3.5 rounded up

More and more authors are turning their hand to the 'pandemic novel' - I can think of Burntcoat and Bewilderment off the top of my head, and the epilogue of Beautiful World, Where Are You included references to Covid as well. Not forgetting the pre-Covid Severance which was eerily prescient about a virus-ridden world before words like 'self-isolate' were part of our vernacular.

These novels have incorporated and examined the pandemic in different ways, and in Sarah Moss's latest novel she chooses to focus on the pressure lockdown and quarantining put on certain individuals in a remote rural community in the Peak District. It is November 2020 and Covid rates are on the rise again. Kate, a middle-aged single mum of one has been quarantining, but her desire to escape to the hills (literally) overcomes her guilt that she should stay at home and she heads out on a walk one afternoon without telling anyone where she is going. The novel deals with the fallout of her actions viewed from the perspective of Kate herself along with her teenage son, Matt, and her elderly neighbour, Alice.

Moss excellently evokes the claustrophobia felt when living under lockdown - I've shelved it under 'mystery/thriller'. The novel is told in short, snappy chapters, and felt stylistically closest to Summerwater when compared to her other novels, but it is classic Moss: taut, immersive and packed with fleshed out characters who the reader believes in. If I am being overly critical it felt a tiny bit slight in some ways, but I let this slide as it still made for an enjoyable and propulsive read. Recommended!

I was drawn in by two things - Sarah Moss's excellent writing and a moody, atmospheric cover. Immediately it is clear we are reading a novel of the 2020 Covid pandemic, written during that time. Somebody had to, I thought, and for some reason expected to dislike the novel based on that fact alone. Yet, quickly, Sarah Moss sets up her characters, and lets a different kind of isolation take over their lives. Kate, the central character, is injured, alone in the fell, and her family struggle to find her. Very quickly this turns into a nail biter, full of thrilling imagery and wonderful prose. Moss manages to speak volumes with such brevity. I ended gulping this one down in one sitting. Great stuff.

I was lucky to receive an ARC copy through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you to them and to the publishers.

This book is the latest by the author of (most recently) “Ghost Wall” in 2018 and “Summerwater” (in 2020). It will I think appeal strongly to fans of the latter as it shares much in common with that novel: a setting on a single day; a remote and harshly beautiful countryside setting; a build up of narrative tension; a series of third party point of view chapters (albeit in this book the chapters circle round the same group of four characters) – all written in a largely internal, loosely stream-of-consciousness style, often a little repetitive and circular (albeit in the way of people’s actual thoughts) and with clearly distinct internal voices for each character.

Where perhaps it loses out to that novel is in the absence of the natural vignettes that distinguished “Summerwater” – although we do hear have a raven whose imagined dialogue with one of the characters makes it effectively the fifth key character of the novel. Where I think it wins out is in avoiding an over-dramatic and rather manufactured climax.

But perhaps the most impressive part of this novel is that it engages with the reality of COVID and lockdown – not like so many other novels inventing a different virus but dealing with one we are actually experiencing and I have to say capturing rather brilliantly a particular time and place – England in November 2020 and the second, and very unwelcome, national lockdown. It also captures excellently the issues with lockdown – the understandable prioritization of the acute-illness capacity of the NHS at the expense of the short (and who knows if long term) mental health of a nation.

The four characters of the book are: Kate – a single Mum, Matt her son, Alice her widowed neighbour recovering from cancer and so clinically vulnerable and Rob a divorced volunteer mountain rescuer with a teenage daughter he sees at weekends. Kate has been exposed to a COVID case so she and Matt are isolating, but when the claustrophobia of it gets too much Kate decides to walk up into the deserted moors (spotted by Alice who does not report her despite the attentions of her one child – a now married daughter with two children). When she does not return as darkness closes in, Matt alerts the authorities, while up on the moor Kate is in serious difficulties after a fall and Rob and his colleagues scramble to find her (Rob fearing she has deliberately gone to the moor to commit suicide).

Matt is probably the least well voiced character – albeit capturing a teenage boy is a challenge. Rob’s chapters are interesting for the ambiguity about what motivates his volunteering and whether it is really an escape from family responsibilities. Kate’s chapters are ambitious with her injury induced delirium conversations with the raven. But the strongest for me by far were Alice’s which really capture so many of the nuances of lockdown.

Definitely worthwhile.

Sarah Moss has written a pandemic novel that seems to encapsulate so much of the lockdown periods experienced by us all. Kate lives on the Peak District with her son Matt; having lived her daily life outdoors walking and being in the garden the lockdown experience is suffocating her existence and “breaking the guidelines”she decides to venture out for a walk up on to the Fell where she has a fall…The story follows events through the inner thoughts of Kate, her son Matt, retired and widowed neighbour Alice and one of the rescue workers. The overwhelming sense of isolation, claustrophobia and desperation experienced by so many of us during the lockdowns of the pandemic are conveyed in the emotions of the principle characters along with all of the daily life changes experienced. It is the subtle yet striking detail of daily lives and the impact of the disappearance of Kate that makes this book rise against what could have been a melodrama of extremes. Sarah Moss has captured so much of the last year…. The only question remains : Are people yet ready to experience again the daily challenges and emotions felt by so many through the art of fiction ? A book that may well prove to be a time capsule of recent times.

There aren’t many contemporary authors that I enjoy as much as Sarah Moss, her writing is always lyrical and yet concise, witty and yet profound. I was therefore delighted when Netgalley and Pan Macmillan, Picador allowed me to review this digital ARC of Sarah Moss’s new book, The Fell. The Fell is one of the first books I’ve read that explores COVID-19 and the events of 2020/21; and focuses on the themes of isolation, social responsibility and family relationships. The book is set in a short space of time when Kate, a single mother who is supposed to be quarantining, decides to break the monotony by taking a short walk in the fells. However, when her son realises that she has failed to return by nightfall, a mountain rescue is launched in the face of worsening weather conditions.

Sarah Moss is an exceptional writer and is particularly strong at ensuring that each character has an entirely unique voice. She captures for instance the typical wry humour of a teenager in Kate’s son, Matt, who reflects that he should do some revision as ‘you have to pretend you think the exams will happen, that you’re going to get qualifications and a job, you’d go mad else’. Not many authors can write a sentence that simultaneously makes you smile and sigh: funny and yet a sad reflection on the pandemic's impact on a whole generation of young adult.

This isn’t a light-read, Moss takes an unflinching look at the personal price we’ve all paid during the last year, whether that’s isolating from our loved ones, losing our jobs or simply the impact on many people’s mental health. Kate, as she walks, considers how she wraps packets of paracetamol in parcel tape, thinking ‘you can’t exactly stop your future self killing yourself but you can make it more difficult’. And yet this isn’t an anti-lockdown book as we meet Kate’s neighbour, a woman who must follow the restrictions carefully in order to stay safe during her cancer treatment.

This book poses more questions than answers and I find myself reflecting on the novel as we go into another autumn under the shadow of COVID-19. Where does our individual freedom end and social responsibility begin? How do we balance our own needs with those of our neighbours? I can’t imagine that there will be another book that so acutely examines our current situation. Bravo Sarah Moss, I truly believe this is the book that will define these strange times.

The Fell is a novel about lockdown, kindness, and survival, as a single mum goes for a walk and doesn't come back. It's November 2020 and Kate and her son Matt are self-isolating, but Kate is going stir crazy, unable to handle staying inside, so surreptitiously sets off into their Peak District surroundings. Her clinically vulnerable neighbour Alice spots her go, and soon Alice and Matt are wondering where Kate is, and a rescue operation is underway.

I've read Sarah Moss' previous novels Summerwater and Ghost Wall, and in some ways this one is similar to Summerwater in that it is looking at a particular present moment in Britain, exploring it through multiple perspectives and the natural landscape. However, what is perhaps most notable about The Fell is that it is a COVID novel, or whatever you want to call it, and is very specifically set in November 2020. I don't know if I've read a book that's set so recently but so specifically at the same time, with a sense that at least initial readers will remember that time and what you could and couldn't do. That is a lot of the focus of the book, around four different characters' perspectives on lockdown and what their lives are like: Kate who can't handle being stuck inside, Alice who is vulnerable but is privileged in other ways and yet lonely, Matt who is having to deal with being stuck inside with his mum, and Rob, a mountain rescue volunteer whose daughter is staying with him that weekend. The plot is quite straightforward, as it mostly focuses on the characters' interior lives, and what will happen to Kate.

This is the first COVID novel I've read, so it possible benefited from that, and I felt that Moss does a very good job of exploring the characters' attempts to keep going through the lockdown and what happens when that all comes together in this one night. The atmosphere will probably make it hard to read for some people, really bringing back memories of being stuck inside and a lot of blame floating around, but it works well in this case, with Moss' style of getting inside characters' thoughts effective at increasing tension whilst building up a picture of their mental states during lockdown. I'm not sure if it's all that enjoyable to read a book so carefully set during a specific part of the pandemic in England, but it is pulled off well.

I found The Fell an intriguing read, partly because I've not seen many fictional representations of daily life in the pandemic yet so it felt fairly fresh, or at least rehashing things I remembered. The simmering tension and writing style were similar to Moss' other novels, so fans of her work will probably like this one, though it's worth going into it expecting it to be about lockdown and COVID so you don't go into it expecting escapism from the present.

This the third Sarah Moss novel I've read (after "Ghost Wall" and "Summerwater") and I think this is my favourite. Now, this is a big deal. I am a HARD person to please. I was VERY, VERY dubious by the idea of reading a lockdown novel. I was sweating and squirming at the very thought! I'm already DREADING the "Lockdown Literature" classes that will be taught in universities in 2025 (assuming society still exists, etc. etc., insert anxious climate change disclaimer here).

I'd also just read the Sarah Hall lockdown novel "Burntcoat" before this one. I enjoyed the Sarah Hall one, but for what it's worth I liked this one better (not that these two incredibly gifted writers need to be compared, but as these are both lockdown novels, it's hard not to).

I like how Sarah Moss seems to be setting herself the task of writing novels 'about the moment' - so Brexit, COVID, etc - that aren't annoying or preachy. What I REALLY, REALLY liked about this book was the wry humour (I underlined SO many sentences I found really funny), and the fact that a lot of the narrators are well-rounded people. In general, I would call the tone of this book compassionate, non-judgemental, and understanding. Themes here that echo "Summerwater" in particular include the concept of neighbours and community, what genuine help means, empathy, and forgiveness. Also: death, and what it means to face it.

The plot follows a woman who goes for a hike even though she is supposed to be under lockdown, and the consequences that follow. We hear from her son, her neighbour, and a man whose identity would be a spoiler. Basically, the book is driven by interiority, by characters' thoughts and voices and interior monologue. She does free indirect discourse via third person really well.

It was interesting to read about elements of lockdown that already seem 'historical' to me - the obsession with wiping stuff down, for instance, which believe it or not my mother is still doing (love you, Mom!). Ugh, that scene where the guy opens the door with a plastic bag...!

My one critique is that I STRONGLY think the book should have ended on the next to last chapter. I initially read as the ending and I was STUNNED. My breath was taken AWAY. God, what a good ending! And then I turned the page and OH NO, there was another chapter that EXPLAINED AND CLARIFIED THINGS... I was not happy!

Overall, I think this book is yet another impressive contribution to what is turning out to be a stellar career. She is genuinely turning into a Gem of Modern British Literature. My gosh, she can write! I can only wish my lockdown was as productive as hers and Sarah Hall's *laughs bitter, bitter tears*...

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

The Fell by Sarah Moss.

At dusk on a November evening in 2020 a woman slips out of her garden gate and turns up the hill. Kate is in the middle of a two-week quarantine period, but she just can’t take it any more – the closeness of the air in her small house, the confinement. And anyway, the moor will be deserted at this time. Nobody need ever know.

But Kate’s neighbour Alice sees her leaving and Matt, Kate’s son, soon realizes she’s missing. And Kate, who planned only a quick solitary walk – a breath of open air – falls and badly injures herself. What began as a furtive walk has turned into a mountain rescue operation . . .
I found this book to be quirky but enjoyable. An insight for people going on with their own lives during a very strange time that we are going through.