist that arrives in the picturesque village of Empton and is soon taken under by the spell of the place and the people there. No matter how far away he travels, or how much the time passes Beckett's Wood and the curse that started there has etched itself deep into his life. The sinister grip of Beckett's Wood is like a strangle hold on David and he soon finds his life is one where bad events happen and secrets are born; secrets that cast a long, dark shadow across David's life from which there is no escape.
Murder, passion, childhood abuse, bullying, revenge and fragmented and distorted versions of reality all play a part in David's life and with each page that you read you can't help but find that like the curse of Beckett's Wood, David Harper has etched a little place in your life.
The book covers a range of difficult issues such as mental health, bullying and sexual abuse but unlike a lot of books that I have read in the past, the author covers these issues in a way that doesn't leave you feeling open and raw afterwards, instead giving you a glimpse into what it's like to experience these issues firsthand - to build the walls and defences to cope each day and to see the strength that only someone can experience from within.
If you enjoy books that are full of twist and turns, mystery and have a sinister side to them then I highly recommend you give this book a read.
A must-read!
September 9, 2014
Took me a little while to get in to this book but once I had then I didn't want to put it down. A story of fiction; of time travel but also of a the very real subject of child abuse. Richard has some imagination!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews