Book Review | Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley

Welcome to Barrowbeck. For centuries, the residents in the remote valley on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border have navigated the challenges posed by forces beyond their understanding. They dedicate themselves to raising families, cultivating the land, and welcoming visitors seeking solace. Yet, beneath the surface, a shadow lingers, as constant and turbulent as the river that winds through the village.

This was a hidden place. A place of privacy. No one had been here before. Theirs would be the first footprints. Their voices the first to resound here. The first voices of a new village.

Barrowbeck is an evocative collection of short stories set in the aforementioned remote valley. It shows slices of people’s lives from the beginning of time in the age of gods and goddesses, to the future where the world is seemingly collapsing. Like the author’s previous book, Starve Acre, this collection has a touch of folk horror. But there are also elements of fantasy, historical fiction, family drama, and even science fiction. I would say this is the author’s most ambitious book so far! The stories are more unsettling than scary, hinting at something otherwordly while exploring superstitions, dreams, grief, and hope.

The thread in this collection revolves around the terrors of the unknown, and how they affect the lives of the Barrowbeck inhabitants. In The Strangest Case (1792), a father is accused of killing his daughter whom he believes had been possessed. A girl visits a magical travelling fair that faces protests from disbelievers, leading to a shocking turn of events in After The Fair (1899).  In Autumn Pastoral (1995), an art appraiser visits a gloomy house with peculiar paintings and a disturbing history. A woman stumbles into a man who claims he can see a terrifying future in Covenant (2029).

This book also tackles the melancholic feelings of grief and mourning what was lost. Hymns For Easter (1922) illustrates how the villagers struggle to cope with the aftermath of World War I.  In Natural Remedies (1938), a woman offers a childless couple a gift, but with a cost. A man looks to the skies for something special as he deals with a loss in A Celestial Event (2010). In the final story, A Valediction (2041), two environmental inspectors travel to the flooded valley, now left with remnants of everything that came before.

A quietly forbidding collection that offers visions of life and hopes amidst the rubble, Barrowbeck is the perfect addition to your spooky season reading list.

I received a copy from the publisher and Netgalley for review purposes.

About the author: Andrew Michael Hurley

Photo by Jeff Cooper