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The Telling
From the bestselling author of Longbourn comes a ghost story that is a thrilling—and sometimes chilling—tale about two women, separated by almost two centuries, grappling with change and loss.
After her mother dies, Rachel sets off alone to pack up and sell off the remnants of her family’s isolated country house. But from the moment she steps through the front door, she feels that the house contains more than she had expected. Generations earlier, a young housemaid, Lizzy, called the same dwelling home. On course for a life of service no different from her mother and her mother’s mother before her, Lizzy’s world is upended by the arrival of a mysterious lodger. Interweaving the two narratives, Jo Baker brings these women, both struggling against their stations and their duties, vividly to life.
After her mother dies, Rachel sets off alone to pack up and sell off the remnants of her family’s isolated country house. But from the moment she steps through the front door, she feels that the house contains more than she had expected. Generations earlier, a young housemaid, Lizzy, called the same dwelling home. On course for a life of service no different from her mother and her mother’s mother before her, Lizzy’s world is upended by the arrival of a mysterious lodger. Interweaving the two narratives, Jo Baker brings these women, both struggling against their stations and their duties, vividly to life.
358 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
69 people are currently reading
1794 people want to read
About the author
Jo Baker
19 books985 followersJo Baker is the author of six novels, most recently Longbourn and A Country Road, A Tree. She has also written for BBC Radio 4, and her short stories have been included in a number of anthologies. She lives in Lancaster, England, with her husband, the playwright and screenwriter Daragh Carville, and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
October 17, 2012
Hmmmm...well I finished it. The story focusses on two main characters. Rachel in the present day who is clearing out her mothers cottage following her death and Lizzy who lived in the cottage in the 1800's. I had no idea what Rachel was going on about half the time and found it hard to connect with her at all. She basically moped about and was a total pain in the arse to her husband and child and basically anyone else she spoke to. She picked up on some ghostly force within the cottage and all of a sudden whilst walking through a graveyard knew exactly who had lived in the cottage and who was haunting her and why. I couldn't work out how she got to all these conclusions. She confirmed her thoughts of residency via census documents but that's all. This would have been much more feasible storyline had she found an old journal or something and got to know Lizzy as well as she claimed to have done. Lizzy's story on the other hand was much more plausible. I really did want to read to the end to see what happened. In all honesty this read would have worked much better without Rachel and the dual story as sadly it just had a negative impact on the book.
January 18, 2022
Jo Baker’s books deserve to be more highly rated! Longbourn is her best known work, and I wanted to give it six stars. This one also gets a five, and I don’t give fives easily.
This is a dual-timeline story, following a young mother in the present and a 19 yo woman in the mid-1800s. Rachel, in the present, is clearing out her mum’s cottage, which sits not far from Lancaster, England, in the heart of farm country. Her mum has recently passed and dad isn’t up to the job. She starts to feel that the house isn’t really vacant, as she begins to see and hear things she can’t explain.
We alternate between her story and Lizzy’s, a housemaid to a local pastor in the 19th century. Her life is upended when their family agrees to take in a lodger, a man who moves in to her bedroom upstairs, displacing her and her sister. Their family needs the income and Lizzy eventually begins to understand why he is there.
Without throwing any spoilers, that’s the story, in a nutshell, and you’ll discover the connection between the two as you read. At the beginning, I was much more interested in Rachel’s story, but as this book became a page-turner, I was dying to see what was happening with each woman as we careened back and forth in time.
I’m not really someone who seeks out dual-timeline narratives, but this one pulled me in from the first chapter, and became harder to put down as it went. As beautiful as Baker’s writing is, and as perfectly as she draws not just the surroundings but the feeling of the surroundings…to the point that I couldn’t help but pause and reread line after line, I just wanted to rip from one page to the next. The audio version was also wonderfully performed by Jilly Bond, my first but not my last of her work.
Two thumbs up for the paper and audio versions, and I wish I had more thumbs! Needless to say, I’ll be reading, and more than likely rereading, all of Baker’s work.
