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The Western Wind

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About this listen

Oakham, near Bruton, is a tiny village by a big river without a bridge. When a man is swept away by the river an explanation has to be found. The story is relayed by the village priest, John Reve, who, in his role as confessor, is privy to a lot of information that others are not. But will he be able to explain what happened to the victim? And what will happen if he can’t?

©2018 Samantha Harvey (P)2018 W. F. Howes Ltd Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Fiction Village
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Wow! what an amazing writer. Almost like reading poetry. Atmospheric
tense, just LOVED it. I can not recommend it enough.

Simply outstanding

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I liked the beginning and I empathised with the reeve but as the story unfolded, the characters seemed forever confined to the boundaries of village life.

A medieval pastoral dilemma

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The broken timeline sometimes had me struggling to piece together the book's sequence of events, but it works fantastically as a device for keeping crucial information back, information that will cause you to reevaluate what you think you know. The setting is beautifully realised too and the characters and sights of the medieval village of Oakham really come to life through both the story and the narration.

An enjoyably slow, winding, sometimes-eerie story

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Superb narration by NH.
Really felt the atmosphere of 15th century Oakham and the power and influence of the church over each villagers small world.
Certainly not an actioned packed fast moving story, in fact quite the opposite, but it worked due to the beautiful writing.

Suspense thriller ?

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This unique historical fiction novel is rich with exquisite poetic prose and some quietly comical moments, with a rare crime/psychological thriller aspect. The author, Samantha Harvey, has captured the world of her novel so convincingly and authentically that you are immediately immersed into it’s time and place.

I love that it’s told backwards! So clever… It was a challenge at first because I hadn’t initially realised this! So yes, I got confused at times, but my own dyslexic brain managed to rearrange itself! And sure, I did rewind several times … and it was totally worth the effort! In fact I wasn’t ready to reach the end .. or the beginning!! You know it’s a great book when you’re not looking forward to finishing it… so I’ll just have to listen again. Or maybe next time, read the physical copy (I have it)

The narrator’s voice is perfect for the conveyance of this story, it’s period, and it’s memorable characters. Absolutely loved this book!

The Western Wind Beautifully written, beautifully told…

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