Ghostbird – Carol Lovekin (2016)

I love it when books I am reading seem to accidently complement one another, upon finishing this novel I picked up a volume of short stories called Sandlands by Rosy Thornton. I was delighted to find aspects of at least one of the stories in that book echoing elements in the novel I had just finished. Both books are rooted within the natural world, something I find myself drawn to more and more as I get older.

I was drawn to Ghostbird by the reviews of others, and I was right to be drawn, beautifully written, lyrical with brilliantly unique women characters it has many elements that I love in a novel. Strongly rooted in the natural world of the Welsh countryside, it is a novel which draws on the traditions of witchcraft, folk tales and ghosts. It is also a compelling story of family secrets.

Cadi Hopkins is fourteen, living with her mother Violet, in the cottage next door to that of her aunt Lili Hopkins. Here the Hopkins’ have lived for generations. The Hopkins women are said to have gifts of witchcraft, and Cadi knows her mother and aunt are gossiped about, she hears the other women in the village shop. Lili’s brother was Cadi’s father but he died before Cadi was born, a month after Cadi’s elder sister was tragically drowned in the lake close to Ty Aderyn; the Hopkins’ cottages. No one will tell Cadi anything about her father or the sister she will never know, but Cadi is determined that now, finally this summer she will discover the truth.

“From the first day of August until the last, it rained at least once a day in the village. When the sun broke through, people caught their breath, marvelled at the glimmer turning raindrops to treasure.
August rain wasn’t something the village questioned. A place that old must surely be a few parts magic, and who knew what ancient charms clung to the brickwork? Old wisdom attached itself, collected in puddles, slipped under eaves and down chimneys. Wild magic loitered in lanes, cunning as magpies. If it danced by the door, the village knew the wisest move was to drop the latch. Myths were entwined with reality as tightly as the honeysuckle around the cottage doors.
And ghosts exchanged secrets with the shadows”

The village is a place of long memories, tradition and folklore, a place where is rains every day during August. Violet is damaged by the past, haunted by the memory of the child she lost, she hasn’t cried in fourteen years, but neither will she speak of the past. Lili is stuck in the middle, her relationship with her sister in law has never been easy, but she adores her young niece. However, once, Lili made Violet a promise, a promise she shouldn’t have, and is now struggling to keep.

As Cadi begins to press her aunt for information, becoming ever more desperate to understand the past and her mother’s coldness, Cadi is visited by the ghostly presence of Dora, the sister she never knew. Sitting under the trees overlooking the lake where Cadi is forbidden to go, the ghostbird gradually makes its presence felt, while Cadi tries hard to make sense of what is happening. Cadi’s awareness of this presence grows as the novel progresses and as Cadi gains a greater understanding of her own Hopkins gift.

This magical realism aspect is subtly done, both the natural world and the claustrophobia of family secrets playing their part. I’m generally not a great fan of magical realism, ghostly presences etc., but it certainly didn’t stop me enjoying this novel. Carol Lovekin’s sense of place is so beautifully done, I could imagine myself by the lake that Cadi defies her mother to swim in, walking through the village, or sitting in Lily’s magical garden. The myth laden Welsh countryside is a character in itself, and is brought evocatively to life with glorious descriptions.

Cadi’s relationship with her mother is painful to watch, Violet holds Cadi at a distance, leaving Cadi to lean more on more on Lili. As the novel progresses we learn something of the relationship between Violet and her own mother. There is a sense of history repeating itself, in this age old struggle between mothers and daughters. It isn’t surprising that Cadi has come to prefer her aunt to her mother.

“The air smelled of sun and grass, birds sang their territory songs and around the lake, small breezes sighed through the trees. Lili sat with her back against the sleeping stone. Cadi picked daisies, fashioning them into a chain.
‘Listen’ Lili said
Cadi said she couldn’t hear anything and Lili grinned and made a tutting sound.
They’d been lazing about for nearly an hour, watching the water boatmen skittering on the surface of the lake, eating apples and collecting minnows in a jam-jar. Defying Violet occasionally took precedence over prudence.”

Two arrivals in the village, a figure from Violet’s past and a woman from Cardiff bring change and possibly hope for the future.

Ghostbird is a thoroughly engaging, compelling read, Lili was my favourite character, I loved her quiet wisdom and the stories of the women who came before her. I particularly loved the Welsh lyricism of the narrative, and I am definitely looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.