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Ghost Wedding
For fans of Sebastian Faulks, Donal Ryan and Anne Tyler comes this beautiful novel following two troubled men, separated by nearly a century, bound by the ghosts that haunt an imposing Irish manor
George Allenby is still wrestling with his experiences as an officer during the First World War when he is sent by his employers to construct a lake at the Manor House, home of the newly rich Remington family. The construction process raises traumatic memories that he isn't yet prepared to face, but solace emerges in the unlikely form of Cora, a maid in the grand home.
Almost a century later, Alex and Ellie are planning their wedding in the grounds of the Manor House. But like Allenby before him, Alex is haunted by a secret that threatens to destroy the life he has built. As the day of his wedding approaches, he must decide whether to tell Ellie about the evening he will always regret.
In this masterful portrait of love and betrayal, David Park reveals the many ways the past seeps into the destructive, formidable, but also hopeful, in the many moments of fragile beauty that remain.
George Allenby is still wrestling with his experiences as an officer during the First World War when he is sent by his employers to construct a lake at the Manor House, home of the newly rich Remington family. The construction process raises traumatic memories that he isn't yet prepared to face, but solace emerges in the unlikely form of Cora, a maid in the grand home.
Almost a century later, Alex and Ellie are planning their wedding in the grounds of the Manor House. But like Allenby before him, Alex is haunted by a secret that threatens to destroy the life he has built. As the day of his wedding approaches, he must decide whether to tell Ellie about the evening he will always regret.
In this masterful portrait of love and betrayal, David Park reveals the many ways the past seeps into the destructive, formidable, but also hopeful, in the many moments of fragile beauty that remain.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published August 5, 2025
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474 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 27, 2025
This is beautifully done. Two storylines set a century apart in Belfast: in one an architect oversees the building of a lake and boathouse, in the other - a hundred years later - a young couple is considering the same boathouse as a wedding venue.
All protagonists are suffering from their past in one way or another, making them hesitant to look ahead. All the while, people from the past (the ghosts of the titles) inhabiting the same spaces surface from Belfast's strata and enter the story uninvited. I am not much for supranational elements as they often feel like a trick, but here it worked well.
If you enjoy quiet books, this could be for you. I wouldn't recommend the audio though as the narrator has a rather monotone approach and builds up every sentence in the same way.
3,5 (for the audio version)
All protagonists are suffering from their past in one way or another, making them hesitant to look ahead. All the while, people from the past (the ghosts of the titles) inhabiting the same spaces surface from Belfast's strata and enter the story uninvited. I am not much for supranational elements as they often feel like a trick, but here it worked well.
If you enjoy quiet books, this could be for you. I wouldn't recommend the audio though as the narrator has a rather monotone approach and builds up every sentence in the same way.
3,5 (for the audio version)
July 7, 2025
A beautiful book which explores Park’s favourite theme: the ways in which our pasts haunts us. He extends the idea here; the ghosts of Belfast itself speak, move, and haunt the characters.
The epigraph Park has selected best gives voice to what his novel explores:
“The geological layers of our lives rest so tightly on top of each other that we always encounter earlier events in later ones, not as a matter that has been fully formed and pushed aside, but absolutely present and alive.”
—Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
The epigraph Park has selected best gives voice to what his novel explores:
“The geological layers of our lives rest so tightly on top of each other that we always encounter earlier events in later ones, not as a matter that has been fully formed and pushed aside, but absolutely present and alive.”
—Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
June 22, 2025
Park´s prose has a dreamlike quality,and in this book´s theme (s) it shines.
May 10, 2025
A remarkable novel, insightful & profound, lyrical & intelligent.
A modern Thomas Hardyish fatalism seems to seep through its beautifully framed pages.
One of my books of the year.
A modern Thomas Hardyish fatalism seems to seep through its beautifully framed pages.
One of my books of the year.
July 2, 2025
A beautiful haunting novel that describes the lives of 2 men 100 years apart. One has served in WW1 and is still suffering from the aftermath of his experience in the war and the tragic loss of men under his command. The other man is preparing for his wedding and remembering poor choices in his past. The dream like quality brings ghosts alive in an unassuming way so they weave seamlessly into the story.
July 29, 2025
Lovely and evocative, beautiful prose. Reminiscent of City of the Mind by Penelope Lively in its ability to conflate past and present lives and evoke the spirit of place.
August 15, 2025
Some years ago I was listening to a book review programme and when the guest author was asked to name her favourite literary writers she named 2 that would certainly be on the top of every readers list, and then surprisingly the name of David Park was mentioned…..”one of Northern Ireland’s finest undiscovered literary talents”......I wanted to find out more…
As a Northern Ireland expat residing in mainland UK I was suddenly very interested to discover the works and possibly the writing genius of this retired school teacher turned author. Two stories in particular caught my attention: Travelling in a Strange land…a father driving to Sunderland in midwinter to collect his son. The journey through the cold, stark snowy landscape allows him the solitude and time to reflect on his past life…Swallowing the sun, a fathers unconditional love for his daughter with a tear filled emotional conclusion. Now the question is would Ghost Wedding have the same breathtaking prose?
There are two different timelines in Ghost Wedding and both are separated by 100 years. George Allenby, an architect by occupation, is charged with the task of constructing a large lake in the grounds of a wealthy landowner overlooked by a spectacular Irish Manor house. The time is post WW1 and George, like many returning, damaged soldiers, is haunted by the traumatic experience, the needless fighting, the untold dead, the never ending mud in filthy rat infested trenches. He is a man full of self doubt questioning his actions as an army officer in the blood soaked fields of France. He is able however to find some solace in the arms of Cora who is employed as a maid in the manor house. It possibly strikes him as strange that shovelling mud and soil, to construct a lake, has now become a positive healing force a long way removed from the dead and dying in France. Now step forward 100 years to the marriage of Alex & Allie, who have chosen as their wedding venue, the lake house which occupies a prime position adj to George Allenby’s masterful lakeside creation. We follow the wedding preparation and learn of Alex’s fears and a terrible secret he holds, which if he discloses to Allie may destroy their future life together before it has even commenced.
The novel explores themes of love, the happiness and heartache it can hide, betrayal and trust, what should be said or possibly left unsaid. As with all David Park novels these connections between past and present are very human and resonate with the reader. The author understands what it is to be human, what it is to be filled with doubt, love and happiness, not everything concludes as we desire but somehow we survive. This is wonderful thoughtful writing, beautiful prose with not a word wasted. Highly recommended.
As a Northern Ireland expat residing in mainland UK I was suddenly very interested to discover the works and possibly the writing genius of this retired school teacher turned author. Two stories in particular caught my attention: Travelling in a Strange land…a father driving to Sunderland in midwinter to collect his son. The journey through the cold, stark snowy landscape allows him the solitude and time to reflect on his past life…Swallowing the sun, a fathers unconditional love for his daughter with a tear filled emotional conclusion. Now the question is would Ghost Wedding have the same breathtaking prose?
There are two different timelines in Ghost Wedding and both are separated by 100 years. George Allenby, an architect by occupation, is charged with the task of constructing a large lake in the grounds of a wealthy landowner overlooked by a spectacular Irish Manor house. The time is post WW1 and George, like many returning, damaged soldiers, is haunted by the traumatic experience, the needless fighting, the untold dead, the never ending mud in filthy rat infested trenches. He is a man full of self doubt questioning his actions as an army officer in the blood soaked fields of France. He is able however to find some solace in the arms of Cora who is employed as a maid in the manor house. It possibly strikes him as strange that shovelling mud and soil, to construct a lake, has now become a positive healing force a long way removed from the dead and dying in France. Now step forward 100 years to the marriage of Alex & Allie, who have chosen as their wedding venue, the lake house which occupies a prime position adj to George Allenby’s masterful lakeside creation. We follow the wedding preparation and learn of Alex’s fears and a terrible secret he holds, which if he discloses to Allie may destroy their future life together before it has even commenced.
The novel explores themes of love, the happiness and heartache it can hide, betrayal and trust, what should be said or possibly left unsaid. As with all David Park novels these connections between past and present are very human and resonate with the reader. The author understands what it is to be human, what it is to be filled with doubt, love and happiness, not everything concludes as we desire but somehow we survive. This is wonderful thoughtful writing, beautiful prose with not a word wasted. Highly recommended.
November 26, 2025
I'm afraid I didn't like it at all. This book has no likeable characters and doesn't unite its 2 storylines satisfyingly.
