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Friday, July 17, 2015

The Hollowing


The Hollowing, by Robert Holdstock, tells the tale of Alex Bradley, a boy who goes missing in Ryhope Wood. It is also the story of his father, Richard Bradley, who refuses to believe when his body is found. Instead Richard embarks on a search for his lost son – in Ryhope Wood. As you may imagine, this forest is much more than it seems. Within it live Mythagos, or ghost heroes, like Jason and the Argonauts, and other things, like the hollyjack and the giggler. This is the sort of magical wood it is dangerous to enter unless you possess a familiarity with melee weapons. Like Mythago Wood (an earlier work by the author), the mystery is in the forest, “Britain’s last fragment of primeval forest,” a place “larger inside than out.”

I've always loved stories about enchanted woods, and Ryhope definitely qualifies. But it's a dark and dangerous enchantment, so dangerous Richard has to be slowly introduced to "its properties and inhabitants, which range through the deeply embedded myths of all times. Meanwhile, Lytton wants Bradley to find Alexander because the fearful boy's vivid fantasies are changing the very nature of the wood that Lytton and his crew have been studying for years...Holdstock weaves a dense and, at times, impenetrable tale, but a careful reading brings to light a variety of treasures, including a telling portrayal of Jason and the Argonauts in old age."*

I've read this book twice.

What book's have you read more than once?


* quoted portion from Publisher's Weekly and the two books, The Hollowing, and Mythago Wood

14 comments:

  1. I've read a number of books more than one time, but the book I've read most often (unless you count the kiddie books I've read to the grandchildren over and over and over again) is "The Secret Garden." I read it as a young girl, and then out loud to each of our three kids. Much to my delight, even though it's an old-fashioned book, all three of the kids loved it as much as I did. :)

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    1. I've read The Secret Garden a number of times. God I love that book. I especially love how Mary changes with the garden.

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  2. I too love an enchanted wood. And there needs to be danger with the mystery. There are books I reread often. At the moment I am rereading John Green's 'The Fault in Our Stars'. And I first read it less than ten days ago...

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    1. I haven't read this yet but you convinced me to buy it.

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    2. Please let me know what you think about it.

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  3. Before I started writing, I read Ender's Game a number of times (and still think it's a great story) and Grandmaster by Warren Murphey. In the 80s and 90s I re-read my paperbacks often because I couldn't afford to buy new ones and it seemed I was always far down the waiting list on new bestsellers at the public library. ;)

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    1. God I loved Ender's Game, and the sequels!

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  4. I want to reread the Deverry novels again (I've read them twice), but I want to get them on my ereader now. I've gotten way too attached to my ereader, and pulling out the paperbacks just doesn't appeal.

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    1. I haven't heard of these books. must investigate.

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  5. Sounds wonderful. Dark is refreshing sometimes.

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  6. I haven't read very many books more than once. I used to...when I was younger. Now there are just too many new books to read!

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  7. Yes, I read books more than once but when it's fiction, I read kid books and for me, I read about whole foods,herbals and the like.

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