This was annoying. Style over substance at its finest - if you like atmospheric literature, this might be your jam, but I found it hard not to give up until I realised nobody could make me read this and actually, gleefully stopped reading. I really liked the cover, the title and the idea - but somehow it did not come together.

Hagstone by Sinéad Gleeson
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.5 stars
Published in April 2024.
Thank you to 4th Estate and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

On a wild and rugged island cut off and isolated to some, artist Nell feels the island is her home. It is the source of inspiration for her art, rooted in landscape, folklore and the feminine. The mysterious Inions, a commune of women who have travelled there from all over the world, consider it a place of refuge and safety, of solace in nature.

I really liked the writing; it was beautiful, dark and atmospheric. The description of the island, the sea and Nell’s natural environment in general were gorgeous.
Gleeson did such a great job building up the tension, and the characters were unlikeable, for sure, but they were really compelling.
I had a pretty good idea of where the story was going to go, and I was very much hoping to be proven wrong. Unfortunately, the climax/ending was exactly what I thought it would be, and it was so predictable, it was bordering on cliché - which I thought was a shame as it completely robbed the story of its impact for me.

Mixed feelings about this one! NGL
The blurb had me really intrigued, and I was excited to see how it turned out. Honestly, I was disappointed.

All her life Nell has lived on the island. She’s an artist and one day receives a letter from an isolated and mysterious community of women who live separate to everyone else. They are asking her to create an art piece to celebrate their history. Nell is confused about the ask but intrigued enough that she goes to meet them. Thus begins her time spent with the Inions.

This island is… strange. There’s an inexplicable sound that occurs every so often and it’s a place rich with myth and folklore. Nell is pretty unknowable. You don’t really get much of an idea of who she is. She’s just this artist who people think is a bit odd. I really would’ve liked to know more about her. Maybe she’s a blank slate on purpose? I don’t know.

For the most part I enjoyed this, it’s atmospheric and creepy. If there’s one thing I love it’s a book about an isolated community so an isolated community WITHIN an isolated community? Hell yeah brother! There are maybe one too many things going on though. The side plot with the actor just took up words that could’ve been spent on Nell. And I probably would’ve lapped up a whole book on the lore of the Inions because I found them fascinating.

Moody, dark and a touch haunting but definitely could’ve done with being a little bit weirder.

Beautifully written with such an evocative sense of place. I really enjoyed Sinéad's writing - I'd been hearing lots of praise for this book and it definitely lived up to it.

Hagstone by Sinead Gleeson is a strange tale, haunting and disturbing yet strangely compelling. Set on a remote and rugged island, the book follows Nell, a free spirited artist who is commissioned by the Inions, a mysterious commune of women who live in isolation on the island, to create a piece to commemorate their history. The island is also the site of a strange almost supernatural sound, called the Summoning by the Inions, which manifests in strange behaviours and birds falling from the skies.
As I said this is a strange book and I have mixed feelings about it. I loved the descriptive writing and how well the author brought both the setting and the sense of isolation and loneliness to life on the page. I found the character of Nell intriguing along with some of the Inions the reader is introduced to over the course of the book. I didn't think the supernatural elements of the story, for want of a better term worked out quite so well, and I wish that had been developed a little more as it meant that the climax of the book fell a little flat for me .
An interesting read,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This was beautifully written and the descriptions of the island, the sea, the weather and the harshness of the place felt as if I was in the midst of it all. I didn’t totally believe in the story though.
Thank you Fourth Estate and Netgalley UK for the SRC.

In January I received a physical ARC of Hagstone from the publishers and even now, on a rainy night in July, it springs to mind. It was my first book to cast on 2024 and it was worlds apart from disappointment!

Nell, an artist, resides on the isolated island of Banshla. Working various jobs to fund her creative endeavours, she lives a life of solitude. Towering over the landscape in all of its mystery is Rathglas, where a commune of women have fled to in hopes of outrunning themselves, their past, even their families. Emanating from the island is an inexplicable murmuring that follows the islanders, causing all sorts of strange happenings and Nell must find her place within all of it.

There is so much to love about this book! From the echoes of the Banshee in Irish folklore, to the eerie images of the island and the characters themselves! I adored how the book is a nod to the precarious nature of being a creative, the ebbs and flows of income and often working more than one job to stay above water. I was so sad to Nell and her relationships with the women of Rathglas go.

An eerie and atmospheric banger of a book! Looking forward to what Sinéad Gleeson does next!

Dark, gothic, creeping. An epic debut from a talented author. Gripping story, well delivered. I adored this one.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. It was beautifully written and I love the setting. I also want to support other Irish authors.

However this just rambled. The premise is that a group of women retreat into their own society on a remote Irish island. They call tjemself the Iníons (daughters) and live a nun like existance with rewritten and reimagined holy texts etc.