This is a dual-timeline story, following a young mother in the present and a 19 yo woman in the mid-1800s. Rachel, in the present, is clearing out her mum’s cottage, which sits not far from Lancaster, England, in the heart of farm country. Her mum has recently passed and dad isn’t up to the job. She starts to feel that the house isn’t really vacant, as she begins to see and hear things she can’t explain.
We alternate between her story and Lizzy’s, a housemaid to a local pastor in the 19th century. Her life is upended when their family agrees to take in a lodger, a man who moves in to her bedroom upstairs, displacing her and her sister. Their family needs the income and Lizzy eventually begins to understand why he is there.
Without throwing any spoilers, that’s the story, in a nutshell, and you’ll discover the connection between the two as you read. At the beginning, I was much more interested in Rachel’s story, but as this book became a page-turner, I was dying to see what was happening with each woman as we careened back and forth in time.
I’m not really someone who seeks out dual-timeline narratives, but this one pulled me in from the first chapter, and became harder to put down as it went. As beautiful as Baker’s writing is, and as perfectly as she draws not just the surroundings but the feeling of the surroundings…to the point that I couldn’t help but pause and reread line after line, I just wanted to rip from one page to the next. The audio version was also wonderfully performed by Jilly Bond, my first but not my last of her work.
Two thumbs up for the paper and audio versions, and I wish I had more thumbs! Needless to say, I’ll be reading, and more than likely rereading, all of Baker’s work.
July 11, 2019
2.5\5, rounded up to 3 🌟
July 1, 2015
My problem with this novel is I dove into the Telling expecting an eerie ghost story and instead I ended up reading a historical fiction. I enjoyed Elizabeth's story taking place in the 19th century, and felt the tale would have been better told had Baker left out Rachel. The 3 stars is based on Elizabeth and her family alone, because if I factor the present day story in, then I disparage the well written parts of the novel. It is my understanding that the haunting is meant to be just at the edge of Rachel's reality so she could confuse it with her own emotional chaos and question herself. It just didn't engage me. There was nothing haunting about this story, which was a huge let down. Rachel's side of things is more a jumbled mess and I ended up not really caring what her issues were, she was all over the place. Though it could be argued that she had an I was hungry for something chilling that just ended up being sad. The story started off slow, and it took a while to really get into it. It's not badly written, the problem is I felt misled. There were wonderful things about it, the time period was harsh and reading about the choices people made and the hardships families faced hits the reader in the gut. The chemistry between Elizabeth and the 'stranger loding in her family home' had me fully engaged. This story seems it would have been better off just taking out the supernatural element entirely (which for me is unheard of as I love supernatural tales) and making it historical fiction because Baker is wonderfully gifted at transporting the reader to forgotten times. (I realize I keep using the word historical) A well written story about the Chartist movement (admittedly I knew little about), grief, depression, loss and class struggle but not as haunting as I hoped. I liked it but not for what I initially wanted from the synopsis
July 4, 2012
This book is two stories overlaying each other about two young women from different eras, both struggling with love and loss in vastly different circumstances.It is intensely detailed and as such unfolds slowly and draws you in. the narrative is internalised so the story is told through the two girls observations and feelings. The Chartist movement which Elizabeth becomes drawn into is very interesting as an historical event. In gentle ways the author covers many emotional issues from post natal depression to the desperate injustice of being clever but not regarded as worthy of an education, and general inequality of a nation beholden to the upper classes by account of birth. The story of Elizabeth comes to dominate the narrative as Rachel moves towards a much happier ending.
June 13, 2010
What a good book this turned out to be.
A seemless dual time narrative that tells the story of present day Rachel, struggling with post-natal depression and her mother's death.Intertwined with that of 19C Elizabeth who gets caught up with the Chartist movement, and a man who questions all the values she holds to be true.
Beautifully written in places with a narrative that just keeps you turning the pages.I really enjoyed it.
A seemless dual time narrative that tells the story of present day Rachel, struggling with post-natal depression and her mother's death.Intertwined with that of 19C Elizabeth who gets caught up with the Chartist movement, and a man who questions all the values she holds to be true.
Beautifully written in places with a narrative that just keeps you turning the pages.I really enjoyed it.
September 19, 2022
I love Jo Baker's books. This one didn't have the kind of "point" that most readers vie for. I think that it has more of an exploratory look at lives in different eras. I really liked the dual timelines. The overly religious and often punitive outlook in the one timeline of the 19 year old maid makes me thankful for how much more freedom we have. I appreciate the narrator of the audiobook version, she brought the book to life.
September 3, 2015
The Telling by Jo Baker is a recommended, atmospheric ghost story that alternates between two time periods, contemporary and Gothic.
Rachel's mother has died and she has went to pack up and clean out the house called Reading Room Cottage that her parents had purchased for a vacation home for their retirement. She had planned to get the chore done quickly, especially since she left her husband Mark, and a new baby at home, but soon realizes that it is going to take longer. Two centuries before this, housemaid Lizzy had lived in the same house. Lizzy found the books of their new lodger, Mr. Moore, irresistible. Today, Rachel is inexplicably drawn to the bookcase and certain books and titles that Lizzy previously read.
Baker brings the lives of both woman into sharp focus in alternating chapters, although the period details and class inequalities of Lizzy's time will appeal much more to those who enjoy historical fiction. While this is a ghost story, this is not a creepy novel. It consists more of two parallel stories that are set in the same cottage. The actual haunting doesn't really feel convincing to me.
Nothing firmly connected the two women beyond the cottage itself.
The writing is quite good and the historical descriptions interesting, but, even though I enjoyed the book, it ended up being a satisfactory read but nothing special for me. Lizzy's story was more compelling than Rachel's for me.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Vintage for review purposes.
Rachel's mother has died and she has went to pack up and clean out the house called Reading Room Cottage that her parents had purchased for a vacation home for their retirement. She had planned to get the chore done quickly, especially since she left her husband Mark, and a new baby at home, but soon realizes that it is going to take longer. Two centuries before this, housemaid Lizzy had lived in the same house. Lizzy found the books of their new lodger, Mr. Moore, irresistible. Today, Rachel is inexplicably drawn to the bookcase and certain books and titles that Lizzy previously read.
Baker brings the lives of both woman into sharp focus in alternating chapters, although the period details and class inequalities of Lizzy's time will appeal much more to those who enjoy historical fiction. While this is a ghost story, this is not a creepy novel. It consists more of two parallel stories that are set in the same cottage. The actual haunting doesn't really feel convincing to me.
Nothing firmly connected the two women beyond the cottage itself.
The writing is quite good and the historical descriptions interesting, but, even though I enjoyed the book, it ended up being a satisfactory read but nothing special for me. Lizzy's story was more compelling than Rachel's for me.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Vintage for review purposes.
August 2, 2015
If a house were to truly be haunted, this is how I imagine it would be. A powerful and intense read. Baker received some criticism for her descriptions--that they were lengthy. I found them to be lush and beautiful and placed me immediately next to the character...until the very end when I had to rush ahead to find out what was going to happen next. Then I went back and read every lovely word. Favorite quote:
"Difficulties became like stones in mid-stream; I slid around them, flowed over them; they remained, but I did not let them check my progress."
"Difficulties became like stones in mid-stream; I slid around them, flowed over them; they remained, but I did not let them check my progress."
August 10, 2012
My favourite parts of this book were undoubtedly the historical chapters. I was literally wailing while I read the end. My fellow commuters must have thought I was having a small fit. Would definitely recommend, but not to anyone who has lost a loved one recently. It hits very close to home.
February 12, 2023
Beautifully written and compelling - the strung-wire atmosphere and interior tension in the modern sections is contrasted with a much more conventionally thrilling bittersweet historical romance in the second timeline. Definitely more of a ghost story than a timeslip novel, but still offered up lots of interesting things for me to learn. I can see why my supervisor recommended it!
January 9, 2023
I'm interested in the issues Baker explores in this novel, and I can see how this novel was preparation for writing Longbourn, which I just love. Nonetheless, I thought The Telling really lagged in the middle--it's hard to maintain dramatic tension when one of your main characters suffers from emotional paralysis, so that nothing much happens for long stretches. But I found the conclusion moving, and that redeemed the novel overall for me, so 4 stars.
January 6, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, or rather both of the stories — one in the mid 1800s, the other more or less contemporary: two women, living generations apart, whose lives intersect in barely discernible, and somewhat spooky, ways. Rachel, a young mother whose own mother has recently died, sets out to pack up and sell her parents’ country house in a small village. About 150 years earlier, the cottage had been the home of Elizabeth (Lizzy), the eldest daughter in a family of basket weavers. Early in the narrative, the family takes in a man who was active in the Chartist Movement of mid-19th century England, a labor movement seeking political reform and rights for the working class. (The movement was successfully squelched by the government by 1854) He brings to Lizzy the world of books and ideas that change her forever.
In alternating chapters, both of these women, their loves and losses, and their worlds — but particularly Lizzy’s, I think — are vividly rendered with convincing characters and dialogue and lush detail. The book is a joy to read. I only wish I could have slowed down. I was completely engrossed from the first page and hardly came up for air. Baker is a wonderful writer. Her gorgeous descriptions of landscapes here are but a precursor to those in Longbourn.
Though this is by no means a traditional ghost story, the ghostliness, the haunting as it were, is expertly handled. One reviewer here said: “If a house were to truly be haunted, this is how I imagine it would be.” Yes, yes! Baker does such a wonderful job of describing the sense of another presence, even though we know that such sensations are most likely the products of an overactive imagination. Rachel, herself, knows that, “In human vision, only a tiny proportion is direct, exact: the rest is filled in with the broad brushstrokes of the mind. So we see the mind’s constructions, not what is really there.” And yet. . . .
“Something moved. At the window. I looked straight at the dark panes. . . . A floorboard creaked under my foot. The air seemed to thicken, to condense. The wind tore at the slates, buffeted the glass. The dark was tussling outside; something was reflected on the glass, a pale shape. The pane rattled and the reflection juddered. I moved towards it, and it came clearer and closer: just me. My reflection. That was all.”
It’s an intense and delightful read.
In alternating chapters, both of these women, their loves and losses, and their worlds — but particularly Lizzy’s, I think — are vividly rendered with convincing characters and dialogue and lush detail. The book is a joy to read. I only wish I could have slowed down. I was completely engrossed from the first page and hardly came up for air. Baker is a wonderful writer. Her gorgeous descriptions of landscapes here are but a precursor to those in Longbourn.
Though this is by no means a traditional ghost story, the ghostliness, the haunting as it were, is expertly handled. One reviewer here said: “If a house were to truly be haunted, this is how I imagine it would be.” Yes, yes! Baker does such a wonderful job of describing the sense of another presence, even though we know that such sensations are most likely the products of an overactive imagination. Rachel, herself, knows that, “In human vision, only a tiny proportion is direct, exact: the rest is filled in with the broad brushstrokes of the mind. So we see the mind’s constructions, not what is really there.” And yet. . . .
“Something moved. At the window. I looked straight at the dark panes. . . . A floorboard creaked under my foot. The air seemed to thicken, to condense. The wind tore at the slates, buffeted the glass. The dark was tussling outside; something was reflected on the glass, a pale shape. The pane rattled and the reflection juddered. I moved towards it, and it came clearer and closer: just me. My reflection. That was all.”
It’s an intense and delightful read.
June 22, 2010
Loved this one - I'm always a sucker for these dual timeframe stories, and this one was really well done. The modern story (unusually) had me as enthralled as the heartbreaking historical one. Nicely written too, quite sparse and engaging. Recommended...
July 2, 2010
A pleasant, slightly spooky dual time story. As usual I liked the historical part best but both stories were pretty good reading.
October 14, 2025
By the end, I surprised myself. I fell in love with this book.
A daughter sweeps through her late mother’s cabin to clean up. As the project becomes more daunting, her curiosity blooms. Taking place now and in the 1800s, this story is perfect for a spooky fall night, complete with leather bound books and whispered secrets.
If you want to get in the mood for the Wuthering Heights movie release - this might be a good addition to your autumn reading list. Where the plot lacks in thickening, the ambience makes up for it. In The Telling you might find a powerful historical fiction disguised as a mystery-thriller. I won’t forget it easily.
A daughter sweeps through her late mother’s cabin to clean up. As the project becomes more daunting, her curiosity blooms. Taking place now and in the 1800s, this story is perfect for a spooky fall night, complete with leather bound books and whispered secrets.
If you want to get in the mood for the Wuthering Heights movie release - this might be a good addition to your autumn reading list. Where the plot lacks in thickening, the ambience makes up for it. In The Telling you might find a powerful historical fiction disguised as a mystery-thriller. I won’t forget it easily.
June 23, 2021
After reading Jo Baker’s Longbourn I had high hopes for this novel. It’s a strange jumpy book with moments that work but the entirety doesn’t quite add up as it should. A bit too much overly descriptive prose that seems rather self conscious.
December 1, 2018
A haunting tale with Chartism at it's core. Great read.
September 28, 2015
As one reviewer wrote -"A Treat to Read" - Daily Mail (London) I agree whole-heartedly. This is not a ghost story as a reader might expect. This was a beautiful story about two young women, one in modern day London and one in the mid 1800's whose lives intersect at a cottage in the countryside of England. Rachel and Elizabeth both know loss and the author goes back and forth between the chapters acquainting us with both characters. Is Elizabeth haunting Rachel? Why? The author does a great job of describing 1800's England and the fight for rights by the "common" man at a very difficult time in English history. I got lost in her descriptive and vibrant prose of the landscapes.
The only issue I had with the book is I thought that Rachel needed more background leading up to her stay at the cottage. But it is a slight peeve. I enjoyed this book immensely.
Thank you GoodReads for the giveaway and to Vintage Books for this free copy. The above review is an honest opinion.
The only issue I had with the book is I thought that Rachel needed more background leading up to her stay at the cottage. But it is a slight peeve. I enjoyed this book immensely.
Thank you GoodReads for the giveaway and to Vintage Books for this free copy. The above review is an honest opinion.
December 30, 2011
At first I didn't understand what was going on, but realized, after reading the back cover, that this is really two stories interwoven, with one chapter told from a present-day woman's standpoint and the next told from the standpoint of a different character, a woman who lives in the mid-19th century. I'm not sure the chapters start out alternating, though, which may have lead to my confusion. In any case, I found the nexus between the two stories to be too feeble to really pull off the story. I also enjoyed the historical story much more than the modern-day one. I would've been happy to read only that character's story because I thought it was a lot more interesting than the other story. It could stand alone. Overall, though, Baker's writing is very descriptive and her description of the Chartist movement was interesting.
July 14, 2019
Uggggh. I don't see how this can be classified as any kind of ghost story. I'm not a fan of historical fiction, often it is to detailed for me so I didn't enjoy the "past" story and I did NOT get what issues the present protagonist had. I thought she was having problems with her husband or post-partum depression but I didn't get it was all related to her mom until it mentions "the telling" of her mother's death to the neighbor. I found it very unemotional...and weird.
February 4, 2016
If you enjoy historical fiction, then I recommend The Telling for Elizabeth's story and the information about the Chartist movement. I enjoy Jo Baker's historical writing and found Elizabeth a compelling character. The contemporary story line with Kate at times felt like someone was running their fingernails across the chalkboard. Kate, at times, was too frenetic for me. I realize she was emotionally distraught, I'm not totally devoid of compassion; but I just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and tell her to get a grip on things.
April 14, 2015
I was really looking forward to this book. I thought it would be a good October read, since it's supposed to be a ghost story. It was hardly a ghost story. Or at least, it wasn't scary or eerie at all. The structure - parallel stories of Rachel and Elizabeth - took away from the ghostly potential of the book. I understand that Baker was trying to build suspense, but it felt forced. The story took a while to really get going but then it was over too soon, and for that I'd give it 3.5 stars.
February 22, 2014
The story was enjoyable but not riveting. I gave this book 4 stars on the strength of the author's writing - her style is exquisite and the minute descriptions of nature, colours, feelings were almost poetry. I found myself highlighting dozens of paragraphs to reread later.
maybe
August 12, 2015This could be a goodie to consider for the end of October.
June 11, 2017
Did not finish. This the second book I've attempted by Jo Baker. They always sound good but are sooooo slow and never seem to go anywhere.
