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Folk
The remote island village of Neverness is a world far from our time and place.
The air hangs rich with the coconut-scent of gorse and the salty bite of the sea. Harsh winds scour the rocky coastline. The villagers' lives are inseparable from nature and its enchantments.
Verlyn Webbe, born with a wing for an arm, unfurls his feathers in defiance of past shame; Plum is snatched by a water bull and dragged to his lair; little Crab Skerry takes his first run through the gorse-maze; Madden sleepwalks through violent storms, haunted by horses and her father's wishes.
As the tales of this island community interweave over the course of a generation, their earthy desires, resentments, idle gossip and painful losses create a staggeringly original world. Crackling with echoes of ancient folklore, but entirely, wonderfully, her own, Zoe Gilbert's Folk is a dark, beautiful and intoxicating debut.
The air hangs rich with the coconut-scent of gorse and the salty bite of the sea. Harsh winds scour the rocky coastline. The villagers' lives are inseparable from nature and its enchantments.
Verlyn Webbe, born with a wing for an arm, unfurls his feathers in defiance of past shame; Plum is snatched by a water bull and dragged to his lair; little Crab Skerry takes his first run through the gorse-maze; Madden sleepwalks through violent storms, haunted by horses and her father's wishes.
As the tales of this island community interweave over the course of a generation, their earthy desires, resentments, idle gossip and painful losses create a staggeringly original world. Crackling with echoes of ancient folklore, but entirely, wonderfully, her own, Zoe Gilbert's Folk is a dark, beautiful and intoxicating debut.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 443 reviews
January 25, 2018
I was so very much looking forward to this; I even featured it on my list of most anticipated books. This collection of connected short stories is steeped in myth and folktale and set on an island with an absolutely gorgeous cover – how could I not read this? This sounds like absolute perfection. And the writing is lyrical and the atmosphere haunting. But it is also disjointed and lacks a sufficient emotional punch to be the great book it could have been.
As is normal with short story collections, there were some that worked better for me and some that left me cold. I absolutely adored Swirling Cleft with its rumination on family and loss and love. It was stunningly beautiful and left me aching. On the other end of the spectrum I did not like Fishskin, Hareskin and thought its rumination on postpartum depression stayed on a superficial level.
The language is absolutely stunning with vivid imagery and interestingly structured sentences (that sometimes border on inaccessible). Zoe Gilbert has a brilliant way of creating metaphors and storylines that feel familiar while still being original. Her original fairy tales feel just like that: fairy tales. Their matter-of-factness in their weirdness is spot on and brilliantly done.
I think ultimately my main problem was that the connections between the stories were not strong enough to give the individual stories the impact and depth I would have liked while the stories themselves often were not strong enough to stand on their own. I could never remember the characters between each stories because they mostly did not leave all that deep an impression on me and I think this lack of connection is what ultimately left me feeling mostly ambivalent about this book.
I received an arc of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
As is normal with short story collections, there were some that worked better for me and some that left me cold. I absolutely adored Swirling Cleft with its rumination on family and loss and love. It was stunningly beautiful and left me aching. On the other end of the spectrum I did not like Fishskin, Hareskin and thought its rumination on postpartum depression stayed on a superficial level.
The language is absolutely stunning with vivid imagery and interestingly structured sentences (that sometimes border on inaccessible). Zoe Gilbert has a brilliant way of creating metaphors and storylines that feel familiar while still being original. Her original fairy tales feel just like that: fairy tales. Their matter-of-factness in their weirdness is spot on and brilliantly done.
I think ultimately my main problem was that the connections between the stories were not strong enough to give the individual stories the impact and depth I would have liked while the stories themselves often were not strong enough to stand on their own. I could never remember the characters between each stories because they mostly did not leave all that deep an impression on me and I think this lack of connection is what ultimately left me feeling mostly ambivalent about this book.
I received an arc of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
December 30, 2021
2021 Best Books of the Year [#01 of 11] 🥳
January 26, 2020
This is set in the fictional village of Neverness, located on an island loosely based on the Isle of Man. Folklore and tradition is at the heart of the novel and there is a re-working of traditional themes. Although it is billed as a novel, it is really a linked collection of short stories. One of these stories won the Costa short story award in 2014. Interestingly there is no religion and religious imagery in the traditional sense. There is plenty of superstition, which is culturally important and a careful adherence to ritual. These are fairy tales, with no fairies in sight. There is also a strong sense of nature and the natural world. Hares, kites and bees all play starring roles. Neverness is on an island and the narrowness of belief reflects real life concerns. In one tale a woman perceived as a witch and scapegoated.
There is no easy chronology here and some natural rules are suspended. A sentence like "Verlyn Webbe has a wing in place of an arm" will immediately put some readers off. There is a shared geography and some shared characters, although major characters in one tale become minor ones later. The stories do build a sense of place and there is violence in the mythography: nature really is red in tooth and claw. Tradition, ritual and a belief in a story seems to make it true. Gilbert is also good at setting a scene:
“Listen, for the beat that runs through the gorse maze. It is an early twilight, the opening between last sun and first star, the door of the day closing until, soon, night will seal it shut. There are feet thudding in the gorse’s winding tunnels, hearts thumping in time. Above them the breath of boys hisses. Puffs of their steam are lost in spiny roofs.”
One reviewer has referred to this as a map rather than a novel or collection of stories (and there is indeed a map of Neverness in the front of the book) and this certainly makes sense to me. A map of British mythic imagination with a core that repels and entices at the same time. It is vaguely reminiscent of Angela Carter.
The boundaries between nature and human life are blurred; there are water spirits looking for female companionship, people able to leave their bodies and soar with the kites (a bird of prey) at night and maybe decide to stay up there forever. It's not a demanding read and if you like myth and folklore you are likely to enjoy it. There is plenty of fluidity of roles, but Gilbert maybe could have extended that fluidity to gender and sexuality as well.
There is no easy chronology here and some natural rules are suspended. A sentence like "Verlyn Webbe has a wing in place of an arm" will immediately put some readers off. There is a shared geography and some shared characters, although major characters in one tale become minor ones later. The stories do build a sense of place and there is violence in the mythography: nature really is red in tooth and claw. Tradition, ritual and a belief in a story seems to make it true. Gilbert is also good at setting a scene:
“Listen, for the beat that runs through the gorse maze. It is an early twilight, the opening between last sun and first star, the door of the day closing until, soon, night will seal it shut. There are feet thudding in the gorse’s winding tunnels, hearts thumping in time. Above them the breath of boys hisses. Puffs of their steam are lost in spiny roofs.”
One reviewer has referred to this as a map rather than a novel or collection of stories (and there is indeed a map of Neverness in the front of the book) and this certainly makes sense to me. A map of British mythic imagination with a core that repels and entices at the same time. It is vaguely reminiscent of Angela Carter.
The boundaries between nature and human life are blurred; there are water spirits looking for female companionship, people able to leave their bodies and soar with the kites (a bird of prey) at night and maybe decide to stay up there forever. It's not a demanding read and if you like myth and folklore you are likely to enjoy it. There is plenty of fluidity of roles, but Gilbert maybe could have extended that fluidity to gender and sexuality as well.
Read
March 30, 2018RTC, but first I need to think for a bit.
Prick Song - 4/5
Bittersweet, and rather short... Hard to get a proper feel about the story when it's only 14 pages long, but that, I think, will be the beauty of this collection of connected stories.
Fishskin, Hareskin - 3.5/5
Heartbreaking as we watch the main character battle with post-partum issues and the residue of what is clearly an unhappy childhood. 12 pages long.
The Neverness Ox-men - 4/5
I found this one quite sweet and fun, and I really hope these two come back into play in another story, at least so we know what happened to/with them. 14 pages long.
The True Tale of Jack Frost - 3/5
Some really interesting elements pulled from older stories in this one, which at times had a vibe a little like that of Tender Morsels (MAN I need to reread that one soon), though unfortunately it wasn’t entirely clear what was “real” and what was not... made more complicated by the story within a story... within a story set up.
11 pages long.
Sticks are for Fire - 3.5/5
A touching, sad story about the way people can be coerced into horrible actions, and the ways hysteria can manifest. Unfortunately not entirely realised... but that goes with the style, in that all these pieces feed into each other. And yay, more Gertie!
12 pages.
Water Bull Bride - 3.5/5
Another sad story, and one that is more complete in and of itself. I have a feeling and a hope it will come back into play later, but not so much as Gertie from the previous story, and Hark from the Ox-Men.
This is a story told from two sides... the girl who imagines that her lover waits for her in the water, and her gran who tries to keep her from jumping to her death.
17 pages.
Swirling Cleft - 5/5
Oooh, this was my favourite so far.
This operated as a stand-alone story, though I wonder if the info learned here will come back into play later in the book.
This was super sweet and heartwarming, and featured a Neverness version of selkies.
12 pages.
Thunder Cracks - 4.5/5
Another good’n! Definitely a sadder tale, this one, but it has a tale all its own, and I found it quite evocative.
Told from two POV - Madden Lightfoot’s (in 3rd person), and Robin Prowd (in 1st). One as a sleepwalker, and one as an observer of said sleepwalking.
15 pages.
Earth is Not for Eating - 5/5
I really enjoyed this one, in which events are taking place that are clear to the reader, but seen as monstrous and fantastical through the eyes of a child. This tale revisits the characters of Fishskin, Hareskin several years later.
12 pages.
Long Have I Lain Beside the Water - 5/5
Oh, this one unfolded beautifully, and had some truly gorgeous imagery. One of the spookier stories in the collection so far, I think.
People who want to be fiddle masters must go on a quest to find their "spirit" and sometimes, in doing so, can find memories long thought lost.
27 pages.
Verlyn's Blessings - 4/5
A lot of different emotions in this one... including cheering Verlyn on to rediscover himself, rather than to be hemmed in by his wife's demands and repulsions, to the reader's confusion at wondering if they would like it better if he did leave his wife, or stayed with her and let it all play out.
15 pages
Kite - 3/5
A story about grief and death and realising all the things a person used to do when they're no long around to do them. Good sentiment and some gorgeous phrases, as is to be expected from this book, but this one didn't seem to have any real connection to everything else in the collection. The only information learned from this one was how much time had passed, now that Ivy Rincepan is known as Ma Rincepan.
17 pages.
A Winter Guest - 3.5/5
At face value this doesn't seem to have a whole lot to it... It's the story of a one-night-stand gone on way too long, to the point where the clinginess and sickly-sweetness start to drive you crazy... but under that there is a message about how women might feel pressured into a situation, even if a man doesn't intend it or realise what he's doing. A comment on obliviousness and need to consume every part of the woman.
11 pages.
Turning - 3/5
A story about the changing of the seasons and the circle of life, with a bunch of bees at the centre.
11 pages.
Tether - 4/5
This one did a nice wrap-up and brought the collection full-circle. These things happen in this strange world of Neverness. People die, people marry, people have kids, and the cycle and traditions continue.
22 pages.
Prick Song - 4/5
Bittersweet, and rather short... Hard to get a proper feel about the story when it's only 14 pages long, but that, I think, will be the beauty of this collection of connected stories.
Fishskin, Hareskin - 3.5/5
Heartbreaking as we watch the main character battle with post-partum issues and the residue of what is clearly an unhappy childhood. 12 pages long.
The Neverness Ox-men - 4/5
I found this one quite sweet and fun, and I really hope these two come back into play in another story, at least so we know what happened to/with them. 14 pages long.
The True Tale of Jack Frost - 3/5
Some really interesting elements pulled from older stories in this one, which at times had a vibe a little like that of Tender Morsels (MAN I need to reread that one soon), though unfortunately it wasn’t entirely clear what was “real” and what was not... made more complicated by the story within a story... within a story set up.
11 pages long.
Sticks are for Fire - 3.5/5
A touching, sad story about the way people can be coerced into horrible actions, and the ways hysteria can manifest. Unfortunately not entirely realised... but that goes with the style, in that all these pieces feed into each other. And yay, more Gertie!
12 pages.
Water Bull Bride - 3.5/5
Another sad story, and one that is more complete in and of itself. I have a feeling and a hope it will come back into play later, but not so much as Gertie from the previous story, and Hark from the Ox-Men.
This is a story told from two sides... the girl who imagines that her lover waits for her in the water, and her gran who tries to keep her from jumping to her death.
17 pages.
Swirling Cleft - 5/5
Oooh, this was my favourite so far.
This operated as a stand-alone story, though I wonder if the info learned here will come back into play later in the book.
This was super sweet and heartwarming, and featured a Neverness version of selkies.
12 pages.
Thunder Cracks - 4.5/5
Another good’n! Definitely a sadder tale, this one, but it has a tale all its own, and I found it quite evocative.
Told from two POV - Madden Lightfoot’s (in 3rd person), and Robin Prowd (in 1st). One as a sleepwalker, and one as an observer of said sleepwalking.
15 pages.
Earth is Not for Eating - 5/5
I really enjoyed this one, in which events are taking place that are clear to the reader, but seen as monstrous and fantastical through the eyes of a child. This tale revisits the characters of Fishskin, Hareskin several years later.
12 pages.
Long Have I Lain Beside the Water - 5/5
Oh, this one unfolded beautifully, and had some truly gorgeous imagery. One of the spookier stories in the collection so far, I think.
People who want to be fiddle masters must go on a quest to find their "spirit" and sometimes, in doing so, can find memories long thought lost.
27 pages.
Verlyn's Blessings - 4/5
A lot of different emotions in this one... including cheering Verlyn on to rediscover himself, rather than to be hemmed in by his wife's demands and repulsions, to the reader's confusion at wondering if they would like it better if he did leave his wife, or stayed with her and let it all play out.
15 pages
Kite - 3/5
A story about grief and death and realising all the things a person used to do when they're no long around to do them. Good sentiment and some gorgeous phrases, as is to be expected from this book, but this one didn't seem to have any real connection to everything else in the collection. The only information learned from this one was how much time had passed, now that Ivy Rincepan is known as Ma Rincepan.
17 pages.
A Winter Guest - 3.5/5
At face value this doesn't seem to have a whole lot to it... It's the story of a one-night-stand gone on way too long, to the point where the clinginess and sickly-sweetness start to drive you crazy... but under that there is a message about how women might feel pressured into a situation, even if a man doesn't intend it or realise what he's doing. A comment on obliviousness and need to consume every part of the woman.
11 pages.
Turning - 3/5
A story about the changing of the seasons and the circle of life, with a bunch of bees at the centre.
11 pages.
Tether - 4/5
This one did a nice wrap-up and brought the collection full-circle. These things happen in this strange world of Neverness. People die, people marry, people have kids, and the cycle and traditions continue.
22 pages.
November 18, 2017
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Folk tells the story of the island of Neverness, steeped in folk myths, where girls can be snatched by water bulls, and babes are born with wings.
Every chapter is told by a different character, some from different generations, and each with their own story to tell. In this sense it's almost like a collection of short stories put together in a more cohesive manner than normal. They're all linked by the mythology of the island, and the characters seem to share an almost intrinsic link with their folk stories. Everything they do is a result of their believed 'fate' in magic and myths. The writing itself is also lovely, and the author clearly loves folk stories. The prose are beautiful and lyrical, if a little hard to follow at times. I had to keep my wits about me to follow the flow of the stories.
There's not really much world building either, which evokes a mysterious air to the setting, but left me confused as it took me a while to understand what was going on. The tales themselves, although told in this rather unique way of stories within a story were a little disjointed at times, and I didn't really get a feel for any of the characters because we often only see them so briefly. Although I did enjoy that sometimes we would see one character as a child in one story, and then as an adult in another. It added to the overall feel that the stories were timeless, and helped support the theory that mythology and folk stories are rooted in truth. It was cleverly done.
A great, unique concept from a debut novel, and well written. But I want stories I can follow more easily. However, I will definitely be looking out for more novels by Zoe Gilbert.
Folk tells the story of the island of Neverness, steeped in folk myths, where girls can be snatched by water bulls, and babes are born with wings.
Every chapter is told by a different character, some from different generations, and each with their own story to tell. In this sense it's almost like a collection of short stories put together in a more cohesive manner than normal. They're all linked by the mythology of the island, and the characters seem to share an almost intrinsic link with their folk stories. Everything they do is a result of their believed 'fate' in magic and myths. The writing itself is also lovely, and the author clearly loves folk stories. The prose are beautiful and lyrical, if a little hard to follow at times. I had to keep my wits about me to follow the flow of the stories.
There's not really much world building either, which evokes a mysterious air to the setting, but left me confused as it took me a while to understand what was going on. The tales themselves, although told in this rather unique way of stories within a story were a little disjointed at times, and I didn't really get a feel for any of the characters because we often only see them so briefly. Although I did enjoy that sometimes we would see one character as a child in one story, and then as an adult in another. It added to the overall feel that the stories were timeless, and helped support the theory that mythology and folk stories are rooted in truth. It was cleverly done.
A great, unique concept from a debut novel, and well written. But I want stories I can follow more easily. However, I will definitely be looking out for more novels by Zoe Gilbert.
September 11, 2018
Rating: 2 stars
How to describe Folk…?
Not only is that question pretty hard to answer, it’s also my main problem with this novel. This review is bound to be about as disjointed as the book, so I apologize in advance.
Admittedly I had heard mostly mixed to negative reviews about it, yet the premise sounded awesome enough that I was really hoping to be the unpopular opinion on this one. Unfortunately, I agreed with most of the reviews I had seen, and was left with the same questions others were left with. The main one being: “what is this book?” Is it a novel or a short story collection? Even after reading the whole thing, I can’t give you a definitive answer.
The story is set on the fictional island of Neverness, where magic and folklore are as real as the islanders that inhabit it. Each chapter follows a different character, each with a separate little story to tell. The stories share geography, and many characters reappear as side characters in each other’s chapters, yet there is no clear overarching narrative that links them all together, which left me disconnected from all of it.
The geography and atmosphere are definitely the books strongest suit, and can make up for some of it, but as a whole, I don’t feel Folk accomplished what it tried to do.
As a concept this short story-novel-hybrids is interesting, yet in reality it works as neither. The chapters are too disconnected to work as a novel, yet lack individual depth to work as standalone short stories.
Many reviewers have blamed the publisher for false marketing because of this. I don’t think this is entirely fair, as really: it falls somewhere in the middle. I think the book would have been stronger if the author would have decided to go either route, instead of combining the two.
Speaking of the publisher, I don’t often discuss covers in my reviews, but in this case I want to make an exception. I want to give some credit to cover designer David Mann, the same man responsible for other gorgeous Bloomsbury-covers such as that of Circe, Sing Unburied Sing, Black Fox Running and many others. All of these are stunning enough, that I would frame them and hang them on my walls without a moments hesitation.
If you have read this: please let me know in the comments how you think this should be approached (novel or short stories)? I would really love to hear your opinion.
How to describe Folk…?
Not only is that question pretty hard to answer, it’s also my main problem with this novel. This review is bound to be about as disjointed as the book, so I apologize in advance.
Admittedly I had heard mostly mixed to negative reviews about it, yet the premise sounded awesome enough that I was really hoping to be the unpopular opinion on this one. Unfortunately, I agreed with most of the reviews I had seen, and was left with the same questions others were left with. The main one being: “what is this book?” Is it a novel or a short story collection? Even after reading the whole thing, I can’t give you a definitive answer.
The story is set on the fictional island of Neverness, where magic and folklore are as real as the islanders that inhabit it. Each chapter follows a different character, each with a separate little story to tell. The stories share geography, and many characters reappear as side characters in each other’s chapters, yet there is no clear overarching narrative that links them all together, which left me disconnected from all of it.
The geography and atmosphere are definitely the books strongest suit, and can make up for some of it, but as a whole, I don’t feel Folk accomplished what it tried to do.
As a concept this short story-novel-hybrids is interesting, yet in reality it works as neither. The chapters are too disconnected to work as a novel, yet lack individual depth to work as standalone short stories.
Many reviewers have blamed the publisher for false marketing because of this. I don’t think this is entirely fair, as really: it falls somewhere in the middle. I think the book would have been stronger if the author would have decided to go either route, instead of combining the two.
Speaking of the publisher, I don’t often discuss covers in my reviews, but in this case I want to make an exception. I want to give some credit to cover designer David Mann, the same man responsible for other gorgeous Bloomsbury-covers such as that of Circe, Sing Unburied Sing, Black Fox Running and many others. All of these are stunning enough, that I would frame them and hang them on my walls without a moments hesitation.
If you have read this: please let me know in the comments how you think this should be approached (novel or short stories)? I would really love to hear your opinion.
September 27, 2017
Utterly captivating, Folk by Zoe Gilbert takes the form of connected short stories, and is about the inhabitants of a slightly fantastical island called Neverness. The folklore and legends are as real as the hardships of life in this remote, windswept place.
The stories build on each other, so that a character who appears as a child might return as a adult later on, and the events of one tale can recur as an urban legend in another. This structure works brilliantly to create a sense of the way customs, traditions and superstitions are born out of oral history. It also ties everything together, fleshes out the characters and gives the whole book a greater richness.
Melancholy at times, these tales are told with such verve they are completely addictive. A gorgeous, incredible book.
The stories build on each other, so that a character who appears as a child might return as a adult later on, and the events of one tale can recur as an urban legend in another. This structure works brilliantly to create a sense of the way customs, traditions and superstitions are born out of oral history. It also ties everything together, fleshes out the characters and gives the whole book a greater richness.
Melancholy at times, these tales are told with such verve they are completely addictive. A gorgeous, incredible book.
12-book-challenge
December 19, 2022A collection of stories making up a picture of a remote island with a strongly fairytale feel (people with swan's wings for arms, sisters fighting over men, witches and changelings and folk deities). Very atmospheric and well written but I found myself waiting for a point/direction/plot that didn't really emerge. However I'm a plot-driven reader; if you like fine writing and atmosphere and playing with fairytales as an end in itself, this will be your bag.
Read for my 2023 Twelve Book Challenge.
Read for my 2023 Twelve Book Challenge.
March 22, 2018
This was a short story collection!!! The blurb definitely didn't sound like that. I really wish it was clearer in the blurb.I discussed with a few fellow readers who were eager about the book but they didn't realise it was a collection of stories either when they read the blurb. The book was one of my highly anticipated reads of this year. Because Hello awesome blurb and hello beautiful cover!
But Folk did not capture my interest as I thought it would. Firstly, I was disoriented with the first few chapters thinking "what is happening with this new world of Neverness" and breaking my head trying to understand the world building and plot. Then I realised it is a collection of stories connected in some way (time, character etc). Maybe it was too late when I realised that it was a short story collection. I could not connect with the characters and I was not sucked into the stories the way the blurb enticed me. Read about a 100 pages and decided to skip the rest.
Disclaimer : Much thanks to Bloomsbury for a copy of the novel. All opinions are my own.
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But Folk did not capture my interest as I thought it would. Firstly, I was disoriented with the first few chapters thinking "what is happening with this new world of Neverness" and breaking my head trying to understand the world building and plot. Then I realised it is a collection of stories connected in some way (time, character etc). Maybe it was too late when I realised that it was a short story collection. I could not connect with the characters and I was not sucked into the stories the way the blurb enticed me. Read about a 100 pages and decided to skip the rest.
Disclaimer : Much thanks to Bloomsbury for a copy of the novel. All opinions are my own.
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January 31, 2018
Firstly, this has one of the best designed covers I’ve seen in recent years- stark and bright at once, it demands attention. Not only that, it well reflects the inside- its detailed and layered nature.
Secondly, the stories. After being seduced by the jacket, I wanted to love the contents, but the multiplicity of tales did not add up to a truly affecting whole. The language and the imagery are beautiful, sometimes magical, but it felt too distant to provoke any kind of emotional response. I admired the creativity and originality, but unmoved by the people, especially with their scattered, machine gun speech- the back and forth adding to the disjointed feeling of the whole.
The author has a genuine talent for mythical innovation and description, but this format just didn’t work for me.
ARC via Netgalley
Secondly, the stories. After being seduced by the jacket, I wanted to love the contents, but the multiplicity of tales did not add up to a truly affecting whole. The language and the imagery are beautiful, sometimes magical, but it felt too distant to provoke any kind of emotional response. I admired the creativity and originality, but unmoved by the people, especially with their scattered, machine gun speech- the back and forth adding to the disjointed feeling of the whole.
The author has a genuine talent for mythical innovation and description, but this format just didn’t work for me.
ARC via Netgalley
January 17, 2018
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was... an experience, for sure.
Folk is a collection of short-stories set on the island of Neverness. Each of these short stories reads like a short folk tale, and every so often they interweave. The characters of these tales range from children to adults, and every story is a little weird and strange in that way that folk tales tend to be. Characters from one tale may appear or be mentioned in another, but despite this the book can feel a little disjointed.
I should note that it wasn't initially clear to me that this was a collection of short stories before I started reading. The blurb is a bit ambiguous in that regard, and so I was a little surprised and disappointed to find that there were no characters that would stick around long enough for me to latch on to.
I initially picked up this book because it seemed to be a literary book that had a touch of the fantastic. Being primarily a fantasy reader, who occasionally dabbles in LitFic, this appealed to me. Having read it though, I'd say that the scale is heavily-weighted to the literary side of things, and that fantasy fans should maybe steer clear.
Gilbert's Costa Short Story Award winning tale "Fishskin, Hareskin" is one of the first few stories in the book, and it's a reasonable introduction to her style of writing. You can read that href="http://www.thewordfactory.tv/site/zoe... if you want to try before you buy.
Some of the stories are definitely stronger than others. The very first - Prick Song - wasn't one that I particularly enjoyed. It involved a group of boys wading into a maze of thorns to retrieve ribboned arrows, the return of which will earn them a kiss from the archer. The story takes a bit of a dark turn, and this something which becomes a bit of a theme. In contrast, The True Tale of Jack Frost is a wonderfully spooky and atmospheric little folk tale that captures the imagination, with a young girl jealous of the winter sprite's affection for her sister.
The prose is very enjoyable, if a little inconsistent. It's lyrical for the most part, though not overburdened with metaphor. There are some flat patches, and these seem to coincide with the stories that I disliked the most. In the end, with no real characterisation, the prose was the main thing that kept me going.
This wasn't the book for me, but I can see others really enjoying it. If you're a fan of lyrical prose, literary fiction, and short stories with a dark tone and a touch of magic, this may be the book for you.
This was... an experience, for sure.
Folk is a collection of short-stories set on the island of Neverness. Each of these short stories reads like a short folk tale, and every so often they interweave. The characters of these tales range from children to adults, and every story is a little weird and strange in that way that folk tales tend to be. Characters from one tale may appear or be mentioned in another, but despite this the book can feel a little disjointed.
I should note that it wasn't initially clear to me that this was a collection of short stories before I started reading. The blurb is a bit ambiguous in that regard, and so I was a little surprised and disappointed to find that there were no characters that would stick around long enough for me to latch on to.
I initially picked up this book because it seemed to be a literary book that had a touch of the fantastic. Being primarily a fantasy reader, who occasionally dabbles in LitFic, this appealed to me. Having read it though, I'd say that the scale is heavily-weighted to the literary side of things, and that fantasy fans should maybe steer clear.
Gilbert's Costa Short Story Award winning tale "Fishskin, Hareskin" is one of the first few stories in the book, and it's a reasonable introduction to her style of writing. You can read that href="http://www.thewordfactory.tv/site/zoe... if you want to try before you buy.
Some of the stories are definitely stronger than others. The very first - Prick Song - wasn't one that I particularly enjoyed. It involved a group of boys wading into a maze of thorns to retrieve ribboned arrows, the return of which will earn them a kiss from the archer. The story takes a bit of a dark turn, and this something which becomes a bit of a theme. In contrast, The True Tale of Jack Frost is a wonderfully spooky and atmospheric little folk tale that captures the imagination, with a young girl jealous of the winter sprite's affection for her sister.
The prose is very enjoyable, if a little inconsistent. It's lyrical for the most part, though not overburdened with metaphor. There are some flat patches, and these seem to coincide with the stories that I disliked the most. In the end, with no real characterisation, the prose was the main thing that kept me going.
This wasn't the book for me, but I can see others really enjoying it. If you're a fan of lyrical prose, literary fiction, and short stories with a dark tone and a touch of magic, this may be the book for you.
February 4, 2018
3.5 stars
I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Folk is a beautiful collection of short stories all set on a slightly mystical island called Neverness.
I’m not a huge connoisseur of short stories so I did go into this one with some trepidation but I just knew it was something I had to give a chance to, and I’m so glad I did.
I really loved the slightly creepy feeling of the book - as if the land was about to come alive and devour everyone at any moment. The people on the island follow a set of traditions, and we see little bits and pieces with every story such as the gorse bush hunt and the girls wanting to get a red kiss because the boys’ faces should be full of blood from the hunt. That was a great story to start off the book. It immediately sucked me in with the combination of emotion, feeling and gore.
I also loved that the characters aged throughout the book. In the first story, we meet many characters who are teenagers and in the last story, they are middle-aged with children of their own.
There was some magical realism in parts of the book like a character who had a wing instead of one arm, and then one old man called Guller who had the ability to send people into the minds of kites so they could fly.
This was a wonderful mix of tragedy, lust, love and a sense home and belonging. I really enjoyed it.
I received a free digital copy of this book from the publishers/author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Folk is a beautiful collection of short stories all set on a slightly mystical island called Neverness.
I’m not a huge connoisseur of short stories so I did go into this one with some trepidation but I just knew it was something I had to give a chance to, and I’m so glad I did.
I really loved the slightly creepy feeling of the book - as if the land was about to come alive and devour everyone at any moment. The people on the island follow a set of traditions, and we see little bits and pieces with every story such as the gorse bush hunt and the girls wanting to get a red kiss because the boys’ faces should be full of blood from the hunt. That was a great story to start off the book. It immediately sucked me in with the combination of emotion, feeling and gore.
I also loved that the characters aged throughout the book. In the first story, we meet many characters who are teenagers and in the last story, they are middle-aged with children of their own.
There was some magical realism in parts of the book like a character who had a wing instead of one arm, and then one old man called Guller who had the ability to send people into the minds of kites so they could fly.
This was a wonderful mix of tragedy, lust, love and a sense home and belonging. I really enjoyed it.
December 14, 2018
Borrowed from my local library's audiobook service!
Folk was such a confusing listen, yet the narrator was absolutely brilliant and saved me from a DNF. It is a collection of short stories, which after two hours of listening and then reading other reviews, it wasn't clear that Folk was not a novel. It is dark, haunting and dream-like but for the majority of the storyline, I wasn't gripped as much as I would have liked. Fairytales is something that deeply interests me but this is one that won't be a re-read!
Folk was such a confusing listen, yet the narrator was absolutely brilliant and saved me from a DNF. It is a collection of short stories, which after two hours of listening and then reading other reviews, it wasn't clear that Folk was not a novel. It is dark, haunting and dream-like but for the majority of the storyline, I wasn't gripped as much as I would have liked. Fairytales is something that deeply interests me but this is one that won't be a re-read!
September 25, 2017
First of all, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a book that requires a pinch of patience. To be perfectly honest, it took me quite a while to get into it, but by the time I turned the last page, I had been absolutely bewitched by the incredible world Zoe Gilbert wove into being throughout the novel.
Before I go any further, it's also worth noting that this book is structurally and conceptually unlike anything I've ever read before. That was a large part of the reason why it took so long for me to get into the novel - going in, I knew that it was going to be a bit unusual, but I wasn't quite prepared for just how unusual it was going to be. But actually, that initial bewilderment was a part of the book's charm.
Folk is, in some ways, more of a collection of short stories than a novel - each chapter is told through the viewpoint of a different character, all of whom live in a village called Neverness on an isolated island. This is an island that breathes with magic and folklore, and each character's life is inextricably entwined with some aspect of the island's mythology, whether in the form of family traditions, long-buried secrets, ancient legends, or something unfamiliar and altogether different. Furthermore, time is the constant thread running through the entire novel, unspooling across the pages - so gradually at times that it's barely noticeable, and so quickly at other times that entire generations transform in the blink of an eye. This creates a ripple effect, as the stories we read about early on turn into rumour and are, in some cases, eventually enshrined into island legend themselves over time. Parents, grandparents and children live out their own stories, each of them unique, but often crossing each other in a pattern that - just like in real-life communities - is dictated by fate and emotion, not reason, and is therefore just a smidgeon too irregular to ever be grasped and understood.
All in all, I thought that the book's concept was absolutely fantastic, but I want to talk about the writing itself, too. Gilbert's words absolutely drip with atmosphere - this is lyrical, haunting prose, as wild as the island's cliffs and gullies, as dazzlingly beautiful as the night sky the kites soar in. The characters are not drawn in exceptional detail - we never stay with any of them long enough to truly plumb the depths of their soul - but by the time I'd finished the book, they all felt familiar to me, all the same. As for the stories themselves, there were definitely some that I liked more than others. Magic saturated every word in some of them, while others found the strange and sinister in the ordinary or simply whisked the illusion of the supernatural clean away; fact and fiction are blended more closely in some than others, so that in some cases the reader is left wondering exactly how much of the story was real; and some were deliberately confusing, others almost brutal, others startling, others sinister, others absolutely enchanting. I don't want to go into the content of the tales themselves, but I will say that the final story brings closure and a sense of circularity to the book as a whole. It doesn't bring together all the characters or stories that have gone before it, nor even all the loose ends, but it does bring several of them together, and as an ending, it feels right. There were certain stories that I felt were too disconnected to the others, and some where a lack of resolution fell flat rather than creating a deliberate air of mystery, but for the most part, I felt like they fit together fairly well.
And, well, I can't quite resist giving a special shoutout to my absolute favourite tale of the bunch - 'Swirling Cleft' was one of the most magical, surprising, and uplifting tales of all, and I absolutely adored it. Then again, I've always had a soft spot for stories wreathed in mist and fog, so perhaps it's unsurprising that I was so captivated by it.
All in all, I thought that this was a fantastic debut novel. Wonderful in style, wonderful in concept, and with just a few narrative hitches, this book has definitely persuaded me to keep an eye on Zoe Gilbert in the future.
This is a book that requires a pinch of patience. To be perfectly honest, it took me quite a while to get into it, but by the time I turned the last page, I had been absolutely bewitched by the incredible world Zoe Gilbert wove into being throughout the novel.
Before I go any further, it's also worth noting that this book is structurally and conceptually unlike anything I've ever read before. That was a large part of the reason why it took so long for me to get into the novel - going in, I knew that it was going to be a bit unusual, but I wasn't quite prepared for just how unusual it was going to be. But actually, that initial bewilderment was a part of the book's charm.
Folk is, in some ways, more of a collection of short stories than a novel - each chapter is told through the viewpoint of a different character, all of whom live in a village called Neverness on an isolated island. This is an island that breathes with magic and folklore, and each character's life is inextricably entwined with some aspect of the island's mythology, whether in the form of family traditions, long-buried secrets, ancient legends, or something unfamiliar and altogether different. Furthermore, time is the constant thread running through the entire novel, unspooling across the pages - so gradually at times that it's barely noticeable, and so quickly at other times that entire generations transform in the blink of an eye. This creates a ripple effect, as the stories we read about early on turn into rumour and are, in some cases, eventually enshrined into island legend themselves over time. Parents, grandparents and children live out their own stories, each of them unique, but often crossing each other in a pattern that - just like in real-life communities - is dictated by fate and emotion, not reason, and is therefore just a smidgeon too irregular to ever be grasped and understood.
All in all, I thought that the book's concept was absolutely fantastic, but I want to talk about the writing itself, too. Gilbert's words absolutely drip with atmosphere - this is lyrical, haunting prose, as wild as the island's cliffs and gullies, as dazzlingly beautiful as the night sky the kites soar in. The characters are not drawn in exceptional detail - we never stay with any of them long enough to truly plumb the depths of their soul - but by the time I'd finished the book, they all felt familiar to me, all the same. As for the stories themselves, there were definitely some that I liked more than others. Magic saturated every word in some of them, while others found the strange and sinister in the ordinary or simply whisked the illusion of the supernatural clean away; fact and fiction are blended more closely in some than others, so that in some cases the reader is left wondering exactly how much of the story was real; and some were deliberately confusing, others almost brutal, others startling, others sinister, others absolutely enchanting. I don't want to go into the content of the tales themselves, but I will say that the final story brings closure and a sense of circularity to the book as a whole. It doesn't bring together all the characters or stories that have gone before it, nor even all the loose ends, but it does bring several of them together, and as an ending, it feels right. There were certain stories that I felt were too disconnected to the others, and some where a lack of resolution fell flat rather than creating a deliberate air of mystery, but for the most part, I felt like they fit together fairly well.
And, well, I can't quite resist giving a special shoutout to my absolute favourite tale of the bunch - 'Swirling Cleft' was one of the most magical, surprising, and uplifting tales of all, and I absolutely adored it. Then again, I've always had a soft spot for stories wreathed in mist and fog, so perhaps it's unsurprising that I was so captivated by it.
All in all, I thought that this was a fantastic debut novel. Wonderful in style, wonderful in concept, and with just a few narrative hitches, this book has definitely persuaded me to keep an eye on Zoe Gilbert in the future.
April 1, 2018
"There’s a tale for every kind of trouble..."
Fabulous interrelated collection of mythic fantasy stories. If you enjoyed Jim Henson’s The Storyteller you will love the tales of Neverness.
Prick Song ★★★★☆
Boys run deep into the thorned forest to find the arrows cast by their lady loves. Kisses and honor are the prizes for their wounds. But the goddess of the gorse chase only notices the boy cut the deepest...
Fishskin, Hareskin ★★★★☆
A postpartum depression story that got to me. Not every woman wants to be a mother. Not something society is sympathetic towards. You find coping mechanism where you can, hopefully before it’s too late.
The Neverness Ox-Men ★★★☆☆
A cute little story about a boy making up his meanness to a girl by letting her keep his secrets. They bond over being mean together.
The True Tale of Jack Frost ★★★☆☆
Sisters bored of the annual retelling of Jack Frost decided to change the story and insert themselves in it.
Sticks Are For Fire ★★★★☆
A mother confesses to her daughters that she participated in a lynching when she was their age. The story ends with the girls realizing how their mother has punished herself all these years.
Water Bull Bride ★★★☆☆
Sort of a selkie tale of a girl being seduced, harshly, by an older man/water bull into abandoning her life/family.
Swirling Cleft ★★★☆☆
A woman from the mist gave up her life to take care of a child that needed a mother.
Thunder Cracks ★★★☆☆
Spooky story about sleepwalking. I had a friend who did this, it’s remarkably eerie.
Earth Is Not For Eating ★★☆☆☆
Overly mysterious story about a girl troubled by the changing behavior of her pregnant mother. The same woman in Fishskin, Hareskin.
Long Have I Lain Beside the Water ★★★★★
Ooh that was good! A murderer is brought to justice through the spirit of music, of love remembered.
Verlyn’s Blessing ★★★★☆
The sad story of Verlyn Webb, the boy with one wing now grown into a man. A man grateful for the things he has but yearning for acceptance.
Kite ★☆☆☆☆
I dozed off twice. As far as I can tell a man dies and comes back to his brother as a stuffed bird.
A Winter Guest ★★★☆☆
Simple funny story about getting rid of a hot guy who has become a leech. It’s fun seeing the children from the early stories as adults now.
Turning ★★☆☆☆
A green man story with bees that I didn’t enjoy much.
Tether ★★★★☆
A trippy tale about letting your soul fly/dying juxtaposed with the annual gorse hunt from the first story. The children are grandparents now watching tradition continue.
The average rating of 3.2 stars wouldn’t do justice to the overarching storyline and general feel of the book - thus four stars.
Folk was Goldsboro Books March 2018 Book of the Month. I received 241/700, signed by the author, with sprayed edgings and custom bookmark. Such a pretty book!
March 20, 2019
I need to create a shelf that's called "writing goals" and it'll just be this book
January 15, 2018
A brilliant read to start 2018. Folk is a collection of short stories (I've seen a few reviews describe Folk as a novel, perhaps it's being marketed as such?) centered on the inhabitants of a village called Neverness. Zoe Gilbert's stories are the perfect balance of weird and twisted but not so removed from reality that they feel unbelievable. I loved the structure of the book, it's not something I've seen done before in a short story collection. Each tale is inextricably linked to another. Each chapter is about a different character in Neverness, but they often reflect on events from previous stories and the villagers pop up in each others tales.
The thing I liked most about this book is the sense of place Zoe Gilbert creates over the course of her short stories. Neverness sounds like a magical place, shrouded in mystery, where folklore is part of their reality. I can picture the rugged landscape, the scent of fish hanging in the air, the roar of the waterfalls and the calling of the kites. It's a dark place with dark secrets and I loved it. Zoe's writing is rich and atmospheric, but not over the top. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading whatever she writes next.
'Wherever Sil has been, though, there is a trace of waterweed in the air, of salt sea-fog and the insides of shells.'
As with any short story collection there are a few that I now can't recollect very well, but my favourites were Prick Song, Long Have I Lain Beside the Water and Verlyn's Blessings - the tale of man with a wing for an arm.
I believe 'Fishskin, Hairskin' was the story Zoe won the Costa Short Story Award for. You can have a read of this on the Costa Short Story Award website. Great if you want to sample her writing before purchasing.
The thing I liked most about this book is the sense of place Zoe Gilbert creates over the course of her short stories. Neverness sounds like a magical place, shrouded in mystery, where folklore is part of their reality. I can picture the rugged landscape, the scent of fish hanging in the air, the roar of the waterfalls and the calling of the kites. It's a dark place with dark secrets and I loved it. Zoe's writing is rich and atmospheric, but not over the top. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading whatever she writes next.
'Wherever Sil has been, though, there is a trace of waterweed in the air, of salt sea-fog and the insides of shells.'
As with any short story collection there are a few that I now can't recollect very well, but my favourites were Prick Song, Long Have I Lain Beside the Water and Verlyn's Blessings - the tale of man with a wing for an arm.
I believe 'Fishskin, Hairskin' was the story Zoe won the Costa Short Story Award for. You can have a read of this on the Costa Short Story Award website. Great if you want to sample her writing before purchasing.
January 2, 2020
>>Die salzige Luft ist schwer vom Duft der Ginsterbüsche, und etwas Mystisches liegt über der Insel. Wundersame Geschichten erzählen von diesem Ort, an dem das Leben geprägt ist von der rauen Natur, alten Bräuchen und dunklen Mythen, die in den Alltag der Menschen eindringen...<<
„Nebelinsel“ von Zoe Gilbert ist ein besonderes Buch! Es vereint Märchen mit Mythen und dem Leben auf der Insel Neverness. Umgeben von rauer See, der Natur, alten Mythen und Bräuchen... Die Geschichten sind alle so unterschiedlich und doch vereinen sie sich zu einem großen ganzen und ließen mich als Leser auf eine spannende, kalte, mystische, raue und irgendwie doch so authentische Reise gehen, die mich persönlich wirklich begeistert hat! Neben der wundervollen Buchgestaltung fand mein Leserherz hier ein tolles Buch für kalte Abende und dem ganz besonderen Feeling. Wer sich mal etwas abseits des Mainstreams belesen und die Mischung aus Mythen, Märchen und dem rauen Inselleben kennenlernen möchte und bereit ist sich auf das etwas andere Leseerlebnis einzulassen, dem möchte ich dieses Buch sehr gerne ans Herz legen!
„Nebelinsel“ von Zoe Gilbert ist ein besonderes Buch! Es vereint Märchen mit Mythen und dem Leben auf der Insel Neverness. Umgeben von rauer See, der Natur, alten Mythen und Bräuchen... Die Geschichten sind alle so unterschiedlich und doch vereinen sie sich zu einem großen ganzen und ließen mich als Leser auf eine spannende, kalte, mystische, raue und irgendwie doch so authentische Reise gehen, die mich persönlich wirklich begeistert hat! Neben der wundervollen Buchgestaltung fand mein Leserherz hier ein tolles Buch für kalte Abende und dem ganz besonderen Feeling. Wer sich mal etwas abseits des Mainstreams belesen und die Mischung aus Mythen, Märchen und dem rauen Inselleben kennenlernen möchte und bereit ist sich auf das etwas andere Leseerlebnis einzulassen, dem möchte ich dieses Buch sehr gerne ans Herz legen!
June 9, 2019
I’ve just finished Folk, and the first thing I want to say is that I think it’s very important to take the book as it is. Like many of the reviews here, it took me a few chapter to figure out the layout of the story - the blurb makes it seem as though it’s a novel, when in fact it’s a short story collection. The stories all take place on the island of Neverness and the each “chapter” focusses on a different set of characters. Some characters reappear in later stories, and time progresses as the book goes on. Once you get past the initial confusion, Folk is an absolute treasure.
I simply cannot fault the way Zoe Gilbert writes. The language she uses is pure magic, perfectly mirroring the arcane landscape of her Neverness. The imagery is mystical, and while the main theme of Folk is ancient folklore and custom, Gilbert beautifully weaves in gentle commentary on topics that are so prevalent in our world today. For example; post-partum depression, dealing with bereavement, coming of age and self-discovery are all subjects touched upon in this book.
The stories are short (22 pages maximum) and each one had me gripped. The mixture is diverse and rich - some stories were dark and unsettling and others were less serious, evoking joy and laughter.
Although the layout is slightly confusing to begin with, I really don’t agree with the reviews saying that Gilbert should have chosen “one format or another.” In fact, after finishing Folk I don’t believe it should have been written in any other way. Gilbert has concocted something entirely other, something totally unique. By nature folklore is disjointed, it gets mixed up and passed down and retold through generations - that’s the raw, innate beauty of it. So it’s only fitting that Folk should remain authentic and follow in the footsteps of its namesake - in my opinion that works wonderfully.
I simply cannot fault the way Zoe Gilbert writes. The language she uses is pure magic, perfectly mirroring the arcane landscape of her Neverness. The imagery is mystical, and while the main theme of Folk is ancient folklore and custom, Gilbert beautifully weaves in gentle commentary on topics that are so prevalent in our world today. For example; post-partum depression, dealing with bereavement, coming of age and self-discovery are all subjects touched upon in this book.
The stories are short (22 pages maximum) and each one had me gripped. The mixture is diverse and rich - some stories were dark and unsettling and others were less serious, evoking joy and laughter.
Although the layout is slightly confusing to begin with, I really don’t agree with the reviews saying that Gilbert should have chosen “one format or another.” In fact, after finishing Folk I don’t believe it should have been written in any other way. Gilbert has concocted something entirely other, something totally unique. By nature folklore is disjointed, it gets mixed up and passed down and retold through generations - that’s the raw, innate beauty of it. So it’s only fitting that Folk should remain authentic and follow in the footsteps of its namesake - in my opinion that works wonderfully.
May 22, 2018
Folk is a collection of connected short stories set in the isolated island village of Neverness. The stories of the lives of the islanders are connected, each chapter told from the point of view of a different character. They interleave and overlap creating a tapestry of magical and mysterious tales, the most prevalent being about family, love and loss.
The stories are reminiscent of fairy tales and Classical myths, as well as folklore and urban legends. A water bull kidnaps a young girl and hides her in his lair; a baby is born with a wing for an arm: Folk is inventive and captivating, and an eerie hum of enchantment lies behind the narrative. The island and its inhabitants are brought to life by a rich vocabulary and a visceral attack on the senses: smells of smoked fish and oxhides, burned porridge and chimney soot, rainy boots and muddy flagstones, sodden thatch. The book is dripping with sensation; with real life and dark magic, superstition and foreboding.
There is so much I liked about this book: the pulsing presence of magical realism; the nod to tradition and to ritual and practice. I loved how the book came to life owing to a beautifully vibrant prose, vivid imagery and stunning imagination, and how each story reads almost like a spell that leaves you with the feeling that Neverness is a place you visited in a dream.
The structure of the novel is complex and choppy, and this will confuse and frustrate some readers. It is quite disjointed and this can sometimes make you feel less for the characters as you meet and leave them behind so carelessly. As a result, I don't feel the characters studies were as well developed as they could be, leaving me feeling a lack of engagement. There was a definite lack of an emotional connection here which, sadly, left me a little disappointed.
This is certainly a unique and haunting debut but one that, ultimately, won't stay with me. Stunning cover, though.
The stories are reminiscent of fairy tales and Classical myths, as well as folklore and urban legends. A water bull kidnaps a young girl and hides her in his lair; a baby is born with a wing for an arm: Folk is inventive and captivating, and an eerie hum of enchantment lies behind the narrative. The island and its inhabitants are brought to life by a rich vocabulary and a visceral attack on the senses: smells of smoked fish and oxhides, burned porridge and chimney soot, rainy boots and muddy flagstones, sodden thatch. The book is dripping with sensation; with real life and dark magic, superstition and foreboding.
There is so much I liked about this book: the pulsing presence of magical realism; the nod to tradition and to ritual and practice. I loved how the book came to life owing to a beautifully vibrant prose, vivid imagery and stunning imagination, and how each story reads almost like a spell that leaves you with the feeling that Neverness is a place you visited in a dream.
The structure of the novel is complex and choppy, and this will confuse and frustrate some readers. It is quite disjointed and this can sometimes make you feel less for the characters as you meet and leave them behind so carelessly. As a result, I don't feel the characters studies were as well developed as they could be, leaving me feeling a lack of engagement. There was a definite lack of an emotional connection here which, sadly, left me a little disappointed.
This is certainly a unique and haunting debut but one that, ultimately, won't stay with me. Stunning cover, though.
March 2, 2025
I was promised folklore and folklore I got. <3
January 31, 2018
This is gorgeously written with some fine imagery - and really, the stylish prose and vivid pictures it conjures up are more important, in some ways, than the narrative story-telling. This draws on European fairy-tales but also Classical myths (the bull-fighting made me think of the bull-dancers in the Theseus/Cretan myths, for example), and the ring-structure points back to archaic poetry as well as duplicating the circle of the seasons.
A little Angela Carter, for sure, but Gilbert has managed to absorb her influences to create an original voice.
Oh, and an absolutely stunning cover!
Thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC via NetGalley.
A little Angela Carter, for sure, but Gilbert has managed to absorb her influences to create an original voice.
Oh, and an absolutely stunning cover!
Thanks to Bloomsbury for an ARC via NetGalley.
March 5, 2019
Excellent - reminds me of Alan Garner’s Alderley Edge books and Always Coming Home. Hollowing out British folk traditions and finding something new inside them
August 13, 2024
Folk’s synopsis captured my attention from the start, with its premise that sounded so very original and right up my alley—a collection of stories about a mythical village on a remote island, Neverness, in which strange things happen. And, technically, Zoe Gilbert delivered on this promise, even enhancing this premise with clever and astute canniness that one wouldn’t expect from a debut novel.
Surely the most interesting feature of this collection is Gilbert’s ability to interweave her characters, each story focuses indeed on a different townsfolk, but previous protagonists peep round the pages constantly, forcing the reader to recall back to who they were and what their story was about (due to the sheer number of names and stories, this is not easy at all, and it crafts a wonderfully realistic sensation of being new in town and slowly getting acquainted with the villagers). It is especially interesting because, throughout the book, time flows back and forth in a very bumpy manner, taking the reader through different generations of families of Neverness; that is to say that, in one story, a character might be an adult, a mother, and two chapters later we might encounter them again, as a name of one of the children of the village. Time, roles and history alike are absolutely dynamic, flowing like the coming and going of the tide, just like Folk’s narration.
The writing, indeed, is incredibly inspired and evocative, with dazzling descriptions and imaginative creations. Gilbert’s pen is magical and skillful, introducing the right amount of tension and mystique at the right moments. Neverness is an island shrouded in fogs and gray, storm-tossed seas and that’s the only way I can think of describing this book. The ideas, too, are, as I’ve said before, wholly original, with a magical and fantastical streak to them that, in more than one occasion, veers wholly macabre. This, too, is a defining narrative trait of this collection, who keeps you on your toes with its nebulousness in aim.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned qualities aren’t enough to make this collection a fully effective one: despite the evident connection between the stories, everything feels somewhat disjointed and, unfortunately, purposeless. Folk reads indeed like a fairytale, with stories of crude parents, familial misfortunes, folkloric rituals and supernatural elements (in one, a villager is born with a crow wing as an arm, in another, a woman is born from the sea and mist) and of naive villagers being swept away by the strong magical pulls of beings, but that is merely something found on the surface level. I found that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t truly breach the distance between the beautiful atmosphere and writing and what was actually being written on the page. Furthermore, not only was the amount of stories almost overbearing, but I found myself waiting for them to properly take a direction and stick to it, but that never happened. This, too, is possibly due to Gilbert seeking the ultimate foggy, smudgy feel for her tales, but that unfortunately translated into a vapid end result.
If you were to ask me what Folk is about, then, I wouldn’t be able to ultimately give you a straight answer, because everything is lost in its indistinct vapors and this, I think, is either indication of a well-accomplished intention or an unsuccessful gamble. And I… don’t know, I’m not sure.
“Turn away from the heather slope, to the seaward side of the hill. Sniff the air, catch the smoke. The men and women are already lighting torches, passing them along the line. All the villagers of Neverness are here: fishers and farmers, shepherds and huntsmen, fowlmonger, fiddler, brewer and beekeeper, seamstress, midwife, miller and bard. Every year they gather, while the girls shoot their arrows and the boys hunt them out, racing in the gorse. They are hungry for fire and begrudge the wait, but custom is custom. When the youngsters' game is over, and boys and girls are paired for the night, one kiss for each ribbon, they will make their thorny Gorse Mother blaze.”
Surely the most interesting feature of this collection is Gilbert’s ability to interweave her characters, each story focuses indeed on a different townsfolk, but previous protagonists peep round the pages constantly, forcing the reader to recall back to who they were and what their story was about (due to the sheer number of names and stories, this is not easy at all, and it crafts a wonderfully realistic sensation of being new in town and slowly getting acquainted with the villagers). It is especially interesting because, throughout the book, time flows back and forth in a very bumpy manner, taking the reader through different generations of families of Neverness; that is to say that, in one story, a character might be an adult, a mother, and two chapters later we might encounter them again, as a name of one of the children of the village. Time, roles and history alike are absolutely dynamic, flowing like the coming and going of the tide, just like Folk’s narration.
The writing, indeed, is incredibly inspired and evocative, with dazzling descriptions and imaginative creations. Gilbert’s pen is magical and skillful, introducing the right amount of tension and mystique at the right moments. Neverness is an island shrouded in fogs and gray, storm-tossed seas and that’s the only way I can think of describing this book. The ideas, too, are, as I’ve said before, wholly original, with a magical and fantastical streak to them that, in more than one occasion, veers wholly macabre. This, too, is a defining narrative trait of this collection, who keeps you on your toes with its nebulousness in aim.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned qualities aren’t enough to make this collection a fully effective one: despite the evident connection between the stories, everything feels somewhat disjointed and, unfortunately, purposeless. Folk reads indeed like a fairytale, with stories of crude parents, familial misfortunes, folkloric rituals and supernatural elements (in one, a villager is born with a crow wing as an arm, in another, a woman is born from the sea and mist) and of naive villagers being swept away by the strong magical pulls of beings, but that is merely something found on the surface level. I found that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t truly breach the distance between the beautiful atmosphere and writing and what was actually being written on the page. Furthermore, not only was the amount of stories almost overbearing, but I found myself waiting for them to properly take a direction and stick to it, but that never happened. This, too, is possibly due to Gilbert seeking the ultimate foggy, smudgy feel for her tales, but that unfortunately translated into a vapid end result.
If you were to ask me what Folk is about, then, I wouldn’t be able to ultimately give you a straight answer, because everything is lost in its indistinct vapors and this, I think, is either indication of a well-accomplished intention or an unsuccessful gamble. And I… don’t know, I’m not sure.
“Turn away from the heather slope, to the seaward side of the hill. Sniff the air, catch the smoke. The men and women are already lighting torches, passing them along the line. All the villagers of Neverness are here: fishers and farmers, shepherds and huntsmen, fowlmonger, fiddler, brewer and beekeeper, seamstress, midwife, miller and bard. Every year they gather, while the girls shoot their arrows and the boys hunt them out, racing in the gorse. They are hungry for fire and begrudge the wait, but custom is custom. When the youngsters' game is over, and boys and girls are paired for the night, one kiss for each ribbon, they will make their thorny Gorse Mother blaze.”
July 8, 2023
“Listen, for the beat that runs through the gorse maze. It is an early twilight, the opening between last sun and first star, the door of the day closing until, soon, night will seal it shut. There are feet thudding in the gorse’s winding tunnels, hearts thumping in time.”
Folk is ripe with dark magic, ritual, and fairytale.On the fictional island of Neverness, a boy may be born with a wing for an arm, children play brutal games of love in a contest for who can become the bloodiest, and a girl becomes fiddle-master by hunting for a spirit in the woods. We are plunged into a lush world of gorse mazes, crashing waves, and whispered enchantments. The real main character is the island itself.
Gilbert’s writing is undeniably gorgeous. Her command over prose left me astonished and jealous. Folk is like a beautiful incantation, a spell that is cast over the reader. It’s like a dazzling poem of some dark twisted fairytale, fitting the book’s theme perfectly. And each short story is wonderfully imaginative, reading like a deliciously wicked folk tale. I particularly liked Water Bull Bride and Prick Song.
Many different themes are explored here, from postpartum depression to sexuality to familial bonds. It’s a cleverly written book for sure, and I loved the subtle way Gilbert picked apart the human condition through folktale allegories (even if the observations were sometimes only surface-level).
This collection of short stories follows no clear, linked narrative, but instead follows a different character in each tale. It felt disjointed. This was Folk’s main downfall for me: none of the short stories had much to do with each other, beyond including the protagonists from other stories as side characters, so there wasn’t much time to become invested in the characters or much incentive to keep reading (beyond the fucking fantastic prose). By the end, I cared about exactly two characters — Madden Lightfoot and Iska — and there are many, many characters in Folk, to the point where I kept forgetting who was who.
But overall, I really liked it. I felt like a gossipy aunt by the end of the book, with the knowledge of an entire island’s secrets and relationships and magical encounters. It was a few hours of immersion in a beautiful, dangerous, enchanted world.
4 ⭐️
Folk is ripe with dark magic, ritual, and fairytale.On the fictional island of Neverness, a boy may be born with a wing for an arm, children play brutal games of love in a contest for who can become the bloodiest, and a girl becomes fiddle-master by hunting for a spirit in the woods. We are plunged into a lush world of gorse mazes, crashing waves, and whispered enchantments. The real main character is the island itself.
Gilbert’s writing is undeniably gorgeous. Her command over prose left me astonished and jealous. Folk is like a beautiful incantation, a spell that is cast over the reader. It’s like a dazzling poem of some dark twisted fairytale, fitting the book’s theme perfectly. And each short story is wonderfully imaginative, reading like a deliciously wicked folk tale. I particularly liked Water Bull Bride and Prick Song.
Many different themes are explored here, from postpartum depression to sexuality to familial bonds. It’s a cleverly written book for sure, and I loved the subtle way Gilbert picked apart the human condition through folktale allegories (even if the observations were sometimes only surface-level).
This collection of short stories follows no clear, linked narrative, but instead follows a different character in each tale. It felt disjointed. This was Folk’s main downfall for me: none of the short stories had much to do with each other, beyond including the protagonists from other stories as side characters, so there wasn’t much time to become invested in the characters or much incentive to keep reading (beyond the fucking fantastic prose). By the end, I cared about exactly two characters — Madden Lightfoot and Iska — and there are many, many characters in Folk, to the point where I kept forgetting who was who.
But overall, I really liked it. I felt like a gossipy aunt by the end of the book, with the knowledge of an entire island’s secrets and relationships and magical encounters. It was a few hours of immersion in a beautiful, dangerous, enchanted world.
4 ⭐️
November 7, 2020
“But it’s not real. It’s just toadstool dreaming.”
“A dream’s as real as life, for the dreamer. What’s the difference?”
.
.
.
Folk is a curious collection of fifteen tales set on an enchanted island. It feels as if you must follow the second star to the right and fly straight on till morning to reach Neverness. Here men have wings for arms and skeins of mist keep mer-babies cool
Don’t let the Peter Pan analogy fool you. These stories are not for children. Jealousy and desire run hot and deep through them, from girls’ dreaming of bloodied lips made kissable by pricks of gorse to the touch of a feathered wing on bare skin. Desire with a female gaze
Depression, grief, loneliness and death are all explored with the slight remove of magic from reality. These tales do not moralise, but they do dance along the border of truth and superstition and play with our ability to believe in both. Perhaps flying with red kites in the starred night sky is just toadstool dreaming brought on by a tea of hallucinogenic mushrooms, perhaps the whole book is, but, to the reader, what’s the difference?
“A dream’s as real as life, for the dreamer. What’s the difference?”
.
.
.
Folk is a curious collection of fifteen tales set on an enchanted island. It feels as if you must follow the second star to the right and fly straight on till morning to reach Neverness. Here men have wings for arms and skeins of mist keep mer-babies cool
Don’t let the Peter Pan analogy fool you. These stories are not for children. Jealousy and desire run hot and deep through them, from girls’ dreaming of bloodied lips made kissable by pricks of gorse to the touch of a feathered wing on bare skin. Desire with a female gaze
Depression, grief, loneliness and death are all explored with the slight remove of magic from reality. These tales do not moralise, but they do dance along the border of truth and superstition and play with our ability to believe in both. Perhaps flying with red kites in the starred night sky is just toadstool dreaming brought on by a tea of hallucinogenic mushrooms, perhaps the whole book is, but, to the reader, what’s the difference?
June 4, 2022
This anthology does a really good job of evoking the tone and format of fairy tales whilst trimming the fat that can make some fairy tales tiresome. On the other hand, I think it's important to not thoughtlessly perpetuate problematic elements of the past. In a book with so many characters, often navigating love, it's a bit hetero-normative. Even if the village were closed minded and diversity was not a feature of public life, it would certainly be present in the private parts of people's lives that this book so vividly brings to life.
March 23, 2018
This is perhaps the most beautiful book I have read in a very long time.
Starting with the cover it's a stunning collection of the magic and mystery of every day life, a love letter to the cycles of seasons and years and time, a collection of stories about a village and its people, a place that might never have existed and yet seems as real and immediate as my own hometown. Gilbert's prose is sparkling, breathing, singing and sobbing all at once; she writes of nature and humanity like she's composing a hymn and a eulogy. The stories all flow together, connecting loose threads and untangling knots, showing children growing and grieving and learning, showing families falling apart and building together. There are deaths and births and inexplicable magic and it's all presented with such a deft caring hand, as if the book were woven on a loom rather than written in words.
The characters are memorable and real and you find yourself wrapped up in their lives, in their small griefs and triumphs, in the magic that surrounds them (and sometimes smothers them), in the natural joys that move them. The stories can exist on their own but together it's a beautiful mosaic of a place and a time that never was and still feels real and breathing and true.
A fairy-tale for grown-ups, I can't recommend this book enough
Starting with the cover it's a stunning collection of the magic and mystery of every day life, a love letter to the cycles of seasons and years and time, a collection of stories about a village and its people, a place that might never have existed and yet seems as real and immediate as my own hometown. Gilbert's prose is sparkling, breathing, singing and sobbing all at once; she writes of nature and humanity like she's composing a hymn and a eulogy. The stories all flow together, connecting loose threads and untangling knots, showing children growing and grieving and learning, showing families falling apart and building together. There are deaths and births and inexplicable magic and it's all presented with such a deft caring hand, as if the book were woven on a loom rather than written in words.
The characters are memorable and real and you find yourself wrapped up in their lives, in their small griefs and triumphs, in the magic that surrounds them (and sometimes smothers them), in the natural joys that move them. The stories can exist on their own but together it's a beautiful mosaic of a place and a time that never was and still feels real and breathing and true.
A fairy-tale for grown-ups, I can't recommend this book enough
April 5, 2019
I really wanted to like this book but I found it a bit dull to be honest. The only thing that redeemed it for me was the descriptive writing which did help the imagination of the setting described.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2018
The story of Folk is set on an enchanting mythical island called Neverness. Zoe Gilbert has created a fairy tale world which steeps in mythology & folklore. Magic can bless or curse in equal measure here. A girl can be snatched by a water bull and dragged to his lair or a baby can born with a wing for an arm or children can ask their fortunes of an oracle ox. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character. Somehow their lives are always inseparably intertwined with island folklore.
First things first, I was very much looking forward to reading this book. Because (a) look at the beautiful cover. It feels as if it’s calling you like a siren to read the book as soon as possible. (b) the blurb off course. I was certain that I will enjoy it because I love whimsical stories (like Alice in Wonderland). But it’s needless to say that I was disappointed.
You can read the full review on my blog.
First things first, I was very much looking forward to reading this book. Because (a) look at the beautiful cover. It feels as if it’s calling you like a siren to read the book as soon as possible. (b) the blurb off course. I was certain that I will enjoy it because I love whimsical stories (like Alice in Wonderland). But it’s needless to say that I was disappointed.
You can read the full review on my blog.
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