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The Standing Water
Updated cover edition of ASIN B019UH7ACY
A work of quality literary fiction with a gothic edge, 'The Standing Water' is a strangely disturbing take on the small town, coming of age story. Growing up in remote Emberfield, Ryan suspects his headmaster may be responsible for the deaths of two pupils. Could he be? In Ryan's strange, hallucinatory world - a place where dead boys might haunt ponds, where the landscape is said to be littered with ghosts and curses - the borders between the imaginary and real, light and darkness, life and death can seem blurred. But for how long will Ryan's rich inner life shield him against the volatile and brutal Mr Weirton and the harsh adult world of his hometown?
A gripping tale that unwinds in darkly poetic prose, 'The Standing Water' uncovers violence, cruelty and sinister secrets in the rain-sodden flatlands of 1980s northern England.
A literary fiction novel - with borrowings from the genres of magical realism, gothic literature and suspense - 'The Standing Water' (Steel String Books) has been compared to a post-modern mix of Dickens, Twain and Poe. The novel could also be placed in the fabulist tradition of writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gunter Grass, Ben Okri and Jorge Luis Borges.
Enter a world in which TV sets, cartoons and cars coexist alongside skeletons, knightly tombs, glimpses of angels, tales of ghostly drummer boys, and legends of mysterious forces that can switch from malevolent to helpful then back again. Enter a world in which little is as it appears, where Old Testament myths have a habit of playing themselves out under heavy English skies, and where death stalks even the young and innocent.
A work of quality literary fiction with a gothic edge, 'The Standing Water' is a strangely disturbing take on the small town, coming of age story. Growing up in remote Emberfield, Ryan suspects his headmaster may be responsible for the deaths of two pupils. Could he be? In Ryan's strange, hallucinatory world - a place where dead boys might haunt ponds, where the landscape is said to be littered with ghosts and curses - the borders between the imaginary and real, light and darkness, life and death can seem blurred. But for how long will Ryan's rich inner life shield him against the volatile and brutal Mr Weirton and the harsh adult world of his hometown?
A gripping tale that unwinds in darkly poetic prose, 'The Standing Water' uncovers violence, cruelty and sinister secrets in the rain-sodden flatlands of 1980s northern England.
A literary fiction novel - with borrowings from the genres of magical realism, gothic literature and suspense - 'The Standing Water' (Steel String Books) has been compared to a post-modern mix of Dickens, Twain and Poe. The novel could also be placed in the fabulist tradition of writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gunter Grass, Ben Okri and Jorge Luis Borges.
Enter a world in which TV sets, cartoons and cars coexist alongside skeletons, knightly tombs, glimpses of angels, tales of ghostly drummer boys, and legends of mysterious forces that can switch from malevolent to helpful then back again. Enter a world in which little is as it appears, where Old Testament myths have a habit of playing themselves out under heavy English skies, and where death stalks even the young and innocent.
428 pages, Unknown Binding
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About the author
David Castleton
1 book7 followersDavid Castleton grew up in rural North Yorkshire, England, where a childhood spent haphazardly reading great literature and poking around spooky churches and ruined abbeys perhaps attuned him to the darker sides of literature and creativity. An author of 'quality fiction with a gothic edge', David feels his writing is best classified as literary fiction, but he also draws on genres such as magical realism, gothic literature, mystery, suspense and black comedy. His debut novel 'The Standing Water' (Steel String Books) - a dark coming of age tale set in 1980s northern England - has received positive reviews in British publications. David blogs at The Serpent's Pen, where he explores dark and strange topics relating to folklore, myth, Victoriana, psychogeography and - of course - literature. He is also an occasional poet, and has worked as a university lecturer, English teacher, copywriter and proofreader. His poetry and short stories have been published in American literary magazines and he has a piece in 'Purple Jacaranda', an anthology of travel writing and intercultural musings put out by the prestigious German publisher Waxmann. As well as his native Yorkshire, David has lived in Manchester, London, Hungary and Spain.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 1, 2016
The Standing Water takes place in a small conservative society in Northern England during the early eighties. The main character, Ryan, and his friend Jonathon are constantly trying to manage their daily school lives, having to put up with harsh reprimands and violence from their conservative headmaster. One of the many interesting themes in this book concerns how the children gradually find out that their fantasies are just make-believe and are slowly becoming replaced with the bleak reality of the era. This process is neatly described with an impressive finesse.
The novel is also settling a score with conservatism and shows how difficult it can be for proponents from different ideologies to understand one another. For the conservative, the solution to every problem seems to be more conservatism – and in this specific case – more violence and discipline.
It is a narrative well written, and every time I opened the book, I found myself completely losing sense of time. I very much recommend it.
The novel is also settling a score with conservatism and shows how difficult it can be for proponents from different ideologies to understand one another. For the conservative, the solution to every problem seems to be more conservatism – and in this specific case – more violence and discipline.
It is a narrative well written, and every time I opened the book, I found myself completely losing sense of time. I very much recommend it.
July 21, 2019
Ryan Watson is a young schoolboy, age six or seven, attending school in Emberfield, an economically depressed community in Yorkshire. It's a conservative area where corporal punishment is still the norm and adults mutter about liberals and their negative impact on society. Mr. Weirton is the headmaster at the school and he delights in handing out the 'six whacks and a few more for luck.'
There's a mystery about a stagnant pond where supposedly a former schoolmate perhaps drown and some bones of a girl named Lucy that Weirton likes to display to horrify the students. Ryan and his friend Jonathan are some of the brighter children, and they use their imaginations and local folklore to while away the time between whackings.
Because there are a lot of whackings, all described in detail as both the punisher and the victim lose their breath as the pain is inflicted. This is an unremittingly grim story as Weirton gradually loses his grip on reality. The story is told in Ryan's POV though diary entries from Weirton give his side of the story.
Mostly it's an unremitting cycle of abuse that destroys any real initiative a child might show without any real redemption. It's gothic in the sense of the beginning of Jane Eyre and her time at Lowood School with punishments and terror inflicted on the students.
The author is an excellent writer. He describes the gloomy atmosphere in Emberfield and the history of the area well and makes it interesting. I also liked a later section that takes place in Scotland. Ryan and Jonathan are compelling characters and the author captures these two young imaginative boys well. Everyone else is somewhat cardboard cutouts of miserable human beings who don't seem to want to change their lives in any way. Even Weirton who longs for freedom from his family and job can't seem to diverge from the path he's chosen until forced to by circumstances.
I found the first part of the book slow and repetitive; over and over again we get the detailed descriptions of the pain the victims suffer and the ecstasy of Weirton during countless whackings. It picks up after a visit to a neighboring church and the events that take place there. Honestly, I never felt horror in the gothic sense; it's obvious that the witch's hand, Marcus's pond, the drummer boy, and other dreadful legends are from the vivid imaginations of the boys. The horror comes from the constant abuse, both from the adults and among the children who feed on the dark environment around them. This is a grim and depressing story, and the ending doesn't redeem it.
There's a mystery about a stagnant pond where supposedly a former schoolmate perhaps drown and some bones of a girl named Lucy that Weirton likes to display to horrify the students. Ryan and his friend Jonathan are some of the brighter children, and they use their imaginations and local folklore to while away the time between whackings.
Because there are a lot of whackings, all described in detail as both the punisher and the victim lose their breath as the pain is inflicted. This is an unremittingly grim story as Weirton gradually loses his grip on reality. The story is told in Ryan's POV though diary entries from Weirton give his side of the story.
Mostly it's an unremitting cycle of abuse that destroys any real initiative a child might show without any real redemption. It's gothic in the sense of the beginning of Jane Eyre and her time at Lowood School with punishments and terror inflicted on the students.
The author is an excellent writer. He describes the gloomy atmosphere in Emberfield and the history of the area well and makes it interesting. I also liked a later section that takes place in Scotland. Ryan and Jonathan are compelling characters and the author captures these two young imaginative boys well. Everyone else is somewhat cardboard cutouts of miserable human beings who don't seem to want to change their lives in any way. Even Weirton who longs for freedom from his family and job can't seem to diverge from the path he's chosen until forced to by circumstances.
I found the first part of the book slow and repetitive; over and over again we get the detailed descriptions of the pain the victims suffer and the ecstasy of Weirton during countless whackings. It picks up after a visit to a neighboring church and the events that take place there. Honestly, I never felt horror in the gothic sense; it's obvious that the witch's hand, Marcus's pond, the drummer boy, and other dreadful legends are from the vivid imaginations of the boys. The horror comes from the constant abuse, both from the adults and among the children who feed on the dark environment around them. This is a grim and depressing story, and the ending doesn't redeem it.
September 23, 2019
If there's something that The Standing Water does to you is to keep you on the edge. Even at those moments when you feel trapped in the repetitive and yet evolving routine, there's a sensation of uncertainty that keeps you devouring the story through its pages.
In his unique way of making the characters narrate their story, David Castleton manages to entwine all his rich knowledge of the local and not so local folklore, which provides the reader with a varied source of legends and dark village beliefs.
Mr. Weirton's harsh discipline on the local boys of Emberfield can sometimes make you uncomfortably uneasy, to the point of wondering how can you put up with so much brutality page after page. And yet, throughout the book, its writer manages to hold your interest on the brink of your own madness until you reach the so desired end.
The Standing Water shows the constant fight of the forever feared modernity versus tradition, good versus evil, hard discipline versus care and understanding. All these dualities are also impersonated by the characters themselves whose lives are a reflexion of the times they live in and how each other’s actions will have a fatal impact on their futures.
The one aspect I really love about the book is all the symbology used. It tangles itself around the characters, never letting go. This happens strongly to our hero, Ryan, and also to his counterpart Mr. Weirton. They are the two sides of the same coin; they conform the necessary duality for the story to evolve in the gothic lines of what we can’t see but that we suspect is. The magic happens every time we think we are close to finding out the dark secrets being revealed around the ghost of the boy in the pond or the story behind the skeleton in the closet.
And the end doesn’t disappoint, although you may have to read it over and over to make sure you are interpreting the right thing. You question yourself if that is the end that you were looking for or if is the end that the writer wants you to believe. Until the very last lines and once again, you are not sure if what you are reading is an act of magic, revenge, destiny or all of the above. But what I know for sure is that the effects of the standing waters will remain with you days and weeks after you have read the book.
In his unique way of making the characters narrate their story, David Castleton manages to entwine all his rich knowledge of the local and not so local folklore, which provides the reader with a varied source of legends and dark village beliefs.
Mr. Weirton's harsh discipline on the local boys of Emberfield can sometimes make you uncomfortably uneasy, to the point of wondering how can you put up with so much brutality page after page. And yet, throughout the book, its writer manages to hold your interest on the brink of your own madness until you reach the so desired end.
The Standing Water shows the constant fight of the forever feared modernity versus tradition, good versus evil, hard discipline versus care and understanding. All these dualities are also impersonated by the characters themselves whose lives are a reflexion of the times they live in and how each other’s actions will have a fatal impact on their futures.
The one aspect I really love about the book is all the symbology used. It tangles itself around the characters, never letting go. This happens strongly to our hero, Ryan, and also to his counterpart Mr. Weirton. They are the two sides of the same coin; they conform the necessary duality for the story to evolve in the gothic lines of what we can’t see but that we suspect is. The magic happens every time we think we are close to finding out the dark secrets being revealed around the ghost of the boy in the pond or the story behind the skeleton in the closet.
And the end doesn’t disappoint, although you may have to read it over and over to make sure you are interpreting the right thing. You question yourself if that is the end that you were looking for or if is the end that the writer wants you to believe. Until the very last lines and once again, you are not sure if what you are reading is an act of magic, revenge, destiny or all of the above. But what I know for sure is that the effects of the standing waters will remain with you days and weeks after you have read the book.
May 4, 2021
If there's something that The Standing Water does to you is to keep you on the edge. Even at those moments when you feel trapped in the repetitive and yet evolving routine, there's a sensation of uncertainty that keeps you devouring the story through its pages.
In his unique way of making the characters narrate their story, David Castleton manages to entwine all his rich knowledge of the local and not so local folklore, which provides the reader with a varied source of legends and dark village beliefs.
Mr. Weirton's harsh discipline on the local boys of Emberfield can sometimes make you uncomfortably uneasy, to the point of wondering how can you put up with so much brutality page after page. And yet, throughout the book, its writer manages to hold your interest on the brink of your own madness until you reach the so desired end.
The Standing Water shows the constant fight of the forever feared modernity versus tradition, good versus evil, hard discipline versus care and understanding. All these dualities are also impersonated by the characters themselves whose lives are a reflexion of the times they live in and how each other’s actions will have a fatal impact on their futures.
The one aspect I really love about the book is all the symbology used. It tangles itself around the characters, never letting go. This happens strongly to our hero, Ryan, and also to his counterpart Mr. Weirton. They are the two sides of the same coin; they conform the necessary duality for the story to evolve in the gothic lines of what we can’t see but that we suspect is. The magic happens every time we think we are close to finding out the dark secrets being revealed around the ghost of the boy in the pond or the story behind the skeleton in the closet.
And the end doesn’t disappoint, although you may have to read it over and over to make sure you are interpreting the right thing. You question yourself if that is the end that you were looking for or if is the end that the writer wants you to believe. Until the very last lines and once again, you are not sure if what you are reading is an act of magic, revenge, destiny or all of the above. But what I know for sure is that the effects of the standing waters will remain with you days and weeks after you have read the book.
In his unique way of making the characters narrate their story, David Castleton manages to entwine all his rich knowledge of the local and not so local folklore, which provides the reader with a varied source of legends and dark village beliefs.
Mr. Weirton's harsh discipline on the local boys of Emberfield can sometimes make you uncomfortably uneasy, to the point of wondering how can you put up with so much brutality page after page. And yet, throughout the book, its writer manages to hold your interest on the brink of your own madness until you reach the so desired end.
The Standing Water shows the constant fight of the forever feared modernity versus tradition, good versus evil, hard discipline versus care and understanding. All these dualities are also impersonated by the characters themselves whose lives are a reflexion of the times they live in and how each other’s actions will have a fatal impact on their futures.
The one aspect I really love about the book is all the symbology used. It tangles itself around the characters, never letting go. This happens strongly to our hero, Ryan, and also to his counterpart Mr. Weirton. They are the two sides of the same coin; they conform the necessary duality for the story to evolve in the gothic lines of what we can’t see but that we suspect is. The magic happens every time we think we are close to finding out the dark secrets being revealed around the ghost of the boy in the pond or the story behind the skeleton in the closet.
And the end doesn’t disappoint, although you may have to read it over and over to make sure you are interpreting the right thing. You question yourself if that is the end that you were looking for or if is the end that the writer wants you to believe. Until the very last lines and once again, you are not sure if what you are reading is an act of magic, revenge, destiny or all of the above. But what I know for sure is that the effects of the standing waters will remain with you days and weeks after you have read the book.
September 6, 2017
This is the first book I have read by David Castleton and I was blown away by its ingenious and intricate plot, which leaves you guessing right to the end. His turn of phrase enables the reader to visualise a vivid world seen mainly through the eyes of an imaginative child. There is a second narrator, however - the child's authoritarian headmaster and the intriguing change of viewpoint adds a haunting dimension to the flow of the story. This is a great piece of gothic-tinged literary fiction that envelopes your imagination. It is a 'can't put down' novel which leads the reader on a mysterious path, leading to many surprises and unexpected events. Without giving the end away, the plot reaches a crescendo with a wonderfully surprising twist. I can't wait for his next novel!
September 28, 2016
Taking place in rural 1980s England, “The Standing Water” is a dark, sometimes humorous tale of two main characters--a young vulnerable school boy with a vivid imagination and not the best role models in life, and a violent sinister headmaster whom the parents and townspeople love and admire.
The author is a genius at descriptive writing. Consider this scene. “I saw Dennis Stubbs--sitting one row behind me and slightly to the right--flick a bit of chicken from the pie of yesterday, still gooey with gravy—under the descending skirt of a refined girl, Helen Jacobs. The chicken was soon beneath the shadow of Helen’s behind, and in a few seconds the space between that rump and the planks of the floor vanished, the soft meat splattering as those objects met.”
I enjoyed this book. The characters are deftly developed. The narrative is well-written. The story line is creative and unique. Be prepared for a long read - 600+ pages in paperback form.
The author is a genius at descriptive writing. Consider this scene. “I saw Dennis Stubbs--sitting one row behind me and slightly to the right--flick a bit of chicken from the pie of yesterday, still gooey with gravy—under the descending skirt of a refined girl, Helen Jacobs. The chicken was soon beneath the shadow of Helen’s behind, and in a few seconds the space between that rump and the planks of the floor vanished, the soft meat splattering as those objects met.”
I enjoyed this book. The characters are deftly developed. The narrative is well-written. The story line is creative and unique. Be prepared for a long read - 600+ pages in paperback form.
May 2, 2017
David paints a vivid British childhood that seemed to conjure my own youth either side of 1980 so well it could have be autobiographical. Like a gritty, northern Stand By Me and brings the menace of one of those Public Safety films, especially the one about the grim reaper waiting near the pond.
So many things ring true: ten pence mixups in little white bags, being outside playing all the time, not quite believing everything you see and worrying about half truths you are told - I can almost feel a snorkel hooded parka again.
There was several unsettling imagery; the headmaster scaring children with a skeleton and claiming it was a lost student, cracking the frozen ice of the pond, peace offerings to Marcus and the sinister Mr Witton - back in the days before teachers became first name mates but after they were post-war fire and brimstone.
I enjoyed the writing style but it is a long book; a whole chapter given to the specifics of a tenpenny mixup might be a bit much for my taste. But then again I like pink shrimps, so what do I know...
So many things ring true: ten pence mixups in little white bags, being outside playing all the time, not quite believing everything you see and worrying about half truths you are told - I can almost feel a snorkel hooded parka again.
There was several unsettling imagery; the headmaster scaring children with a skeleton and claiming it was a lost student, cracking the frozen ice of the pond, peace offerings to Marcus and the sinister Mr Witton - back in the days before teachers became first name mates but after they were post-war fire and brimstone.
I enjoyed the writing style but it is a long book; a whole chapter given to the specifics of a tenpenny mixup might be a bit much for my taste. But then again I like pink shrimps, so what do I know...
September 30, 2016
Wonderful literary fiction!
What a book this is - dark, engaging, poetic, otherwordly, deeply shocking at times, and very difficult to put down. For someone like me who loves language, it was a real treat, and Castleton's mastery of English is often nothing short of stunning. The book tells the story of a highly imaginative young schoolboy and his struggles with his violent, sadistic headmaster. But what I really liked is that you get to hear both of their points of view and you begin to understand why the head might be the way he is. There is also a mystery at the heart of the book - the head may or may not have been involved in the death of a pupil some years earlier and Castleton really keeps us guessing about this. Castleton also deftly sketches in some of the background of that time - the social, political and economic problems of 1980s England, something that, as a non-Brit, I found interesting. Does the book have any drawbacks? It is quite long, but for me that was a bonus - just lots of wonderful writing to devour! I didn't want it to end.
What a book this is - dark, engaging, poetic, otherwordly, deeply shocking at times, and very difficult to put down. For someone like me who loves language, it was a real treat, and Castleton's mastery of English is often nothing short of stunning. The book tells the story of a highly imaginative young schoolboy and his struggles with his violent, sadistic headmaster. But what I really liked is that you get to hear both of their points of view and you begin to understand why the head might be the way he is. There is also a mystery at the heart of the book - the head may or may not have been involved in the death of a pupil some years earlier and Castleton really keeps us guessing about this. Castleton also deftly sketches in some of the background of that time - the social, political and economic problems of 1980s England, something that, as a non-Brit, I found interesting. Does the book have any drawbacks? It is quite long, but for me that was a bonus - just lots of wonderful writing to devour! I didn't want it to end.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews