Starve Acre cover art

Starve Acre

'Beautifully written and triumphantly creepy' Mail on Sunday

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Starve Acre

By: Andrew Michael Hurley
Narrated by: Richard Burnip
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About this listen

 PRE-ORDER SALTWASH NOW: THE DISTURBING NEW NOVEL FROM ANDREW MICHAEL HURLEY

'An impeccable work of folk horror' Irish Times

The worst thing possible has happened. Richard and Juliette Willoughby's son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five. Convinced that the boy still lives on in some form, and desparate to make contact, Juliette seeks the help of the Beacons, a seemingly benevolent group of occultists. Whereas Ricahrd, an art historian, tries to blot out the pain of his grief by turning his attention to the field opposite their house, Starve Acre. Patiently he digs in the barren soil looking for the roots of a legendary oak tree but unearths something which ought to have remained buried.

'I will confidently predict that no reader will guess where it's heading . . . Hurley's ability to create a wold that's like ours in many ways and really not in many others is again on full display' The Times©2019 Andrew Michael Hurley Fantasy Genre Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Scary

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Critic reviews

A tour de force of physiological fantasia . . . Writing of this quality - sensuous, exact, observant - ensures that other scenes, too, pulse with vitality . . . Hurley's gothic storylines send spectres of deathliness through his fictional world. His prose brings it vividly alive (Peter Kemp)
I will confidently predict that no reader will guess where it's heading, particularly in the novel's startling last sentence . . . Hurley's ability to create a world that's like ours in many ways and really not in many others is again on full display . . . Starve Acre, leaner and perhaps even more unsettling than its predecessors, may well be his best novel so far
Beautifully written and triumphantly creepy
A perfectly pitched tale of suspense and the dark side of folklore . . . perfect, page-turning reading for a dark night
This kind of book, as with ghost stories from M.R. James to Susan Hill, demands a phenomenal control of language and atmosphere to work at all, and Hurley provides it in spades . . . This is a wonderful story of its type that has all the qualities of unease, nastiness, terror, psychological trauma and implied physical revulsion one expects from folk horror. But it's nothing to the denouement it foreshadows
Brilliantly written . . . Evoking Ted Hughes's style of writing, Hurley is adept at seamlessly intertwining the malignant savagery of nature with abstract use of imagery for horror effect. He has this uncanny ability of bringing the palpable supernatural to life with a neat, serene turn of phrase. All these hallmarks of superlative writing are in full display in this impeccable work of folk horror. Starve Acre is a haunting portrait of what happens in the liminal space between grief and sanity
The new novel from the award winning author of The Loney is a further entry in a genre that Hurley is fast making his own . . . Hurley adeptly creates an unsettling atmosphere and keeps us guessing about the extent to which his characters are haunted by grief, by more primordial supernatural forces, or both. This chilling story will set spines tingling and teeth on edge: just the thing for Halloween
Expertly paced . . . creepy and marvellous
Hurley's striking prose evokes a rising sense of dread in this brief, unforgettable novella
Andrew Michael Hurley has been carving out a niche for himself as a notable writer of modern gothic since the success of his Costa winning debut, The Loney, and his third novel, Starve Acre, offers an atmospheric tale in the same tradition of English folk-horror . . . Hurley has a fine talent for evoking the menace of his northern landscapes . . . an enjoyably chilling tale for a wild winter night
An uncanny, unnerving work of rural Gothic . . . Starve Acre is a very fine novel, and quite a singular reading experience . . . the final third of Starve Acre is one of the most unnerving things I've ever read
All stars
Most relevant
nice bit of folk horror, pregnant with meaning, definitely worth a listen on a stormy night

macabre

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this novel has serious issues with pacing - it was really slow and very little happened for the first 5 hours, and then just as things started heating up & I was getting hooked, it ended! the ending doesn't feel like ending - more like the teaser for a sequel. it just feels like the author couldn't be bothered to develop the ending and wrap things up properly, so it's up to us to figure out how things will turn out.

underwhelming

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Just stunningly written and such a powerful story. Propelled with a horrible inevitability. Didn't want it to end.

Incredible

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Having just seen the film version of Starve Acre I was drawn to the book. The film has changed the plot so it was great to listen to the original source. well told, and lots of imagery and psychology of both grief and folk lore to chew on. A great listen well read.

Folk horror

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I cannot say I enjoyed this book. The story is grim and bleak and I came away feeling grim and bleak. Beautifully written, the author evokes the wild and remote countryside on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors but there is no joy whatsoever in this book. Just anxiety and grief and finally some horror. It may have worked better if you read this as a novel, as it would not immerse you in this cold grey wotld quite as much as when you are listening to it, but I really cannot recommend it as an audible book.

A pretty grim affair

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