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A review by the_bookubus
The Cormorant by Stephen Gregory
4.0
A couple and their young son move to a cottage in Wales that they inherited following the death of an uncle. They do so under the condition that they also have to take care of the uncle's pet cormorant.
I think we've all had the fantasy of leaving our jobs and starting a new life in the country and many of us would jump at the chance if we had it. Even if there was a caveat to the opportunity. But could this change our lives for the better or for the worse? There was a series of highs and lows within this story but all with an underlying sense of dread.
Stephen Gregory is a very talented writer and I'm not sure whether this novel is to be classified as horror or firmly literary fiction. At the very least I think it would be horror adjacent. His writing is at times dreamlike and nightmarish, at times awfully real. I found this to be quite an emotional read with some distinctly unsettling and uncomfortable moments. The details and descriptions are very evocative whether they be about the weather or the scenery, or something much more horrific.
This is an excellent read and one that I highly recommend if you are looking for a quiet, slowly building story that will leave you feeling like you got punched in the gut and unable to stop thinking about what just happened.
I think we've all had the fantasy of leaving our jobs and starting a new life in the country and many of us would jump at the chance if we had it. Even if there was a caveat to the opportunity. But could this change our lives for the better or for the worse? There was a series of highs and lows within this story but all with an underlying sense of dread.
Stephen Gregory is a very talented writer and I'm not sure whether this novel is to be classified as horror or firmly literary fiction. At the very least I think it would be horror adjacent. His writing is at times dreamlike and nightmarish, at times awfully real. I found this to be quite an emotional read with some distinctly unsettling and uncomfortable moments. The details and descriptions are very evocative whether they be about the weather or the scenery, or something much more horrific.
This is an excellent read and one that I highly recommend if you are looking for a quiet, slowly building story that will leave you feeling like you got punched in the gut and unable to stop thinking about what just happened.