One storyline takes place in the 1920s and is about George Appleby, a WWI vet who's haunted by things he saw and had to do during the war. He works for a big bureau and is given the task to dig a lake for some rich folks. While there, he met a servant girl, Cora, whom he uses as a warm body in his bed. I can't really name it any other way because George doesn't consider a possibility of starting a real relationship with a peasant. Every time he sees her, he simultaneously wants her and plots his way out. We're told it's because he's such a lone wolf and so damaged by war, but I think he's a coward and a classist. We don't know much about Cora because she's not willing to share and George doesn't ask. The book doesn't provide help otherwise.
The other storyline takes is about two rich kids planning a big wedding in a house on an aforementioned lake. The groom, Alex, is a spineless guy who works for his dad because he's scared to strike out on his own, even though he doesn't like the job. This isn't what mainly makes him spineless, though. After all, he's getting married and needs to provide his wife with a lifestyle that, we're told, she's used to (so she's also spoiled). No, he struggles with making decisions when it comes to doing something good for other people, and there's a skeleton in his past that could've been avoided if he'd grown a pair. When we learn what exactly he did (it takes the whole book because it's supposed to be a big reveal), it makes liking him nearly impossible. And it also made me question how the author define consent. Alex faces no repercussions for his deed, though, and doesn't even confess it to anyone.
His bride, Ellie, has a dead mother, and is very worried about her wedding being perfect, so her dead mother would be proud. There's a big scene mid-book that suggests Ellie has more to her, and that maybe her and Alex aren't well-matched because she's more strong-willed, but it leads nowhere.
Overall, I had a feeling the author was more interested in male characters (and created them as tortured so some readers would find them more likeable) than women.
As I said in the beginning, the storylines doesn't unite in a satisfying way. There's no catharsis or reckoning.
The only reason I finished the book and didn't DNF it is I was expecting some big moment, but it never happened. Big disappointment.
One storyline takes place in the 1920s and is about George Appleby, a WWI vet who's haunted by things he saw and had to do during the war. He works for a big bureau and is given the task to dig a lake for some rich folks. While there, he met a servant girl, Cora, whom he uses as a warm body in his bed. I can't really name it any other way because George doesn't consider a possibility of starting a real relationship with a peasant. Every time he sees her, he simultaneously wants her and plots his way out. We're told it's because he's such a lone wolf and so damaged by war, but I think he's a coward and a classist. We don't know much about Cora because she's not willing to share and George doesn't ask. The book doesn't provide help otherwise.
The other storyline takes is about two rich kids planning a big wedding in a house on an aforementioned lake. The groom, Alex, is a spineless guy who works for his dad because he's scared to strike out on his own, even though he doesn't like the job. This isn't what mainly makes him spineless, though. After all, he's getting married and needs to provide his wife with a lifestyle that, we're told, she's used to (so she's also spoiled). No, he struggles with making decisions when it comes to doing something good for other people, and there's a skeleton in his past that could've been avoided if he'd grown a pair. When we learn what exactly he did (it takes the whole book because it's supposed to be a big reveal), it makes liking him nearly impossible. And it also made me question how the author define consent. Alex faces no repercussions for his deed, though, and doesn't even confess it to anyone.
His bride, Ellie, has a dead mother, and is very worried about her wedding being perfect, so her dead mother would be proud. There's a big scene mid-book that suggests Ellie has more to her, and that maybe her and Alex aren't well-matched because she's more strong-willed, but it leads nowhere.
Overall, I had a feeling the author was more interested in male characters (and created them as tortured so some readers would find them more likeable) than women.
As I said in the beginning, the storylines doesn't unite in a satisfying way. There's no catharsis or reckoning.
The only reason I finished the book and didn't DNF it is I was expecting some big moment, but it never happened. Big disappointment.
May 31, 2025
1920s. George Allenby has the unenviable task of constructing a lake and boat house in the grounds of the newly wealthy Remington family. Poor weather, and too much mud makes the job hard going for a man plagued with the ghosts of his time in the trenches of the Great War. He longs to be done and be able to return to his isolated existence in Belfast, but then he meets housemaid Cora and finds comfort in her arms, but he fears to confess the secrets he is keeping.
