Snake Ropes [Kindle Edition]

Woweeeee, what a book. Have had the busiest few weeks but have snatched any time I can to read it, as it is the most fantastically involving and inventive book I have read in a long time. Just had to put everything else to one side to finish reading it, and am now in that post-book state of wishing I hadn't finished it yet!

Snake Ropes is something quite beautiful, magical, creative and transporting. Transporting because I felt like I'd opened a little door somewhere and entered into another, more wondrous, reality. The characters are so real, beautifully and truthfully drawn, and the writing poetic and vivid. Jess Richards has a deftness of touch, dealing with some raw, painful subjects with the lightness of a poet. And the world of women was tenderly evoked, creating the a space where women have autonomy and weave a web of stories, magic and legend. Having worked with women in labour, it would be the lovely character Kelmar I would want by my side in that moment. In fact, if I ever work in that capacity again, I'll channel her I think!

The watery world of the island is vivid, a place where stories and folklore are tangled in the seaweed. I read the book whilst at home on the cliffs, with rain lashing down and waves crashing on the rocks below, and felt at times like I really had slipped through that portal to join Mary and Morgan...

This is a beautiful book and a real pleasure to read. It's so refreshing to find a debut writer with such a unique voice and I'm sure this writer has a long career ahead of her - I'm looking forward to the next book already!

I bought the paperback as I simply can't justify spending more on a Kindle edition than real book (which I can lend to people or even sell on). I can only imagine the publisher printed way too many and is now trying to discourage digital purchases until more have shifted. Cheeky!

However, I greatly enjoyed this book, which deals with powerful themes in an interesting manner, using magical ideas to explain genuine psychological issues. I read it in two long sittings because I couldn't put it down, though I admit to finding Mary's story more engrossing than Morgan's, who seemed, to me, more plot device than genuine character.

Both girls live on an imaginary island, through which the author has created an unusual world that I found it remarkably easy to immerse myself in, especially considering fantasy isn't my usual genre. I think the style of writing and the use of words like 'dun' instead of 'don't' add to the appeal of the book, while the layers of meaning that shape the story make it so much more than it initially appears.

For example, while the island houses a remarkable building and the people hold some eccentric beliefs, these appear to run parallel to concepts in our own society, or deep spiritual truths perceived by mystics and sages. 'Snake Ropes' themselves even have some basis in reality: the mistaking of ropes for snakes (or seeing animal shapes in the stars, for example) is known as Pareidolia and is thought to play an important role in art and religion....

I found two ideas particularly interesting: that 'bad karma' can be averted by feeling no guilt for one's crimes (or, in other words, that we punish ourselves for our perceived wrong-doings, often without good reason); and that people collect or steal items (which could be a metaphor for all sorts of behaviour, including verbal abuse) representing whatever they feel they lack within themselves. The author is a wise woman.

One I plan to read again, once my neighbour returns it.

4.5 Stars Read more ›

A fantastical tale that is fresh, original, imaginative & absorbing. The story has elements of myth, folklore & fairytale. It is set on am imaginary, isolated island. They have their own unique way with language, & it did feel a bit contrived at first, but once I was drawn into the story, it became natural, & flowed. Fairytale & reality are blurred, for the two main female teenage characters as well as us, the readers. The islanders only contact with the outside world is when they trade with the Tall Men. This trade is needed, but feared, as their visit coincides with the disappearance of island boys. One of the main characters, Mary, engages in a search for her brother who goes missing, while the other girl featured, Morgan, is practically kept prisoner by her parents, & the story follows her attempt to escape. There are mysteries to puzzle & tantalise you: how did Mary's mother die; what are Morgan's parents afraid of; how can Mary's brother's voice be heard coming from his favourite toy; what is the mystery behind the Thrashing House, the place from where no-one comes back? These & more mysteries are unfolded as the book progresses, & it kept me enthralled. Considering this is a first novel, it is quite a considerable achievement. I always know when I've really enjoyed a book when I feel sorry I have finished it, & this was one such book. Magical!

I wasn't sure what to expect, sometimes you pick a book after reading the summary and it's nothing like what you read. This book was like this but in an unexpected and magical way. I felt a feeling that I haven't felt since the Chronicles of Narnia; of otherworldliness and a vivid feeling of fairytale mixed with reality. It's quite magical.

It's clear that Richards' childhood in the Isles of Scotland has been inspiration for the fictional Island setting which carries so much mystery and we travel with our alternating narratives and begin to unravel the mystery and history of the island and of course our characters.

Mary, one of our alternating narratives is a young teenager devastated by death and loss, namley her little brother; Barnley. The mystery behind this highlighting the long chain of young boys to have gone missing. At the other end of the scale we have Morgan who's confined existence with more than just overbearing parents brings the story of Cinderella to mind.

Both being told stories of tales and stories of a land before, reality and fairytale are hard to separate not only for Mary and Morgan but for us as the reader. With magic as common place as the being in the trees and words you speak, a mysterious tangle of events begins to entwine us and the girls with a need to find out what the mystery behind this island is and why it is so important for the 'snake ropes' made by the people of the island of seaweed and magic to be traded with outsiders...

An impressive debut novel venturing and mixing fairytale and reality together in such a completely original and inventive way which captures you and transports almost physically there as well as mentally. Stunning.

Cassandra220689