Seventeen-year-old Silvie and her parents are spending two weeks at an experimental archaeology site in Northumberland, along with a professor and 3 students, as part of a project attempting to recreate the life of Iron Age people through foraging, cooking, and crafts. But while the scholars view this project as an opportunity to play around, it rapidly becomes clear that Silvie's controlling father is taking it far too seriously. Torn between her growing attraction for one of the students, Dad's escalating brutality and Mum's resigned passivity, she knows that darkness looms just over the horizon.
Sarah Moss has achieved something remarkable here. In just under 150 pages, through Silvie's matter-of-fact narration, she manages to build tension to an almost unbearable pitch towards a blood-chilling conclusion. There were times when I forgot to breathe. Unforgettable.
I borrowed this e-book from the Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec.
Rating: ****
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