A hundred years later, Alex and Ellie have booked the Boat House of the Manor House, now a hotel, for their wedding. Alex is finding his role working for his property developer father increasing difficult, despite the life if allows he and Ellie to live. He is also feels burdened by an act he sorely regrets, which plagues him with guilt he feels coming between him and his bride. Should he confess what he has done, even if it means he might lose the woman he loves?
The story unfurls in two interconnected timelines, Allenby in the past, and Alex and Ellie in the present, and is wreathed in themes that echo through time. Park reflects the haunting burden of guilt, regret and the impact of the choices the two central characters Allenby and Alex have made, cleverly flipping the story on its axis to look at aspects of their lives like two sides of a coin.
As an aficionado of between-the-wars tales, Allenby's side of the story was my favourite - even if it the most heart-breaking. He is a man unable to reconcile his experiences from the trenches, preferring to keep himself apart from emotional entanglements. The glimmer of romance between him and Cora is quite lovely, for as long as it lasts... On the other hand, Alex is much more difficult to take to your heart, because of his past, but there is intriguing light and shade in his character that makes his dilemma all the more through provoking.
The most beautiful thing about this book is the way Park uses the recurring presence of spirits tied to buildings and places, lingering on to look upon the actions of the living who cannot see them, but feel their presence. This works so well with the way Allenby and Alex are haunted by their own ghosts, born of the choices they have made.
An unforgettable novel, which broke my heart. I will be thinking about this one for a long time to come.
A hundred years later, Alex and Ellie have booked the Boat House of the Manor House, now a hotel, for their wedding. Alex is finding his role working for his property developer father increasing difficult, despite the life if allows he and Ellie to live. He is also feels burdened by an act he sorely regrets, which plagues him with guilt he feels coming between him and his bride. Should he confess what he has done, even if it means he might lose the woman he loves?
The story unfurls in two interconnected timelines, Allenby in the past, and Alex and Ellie in the present, and is wreathed in themes that echo through time. Park reflects the haunting burden of guilt, regret and the impact of the choices the two central characters Allenby and Alex have made, cleverly flipping the story on its axis to look at aspects of their lives like two sides of a coin.
As an aficionado of between-the-wars tales, Allenby's side of the story was my favourite - even if it the most heart-breaking. He is a man unable to reconcile his experiences from the trenches, preferring to keep himself apart from emotional entanglements. The glimmer of romance between him and Cora is quite lovely, for as long as it lasts... On the other hand, Alex is much more difficult to take to your heart, because of his past, but there is intriguing light and shade in his character that makes his dilemma all the more through provoking.
The most beautiful thing about this book is the way Park uses the recurring presence of spirits tied to buildings and places, lingering on to look upon the actions of the living who cannot see them, but feel their presence. This works so well with the way Allenby and Alex are haunted by their own ghosts, born of the choices they have made.
An unforgettable novel, which broke my heart. I will be thinking about this one for a long time to come.
July 23, 2025
Ireland, 1920s. George Allenby is put in charge of creating a lake and boat house in the grounds of the Remington family’s imposing manor house. It is an unenviable task plagued by bad weather and the mud makes the job even harder for George, who is haunted by his time in the trenches during the Great War and the ghosts of the men they lost. All he wants is to finish, go home to Belfast and forget.
A century later, Alex and Ellie book the Boat House of the Manor House Hotel for the wedding, known as ‘the ghost house’ by everyone who works there. But Alex is haunted by his own ghost and regrets of a night years earlier. As the wedding approaches, his guilt deepens. He longs to unburden himself but knows that if he confesses then he risks losing everything.
Hopeful, moving, and thought-provoking, Ghost Wedding is a poignant and lingering story about the ways in which our past can haunt our present. David Park showcases himself to be a masterful storyteller with exquisitely written prose and by moving between timelines and narrators to create a storyline that is inextricably interwoven. It is a story that is deeply human, exploring the aftermath of our choices and how we can be haunted by guilt. He examines how these so-called eponymous ghosts can affect our present and our future, shaping our destiny in ways that can be devastating.
Beautiful and affecting, I highly recommend this novel. Just make sure you are emotionally prepared before you start.
A century later, Alex and Ellie book the Boat House of the Manor House Hotel for the wedding, known as ‘the ghost house’ by everyone who works there. But Alex is haunted by his own ghost and regrets of a night years earlier. As the wedding approaches, his guilt deepens. He longs to unburden himself but knows that if he confesses then he risks losing everything.