September 27, 2020
The Telling by Jo Baker is essentially a study of grief as much as it is a ghost story.
Read more of our review here: http://www.bookerworm.com/reviews/635...
Read more of our review here: http://www.bookerworm.com/reviews/635...
March 29, 2022
Rachel arrives at Storrs Hall, her late mother’s isolated country cottage. While packing up the house, painful memories of loss and grief are exposed, as well as the unsettling feeling of a presence in the house. Generations earlier, a young housemaid, Lizzy, called the same dwelling home. So begins the intertwining tale of two women, both struggling against conforming to duty.
Written with a thin veil between life and death, the past and the present, the narrative is subtle, and begins with Rachel’s haunting experiences that are all too relatable. Those moments that are hard to define, that make us wonder whether they did in fact happen at all: a blur in the corner of your eye, strange humming that could surely just be faulty wiring; unease that has Rachel questioning her own lucidity as it draws on her own complex emotions about grief, partnership and motherhood. But with the help of a neighbour, a previous owner and a local historian, Rachel pieces together the house that was a labourer’s cottage, part of the Storrs estate.
Lizzy’s story opens up as a parallel narrative, that reads like a classic historical fiction, delving deep into the experiences of a young working-class woman growing up in the mid-1800s. She works in the house of Reverend and Mrs Wolfenden, who ask about Lizzy’s family lodger, Mr Moore, and request they she reports to them what she sees. Mr Moore holds private meetings in his room filled with a collection of books. Lizzy thinks that discussions about Shakespeare and Robinson Crusoe are innocent, but the Reverend claims Mr Moore is an agitator, a democrat.
Despite the warnings, Lizzie begins visiting Mr Moore, and a complex relationship begins between this young woman and older man. It’s a relationship that highlights the vulnerability of Lizzy’s adolescence, which made for aptly uncomfortable reading, signifying the dual impact of gender and class oppression. She is a woman with few choices, torn between a relationship of clumsy beginnings with an older man, and a man she is supposed to marry; a woman limited by the label of wife. The story also highlights the impacts of the Chartist Movement of the time, which added interest to the narrative.
Ultimately, I picked this book up for a ghost story, though I think it is better suited for those interested in historical fiction. While I was keen to hold onto Rachel’s perspective, this diminishes as the book continues. It felt like she was reading a book herself, the story of Lizzy, which she became immersed in. Overall, not enough ‘ghost’ for me.
Written with a thin veil between life and death, the past and the present, the narrative is subtle, and begins with Rachel’s haunting experiences that are all too relatable. Those moments that are hard to define, that make us wonder whether they did in fact happen at all: a blur in the corner of your eye, strange humming that could surely just be faulty wiring; unease that has Rachel questioning her own lucidity as it draws on her own complex emotions about grief, partnership and motherhood. But with the help of a neighbour, a previous owner and a local historian, Rachel pieces together the house that was a labourer’s cottage, part of the Storrs estate.
Lizzy’s story opens up as a parallel narrative, that reads like a classic historical fiction, delving deep into the experiences of a young working-class woman growing up in the mid-1800s. She works in the house of Reverend and Mrs Wolfenden, who ask about Lizzy’s family lodger, Mr Moore, and request they she reports to them what she sees. Mr Moore holds private meetings in his room filled with a collection of books. Lizzy thinks that discussions about Shakespeare and Robinson Crusoe are innocent, but the Reverend claims Mr Moore is an agitator, a democrat.
Despite the warnings, Lizzie begins visiting Mr Moore, and a complex relationship begins between this young woman and older man. It’s a relationship that highlights the vulnerability of Lizzy’s adolescence, which made for aptly uncomfortable reading, signifying the dual impact of gender and class oppression. She is a woman with few choices, torn between a relationship of clumsy beginnings with an older man, and a man she is supposed to marry; a woman limited by the label of wife. The story also highlights the impacts of the Chartist Movement of the time, which added interest to the narrative.
Ultimately, I picked this book up for a ghost story, though I think it is better suited for those interested in historical fiction. While I was keen to hold onto Rachel’s perspective, this diminishes as the book continues. It felt like she was reading a book herself, the story of Lizzy, which she became immersed in. Overall, not enough ‘ghost’ for me.
October 30, 2025
Mildly haunting, and gorgeous written narrative; The Telling reflects on existence, loss, and living. While there is a Gothic sensibility, this novel is more truly a dual timeline historical fiction than a ghost story. Rachel is a new mother grieving her own mother's death as she tries to pack up her parents' intended retirement home. In another time, a young housemaid's world is opening up with new knowledge and perspectives. The house and the historical traces left behind connect the women through the two stories' emotional resonance and themes.
I appreciated Baker's tender and poetic portrayal, exploring life's ephemerality and the personal traces individuals leave behind in material objects and energetic registers. The writing is stunningly resonate and affecting. But I wanted more connection between the two stories; these felt fairly separate rather than interdependent narratives. The ghost story piece needed to have a stronger presence in the story to join the two narratives together beyond a vague sense and the materiality of the house itself. The impact produced by Rachel looking into Elizabeth's story needed to be more overt, prominent, and significantly felt.
Emotively performed by Jilly Bond, the audio edition was a little challenging in that there were no stated chapter breaks or textual indication for timeline/character shifts, so the listener has to glean these transitions from the performers voice inflections and the narrative context.
(4.5 stars rounded up, because the writing and the two stories—even as they felt mostly disconnected—were captivating).
I appreciated Baker's tender and poetic portrayal, exploring life's ephemerality and the personal traces individuals leave behind in material objects and energetic registers. The writing is stunningly resonate and affecting. But I wanted more connection between the two stories; these felt fairly separate rather than interdependent narratives. The ghost story piece needed to have a stronger presence in the story to join the two narratives together beyond a vague sense and the materiality of the house itself. The impact produced by Rachel looking into Elizabeth's story needed to be more overt, prominent, and significantly felt.
Emotively performed by Jilly Bond, the audio edition was a little challenging in that there were no stated chapter breaks or textual indication for timeline/character shifts, so the listener has to glean these transitions from the performers voice inflections and the narrative context.
(4.5 stars rounded up, because the writing and the two stories—even as they felt mostly disconnected—were captivating).
December 20, 2017
After the death of her mother, Rachel takes it upon herself to clean out her parents’ country house, but she is unprepared for the strange feelings that the vacant house evokes. Rachel soon finds herself losing time, disappearing mentally and then returning with no idea of where she had been and what she had been doing. And her questions about the house keep piling up. Can Rachel figure out the identity of the presence she feels in the house? Who is Elizabeth, and what did life hold for her?
Author Jo Baker’s novel “The Telling” gives readers an interesting glimpse into a different era: the mid 1800s, when the lower class was struggling to educate themselves and rise up to their full potential. The story of Lizzy, or Elizabeth, alternates with Rachel’s, telling of a young housemaid whose fascination with her family’s tenant leads her to question her faith and the path set out before her. Readers will love Lizzy sometimes while feeling extremely frustrated with her at others; Lizzy’s inner struggles are illuminating, inspirational, and, at times, disheartening. Meanwhile, Rachel is a puzzling character, struggling with her grief for her mother and her intense love for her daughter and trying to put it all aside to solve the mystery of the house. “The Telling” is intense, fascinating novel that readers will spend a long time thinking through.
(Review originally written for San Francisco Book Review.)
Author Jo Baker’s novel “The Telling” gives readers an interesting glimpse into a different era: the mid 1800s, when the lower class was struggling to educate themselves and rise up to their full potential. The story of Lizzy, or Elizabeth, alternates with Rachel’s, telling of a young housemaid whose fascination with her family’s tenant leads her to question her faith and the path set out before her. Readers will love Lizzy sometimes while feeling extremely frustrated with her at others; Lizzy’s inner struggles are illuminating, inspirational, and, at times, disheartening. Meanwhile, Rachel is a puzzling character, struggling with her grief for her mother and her intense love for her daughter and trying to put it all aside to solve the mystery of the house. “The Telling” is intense, fascinating novel that readers will spend a long time thinking through.
(Review originally written for San Francisco Book Review.)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews