In the Pines

by Paul Scraton, Eymelt Sehmer (Photographer)

In the Pines is author Paul Scraton's story of an unnamed narrator's lifelong relationship with the forest and the mysteries it contains, told through fragmented stories that capture the blurred details and sharp focus of memory. Accompanied by eerie images created using a 170-year-old technique of collodion wet plate photography by Eymelt Sehmer, In the Pines is a powerfully evocative collaboration between image and text

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Novella

117 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2021

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 3 out of 5]

I shivered the whole night through.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating rumination on the forest through a series of fictional fragments shot through with nostalgia and despair for our uncertain future. "Some ruins, made famous by artists and painters, have been collectively celebrated for their melancholy beauty as fallen artefacts from a lost civilization for longer than they were ever used for the purpose for which they were built."

[Sophy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a fiction, this read an awful lot like non-fiction.

Scraton puts himself in the place of different people experiencing the forest/woods/trees and what it means to these individuals.

The writing is beautifully descriptive and as a fellow tree lover and forest immersion lover, I really enjoyed reading about the atmospheric landscapes. I wasn't too keen on the chapter looking at the woods from a hunter's perspective in a "hunter's pulpit" especially as the author seemed to empathise with the hunter.

The black and white photographs were something different. I can't say that they brought all that extra to the work overall. They were haunting and ethereal in appearance but I wasn't blown away by their presence if that makes sense.

4 stars and I'm still deciding whether this is a keeper or a pass forward.

[Malachy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excerpt: We spent generations leaving the forest. Clearing the spaces on which we could grow and build, from farms to great cities. We left the trees behind, abandoned the shadows and all who lived among them, exchanging the darkness for lightness and space. I think of the stories my father used to tell me […] Who believes these stories? Most of us, I think. They keep us out of the forest, away from the woods and what might happen in the shadows, in the darkness between the trees and beneath the canopy. […] The stories are all designed to make sure we do not turn our backs on civilisation. That we stay close. That we obey the rules. […] In the forest, there's nothing to buy. No transaction to take place. The forest gives, but expects nothing in return. No wonder it is not trusted.

[Rudolf Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, easy read. Wish it would've amounted to more though.

edit: after reflecting on it some more I feel my last sentence was too harsh. And it's really very well written.

[Joseph Murtagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5.0

reeeeal eerie book (almost would recommend as a mid-late october read lol), written as a series of (semi fictional?) short narratives of life in and around forests - their mythological status, their real nostalgic histories, their eden for wild flora and fauna, and their uncertain futures to the modern world.

punctuated by more haunting film photos in between. gosh i gotta get back to the forest near my dads house

[Caradhrasss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold and eerie

[Juliano · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The forest can hold many stories, […] it can also decide to reveal its secrets. And often there were enough clues to get you started, if you knew where to look.” Paul Scraton’s in the pines, a novella paired with Eymelt Sehmer’s photographs, is an intriguing exploration of memory and narrative. Taking as both its main setting and its premise a mysterious forest in a small, unnamed town, in the pines merges the reflections of the (also unnamed) narrator with stories about others who move within + around the forest, and its mythical status, the stories told by imaginative parents, the stories told by teens looking to shock one another, and the stories told by gossiping locals. In the midst of these stories is a blend of personal introspection — the narrator coming to terms with the loss of his parents, leaving behind his childhood + the forest for life in the city — and a kind of collective, topographic psychology. “Nevertheless, within the town and around, people began to panic. […] Parents feared for their children. Centuries of stories echoed in the imagination. Hysteria rising. As if unicorns were real. As if dragons had been born.” This idea of echoing stories recurs throughout the short, genre- / form-defying text, as Sehmer’s disquieting photos (made with the 170-year-old collodion wet plate technique) all conjure up atmosphere. “The stories had always got things the wrong way round. The threat wasn’t the wolf, […] It was Grandma, holding a rifle.”

[Lisa - OwlBeSatReading 🦉📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading ’In the Pines’, it was relaxing and thought provoking. It had this strangely mesmerising tone that felt a touch sad and dark.

Made up of short chapters, each individual piece took me on a micro-journey through the trees. I joined the unnamed narrator at his side, quietly listening to his voice whilst he relayed his memories of the nearby forest, its nature, its sense of place and its changing effects as he became an adult.

I loved the photography placed at intervals within the pages, it allowed moments of contemplation and added a depth of being right there. The photos were created using a 170 year old technique called ‘collodion wet plate’ and have this ethereal effect, just on the edge of haunting.

‘In the Pines’ is a must-read for anyone who loves to stroll through the woods and take in the world around them. A novella that doubles up as a prescription for wellness. It is also a subtle education in looking after our planet, an attempt to undo the damage that has been done. (It’s never too late.)

Paul Scraton and photographer Eymelt Sehmer were on my shelf waiting patiently to be read since publication day in 2021. Now read, it’s going back there to be appreciated, thought about and reread when the moment takes.

This is a beautiful and quietly powerful book, I cannot fault it.

[Lise]

I think this style of book is just not for me. I require a bit more plot or strong characters. It would be unfair to rate it low when its not bad just not for me. So I have decided I won’t be rating it.

[Seb Horner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Howard Bday Present 2022 - 'Fiction, Odd!'

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtfully descriptive.

[Emily Archer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly felt this lacked a little bit of depth and cohesion. You don't get any sense of who the narrator is and their relation to the forest; to me it seems like multiple different people (despite the blurb saying that it follows 'a narrator') and there isn't a clear message, only a touching on the effects of climate change in one tiny section. I think the problem is that each section is far too short to explore anything in great detail and there isn't enough of a thread to hold these different sections together. I'm hesitant to call them essays because they are just very short sections of prose. Nice for creating an impression and an easy read, there are some lovely lyrical descriptions in places just not sure about how it hangs together overall.