Hopeful, moving, and thought-provoking, Ghost Wedding is a poignant and lingering story about the ways in which our past can haunt our present. David Park showcases himself to be a masterful storyteller with exquisitely written prose and by moving between timelines and narrators to create a storyline that is inextricably interwoven. It is a story that is deeply human, exploring the aftermath of our choices and how we can be haunted by guilt. He examines how these so-called eponymous ghosts can affect our present and our future, shaping our destiny in ways that can be devastating.
Beautiful and affecting, I highly recommend this novel. Just make sure you are emotionally prepared before you start.
November 23, 2025
The story of two men living a century apart but both haunted by their pasts, Ghost Wedding by David Park is a lyrical, haunting story, beautifully written and truly moving - perfect for spooky season!
In post WW1 Ireland, George Allenby is an architect tasked with creating a large lake and boathouse in the grounds of a large manor house. But he is a troubled man, suffering the aftermath of his experiences in the war and the deaths of those around him.
100 years later Alex and his fiancee Ellie book the boathouse, now part of a hotel complex, for their wedding. Alex is finding working for his property developer father challenging, and he is also harbouring a secret from his past, one which he is afraid to tell Ellie for fear it may destroy their relationship.
With both Allenby and Alex struggling to envisage their future, in the present they are also haunted by spirits from their past. And whilst supernatural is not necessarily my bag, Park manages to weave these ghosts into the story seamlessly and without ever feeling jarring.
I loved the way the two stories echoed each other and the dual timeline was deftly handled, though for me Allenby’s story was particularly touching. It is a moving story of how human frailty and choices made can shape our lives long into the future - and Park’s epigraph and a final chapter that draws on it all contribute to this quiet but beautiful story.
In post WW1 Ireland, George Allenby is an architect tasked with creating a large lake and boathouse in the grounds of a large manor house. But he is a troubled man, suffering the aftermath of his experiences in the war and the deaths of those around him.
100 years later Alex and his fiancee Ellie book the boathouse, now part of a hotel complex, for their wedding. Alex is finding working for his property developer father challenging, and he is also harbouring a secret from his past, one which he is afraid to tell Ellie for fear it may destroy their relationship.
With both Allenby and Alex struggling to envisage their future, in the present they are also haunted by spirits from their past. And whilst supernatural is not necessarily my bag, Park manages to weave these ghosts into the story seamlessly and without ever feeling jarring.
I loved the way the two stories echoed each other and the dual timeline was deftly handled, though for me Allenby’s story was particularly touching. It is a moving story of how human frailty and choices made can shape our lives long into the future - and Park’s epigraph and a final chapter that draws on it all contribute to this quiet but beautiful story.
September 6, 2025
David Park writes with tremendous sensitivity and a restrained prose despite there being a lot of emotion and drama in his stories. This is a dual narrative, a young contemporary couple planning their wedding at a lakeside venue, and a post WW1 narrative of the original creation of that lake, with the workforce sometimes in conflict with the wealthy landowners. It's a book full of thought, metaphors, layers of history and even sometimes the odd ghost. My only reticence in not giving it 5 stars is there are a lot of unfinished themes, and the younger couple could have been delved into more deeply. Loved the earlier story though, and I liked the personal ending and the viewpoints clearly encased in this story about layers of history and experience in each person. Very thought provoking and would recommend. He's not that well exposed as a writer as his nature is private and not self promoting, but he deserves to be read.
October 29, 2025
Read for a monthly book group. I have read, and enjoyed, other books by David Park. I have met him several times. He strikes me as a kind, gentle, thoughtful person. Which, I think, also comes through in his writing. His prose is often lyrical, almost poetic. I find it relaxing.
At the centre of this book is time. How events in our past affect our present, how they may come to affect our future. The narrative takes place in two periods, almost a century apart. George Allenby, a survivor of WW1, is overseeing the construction of an ornamental lake, with accompanying boathouse, for a country house in Northern Ireland. Alex and Ellie, a young couple, are about to get married in the selfsame boathouse, now part of an elegant rural hotel complex. Each, in their own way, is haunted by events and people that have influenced them. Each has hopes and expectations for the future. There are echoes in each other's stories.
At the centre of this book is time. How events in our past affect our present, how they may come to affect our future. The narrative takes place in two periods, almost a century apart. George Allenby, a survivor of WW1, is overseeing the construction of an ornamental lake, with accompanying boathouse, for a country house in Northern Ireland. Alex and Ellie, a young couple, are about to get married in the selfsame boathouse, now part of an elegant rural hotel complex. Each, in their own way, is haunted by events and people that have influenced them. Each has hopes and expectations for the future. There are echoes in each other's stories.
May 29, 2025
This is a beautifully written and thought-provoking book that will linger long in the memory of its readers, much like the eponymous ghosts in the story who inhabit the lives of the main characters. Two storylines, separated by almost a century, are expertly crafted by David Park and inextricably linked. Human frailties and the ramifications of choices made shape lives, present and future, sometimes with terrible and heart-breaking consequences. The writing is truly delightful - it is poetic, elegantly composed and no words are ever wasted or unnecessary. Just as the novel seamlessly links its narratives, the dedication at the front of the book and the story's last paragraph are so cleverly and poignantly intertwined that readers will have tears in their eyes as they close the book.
July 20, 2025
There was nothing terrible about this book but I was happy to return it to the owner without having gotten to the end. The building the lake timeline was OK if a bit of a cliché, but I was not at all interested in the modern one. Partly because weddings and wedding planning are boring, and there wasn't much to like or be interested in about either Alex or... Ellie? I didn't even care to find out the big secret about the girl in the tent because I'm pretty sure I know approximately what happened and didn't need to read about it. Also the ghosts... I'm not against ghosts. I've read and liked many books with ghosts or magical realism elements, but they didn't really work for me.
December 14, 2025
Struggled to get into this one, despite the beautiful writing and clever premise. The time shifts and layering of protagonists over background characters who are ghosts/spirits/the memories of the dead just didn’t work for me. I know there’s a story in there being told, but I just couldn’t grab a hold of it! Or rather, it couldn’t grab a hold of me. I read the first 70 pages then the last 30 but just couldn’t make sense of it. Perhaps I am not in the right head space for literary fiction at this moment?!
July 19, 2025
Too syrupy for me, a lot of reiteration of themes and memories for such a short book.
August 18, 2025
Rather beautiful book, recommended!
September 5, 2025
2.5 stars. This wasn't really my thing, and I don't feel I understood the point of it. The story about Allenby and Cora was the most interesting bit but the modern story was dull.
December 22, 2025
The front cover blurb from this book “David Park is a one of Ireland's great novelists” was originally taken from the only one of Park’s previous novels I have read “Travelling in A Strange Land” – a book about Tom driving though a winter storm to pick up his one of his sons, a novel I found both enjoyable and to possess a gentle strength in its writings and themes. That original blurb went on to say “and this is perhaps his best” and I would say that this his latest novel is stronger still – and it will be interesting to see if the blurber agrees as it is none other than Roddy Doyle – 2025 Booker Prize Chair of Judges. And I would be impressed with the judges if they felt able to include a gentle, beautiful and in some ways timeless book like this among some perhaps more obviously timely books.
For as the book – set like so many of Park’s novels – in and around his native Belfast tells us in an impressive opening chapter which serves as a form of direct to reader introduction before the two interleaved narratives begins, “something is happening to time” in the country manor house where much of the novel takes place “with its course diverted, its journey subverted, harnesses, who can say what is the right word is and who can ell where it will carry us”.
The first strand takes place shortly after the Great War – George Allenby son of two Quakers and who joined up and served as an officer against their wishes, is now working for a firm of Belfast architects on something of a vanity/attempt to gain social prestige project for one of their clients a rich but not upper class (class is an underlying theme through the novel) property developer who is attempting to not just restore the manor house but add the feature of a man made lake and Boat House.
The second is just over 100 years later in the present day – and a couple Alex (who works rather reluctantly for his property developer father in the family business) and Ellie (who works for her widowed – her mother having died when she was young – father, an auctioneer) are looking to get married. Alex has set her heart on the manor house (now converted to a luxury wedding venue) but it is unavailable and instead they are offered the in-restoration boat house.
After an introduction to both stories – a fourth chapter has Alex visiting an an old tea importers office and the distinctiveness of the novel becomes clear. As he sits contemplating the property and smoking, a group of the old inhabitants of the building flicker into life and their stories and merged with his contemplations. And from them on this merging of figures from memory, dreams or simply the unknown (to the character) past becomes entirely natural to the story and works particularly effectively – with Alex additionally haunted (more figuratively) by an incident with a girl (and his friends) at a festival.
