Scan barcode
A review by henrymarlene
The Stranger by Kathryn Hore
5.0
“… reckoning is on its way”.
A feminist Western. This description alone said “read me”!!! The setting is in Darkwater, a town in an un-named country with limited resources and water access. It is locked away from the world outside its walls. It sounds like it is a long time ago, yet there are mentions of solar panels, electricity and a PA set up across the town. This is a deliberate skill by Kathryn Hore to keep up guessing, and to realise that the topics and situations we encounter in this book traverse time, location and generation. There is a dystopian element to this as well, with an isolated town cut off from the rest of the world, with virals being stockpolied and tested within the walls of Darkwater.
A stranger rides into Darkwater on a horse. The stranger is a woman, mistaken for a man, draped in weapons. Everyone is whispering about the Stranger’s entrance, and they capture the attention of Chelsea. The Stranger, herself, is a character full of mystery, and this seems to unfold in fragments through the story. Chelsea is known as “Granger’s Girl” in Darkwater. Granger is the “head’ of this town, and controls what and who comes in and out. He also has controlled Chelsea since she was 16 year of age, after her mother dies and her father was forced out of the town. Chelsea does not have any role models left, apart from her once teacher, and now, the Stranger. Until the Stranger’s arrival, she has succumbed to the power of Granger, a man that has taken advantage of many young girls and women in the town. Granger has been running the town with a number of old men for many years. Here he meets his nemesis – a woman had been in this very town before.
This is not about revenge, but justice, transparency and equity for all, and this is a very hard lesson for Chelsea to learn as she connects more and more to the Stranger. It is also a long standing lesson that I think Granger really knew he would need to face, when the past came back to the present to set the future free. I think this book is a standout for 2022 for me.
A feminist Western. This description alone said “read me”!!! The setting is in Darkwater, a town in an un-named country with limited resources and water access. It is locked away from the world outside its walls. It sounds like it is a long time ago, yet there are mentions of solar panels, electricity and a PA set up across the town. This is a deliberate skill by Kathryn Hore to keep up guessing, and to realise that the topics and situations we encounter in this book traverse time, location and generation. There is a dystopian element to this as well, with an isolated town cut off from the rest of the world, with virals being stockpolied and tested within the walls of Darkwater.
A stranger rides into Darkwater on a horse. The stranger is a woman, mistaken for a man, draped in weapons. Everyone is whispering about the Stranger’s entrance, and they capture the attention of Chelsea. The Stranger, herself, is a character full of mystery, and this seems to unfold in fragments through the story. Chelsea is known as “Granger’s Girl” in Darkwater. Granger is the “head’ of this town, and controls what and who comes in and out. He also has controlled Chelsea since she was 16 year of age, after her mother dies and her father was forced out of the town. Chelsea does not have any role models left, apart from her once teacher, and now, the Stranger. Until the Stranger’s arrival, she has succumbed to the power of Granger, a man that has taken advantage of many young girls and women in the town. Granger has been running the town with a number of old men for many years. Here he meets his nemesis – a woman had been in this very town before.
This is not about revenge, but justice, transparency and equity for all, and this is a very hard lesson for Chelsea to learn as she connects more and more to the Stranger. It is also a long standing lesson that I think Granger really knew he would need to face, when the past came back to the present to set the future free. I think this book is a standout for 2022 for me.