Meanwhile, Allenby starts a love affair with Cora one of the maids at the house, all the while though haunted by memories of the war and in particular his actions in mercy-killing a young soldier under his command who was terribly wounded. An incident when the works uncover a baby’s body which he re-buries so as to avoid further delays to a project already literally bogged down only adds to his feelings of melancholy, and guilt which extend to his intentions for Cora.
Frequently in novels which alternate between timelines, I as a reader find myself slightly trudging though one of the sets of chapters, mainly in anticipation of the next instalment of the other set – but here I very much enjoyed both stories with Allenby’s having the greatest poignancy but Alex’s the greatest blending of the past (which remains throughout the feature which turns a good novel into a very good one).
And after what it felt could have been a slightly conventional ending to both stories (too many pregnancies) both end on a well-handled melancholic note (the Allenby storyline particularly) and there is a bravura final chapter effectively written directly by the author to the reader as he draws on one of the book’s epigraphs: Luke 14:13 “when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame” in a section which begins “The tale now is told and I prepare a table in the heart’s imagination” extending an invite to many he knows, pities (in a positive way) or silently admires for their service and even those who “came out of the holy mystery of the imagination, and found their life on the page” including “Tom snow-blinded by grief and trying to reach his son” and the other characters in his fiction.
Highly recommended.
For as the book – set like so many of Park’s novels – in and around his native Belfast tells us in an impressive opening chapter which serves as a form of direct to reader introduction before the two interleaved narratives begins, “something is happening to time” in the country manor house where much of the novel takes place “with its course diverted, its journey subverted, harnesses, who can say what is the right word is and who can ell where it will carry us”.
The first strand takes place shortly after the Great War – George Allenby son of two Quakers and who joined up and served as an officer against their wishes, is now working for a firm of Belfast architects on something of a vanity/attempt to gain social prestige project for one of their clients a rich but not upper class (class is an underlying theme through the novel) property developer who is attempting to not just restore the manor house but add the feature of a man made lake and Boat House.
The second is just over 100 years later in the present day – and a couple Alex (who works rather reluctantly for his property developer father in the family business) and Ellie (who works for her widowed – her mother having died when she was young – father, an auctioneer) are looking to get married. Alex has set her heart on the manor house (now converted to a luxury wedding venue) but it is unavailable and instead they are offered the in-restoration boat house.
After an introduction to both stories – a fourth chapter has Alex visiting an an old tea importers office and the distinctiveness of the novel becomes clear. As he sits contemplating the property and smoking, a group of the old inhabitants of the building flicker into life and their stories and merged with his contemplations. And from them on this merging of figures from memory, dreams or simply the unknown (to the character) past becomes entirely natural to the story and works particularly effectively – with Alex additionally haunted (more figuratively) by an incident with a girl (and his friends) at a festival.
Meanwhile, Allenby starts a love affair with Cora one of the maids at the house, all the while though haunted by memories of the war and in particular his actions in mercy-killing a young soldier under his command who was terribly wounded. An incident when the works uncover a baby’s body which he re-buries so as to avoid further delays to a project already literally bogged down only adds to his feelings of melancholy, and guilt which extend to his intentions for Cora.
Frequently in novels which alternate between timelines, I as a reader find myself slightly trudging though one of the sets of chapters, mainly in anticipation of the next instalment of the other set – but here I very much enjoyed both stories with Allenby’s having the greatest poignancy but Alex’s the greatest blending of the past (which remains throughout the feature which turns a good novel into a very good one).
And after what it felt could have been a slightly conventional ending to both stories (too many pregnancies) both end on a well-handled melancholic note (the Allenby storyline particularly) and there is a bravura final chapter effectively written directly by the author to the reader as he draws on one of the book’s epigraphs: Luke 14:13 “when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame” in a section which begins “The tale now is told and I prepare a table in the heart’s imagination” extending an invite to many he knows, pities (in a positive way) or silently admires for their service and even those who “came out of the holy mystery of the imagination, and found their life on the page” including “Tom snow-blinded by grief and trying to reach his son” and the other characters in his fiction.
Highly recommended.
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