Sounds interesting but the story then moves away from them and focuses on an artist who lives slightly outside society because it turns out that this island also has its towns and social scene etc. The artist herself is supposedly writing a book about the Iníons but there is very little actual interaction on the page. We're supposed to find them a little sinister but never given a reason why. There's folklore which is never mirrored in the mundane story. The MC moves from scene to scene without ever advancing the story.

A hagstone is supposed to give you a way to look at the world and see it differently and I think that's what this book is trting to do. However it just reads as jumbled and woolly with a few sharp thorns mixed in.

The criticism of those with Irish ancestry having the temerity to come in and be 'more irish than the irish themselves' for example. Honestly I sympathise with both perspectives here. As part of the near Irish diaspora who was deliberately pushed to deny her heritage for a long time, I understand the hunger for a specific type of belonging. I also get the irritation with outsiders coming in and taking the culture for themselves without understanding it. But I think there's room for compassion for both sides here.

I am also sceptical of the argument that someone who presents gaeilge as a sort of mystical language but apparently only knows the odd word of it, is somehow more in touch with Irish culture. As an Irish speaker I can assure you that while it is a beautiful language and will give you a new appreciation of Irish literature and poetry, it is also a completely practical language. Irish is almost 3000 years old and it has not changed much in that time. The fact that it contains more than 30 words for field suggests that while it might have it's mystical moments, it's a robust working language with it's roots in farming and land husbandry and no more or less magical than English.

So overall, this was a beautifully written mess with a pretty cover.

Hagstone is an atmospheric novel about an artist called Nell who lives on a windswept remote Irish island. There are lots of unexplained things on the island - an eerie sound only some islanders can hear, a reclusive community of mysterious women, what Nell sees in Cleary and how Nell survives with no apparent income….

I quite enjoyed the book, switching between reading the ebook and listening to the audiobook which was narrated beautifully. I never did find out what hagstones had to do with anything though.

Sounded nice on paper, but the execution is more "oh dear" than "wow".
First of all, literally from the very first line ("Wave-fucked. That's how Nell describes the island.") the prose tries *way* too hard to be deep, or different, or whatever. It's like the author is too self-conscious (or artsy!) to write a simple, direct sentence; everything is always "imbued" with something, things always have to have "meaning", the whole novel reads like it was written by a not ungifted 14-year-old with heavy delusions of grandeur. I mean, our main character can't even downshift her car like a normal person: "The gears grind, necessitating an ostentatious manoeuvre of the stick, making a drama of switching from third to second. And then, portentous and welcome, the tall pine at the entrance to the cottage lane appears, offered like a biblical miracle. [...] Morning will be here in a matter of hours, forcepped out of the night." Oof.
There are flashes of Ramsey Campbell-esque inanimate objects gaining unexpected (and unnecessary) agency: "A flask of coffee is almost empty but has helped move the morning in the studio along." When Nell rides a bike, she's "push-pushing on the pedals"; when she dives, it's "[d]uck down, lung suck. The burble-burble in ears." I have to say this picture-book level of writing drove me cray-cray.

The characters feel hollow and annoying at the same time: MC Nell considers herself some kind of artist, but the "art" she produces (or not, mostly she's content to just build stuff in her mind while filling her shed with crap picked up on the beach, she never comes across like a real working artist at all) does not strike me as all that great -- apparently there was an "installation" a couple of years ago that involved putting speakers in trees and struck me as not exactly well-thought-through, and living next to a lighthouse makes her think of "a different colour gel filter over the beacon for every night [...]. Her body and the light, refracting through the plastic film. Beaming a silhouette of herself out on to the ocean." She also has this idea of burying herself in seaweed, and she draws circles in the sand, like, literally. Yeah, well. Art. I guess.
When she's not obsessing over whether the dudes at the local pub say mean stuff about her behind her back (OMG they think she's a weirdo!!!), our MC also is a bit of a hell-raiser, as well as a hardcore feminist, evidenced by the fact that some while ago she made some kind of mock-up "Female Bible". "With four new gospels by women to replace Matthew, Mark" etc. This, apparently, had the same effect as, I don't know, setting fire to a church or something: "The parish bishop denounced the book with accusations of blasphemy. Radio call-in shows were plagued. A local politician [...] called her a heathen." To recollect, we're talking about this third-tier also-ran thirtysomething artist lady on a tiny world-forgotten spit of land in the middle of the sea who did a bit of arts & crafts on a bible. I don't know. If that's the kind of "art" you can take seriously, then good for you; I found the whole thing more than a tad pathetic, not to mention highfalutin.

Then there's the Iníons, some kind of females-only quasi-religious sect that for some reason decides to have our MC write their, um, Who's Who? I think? While the whole point of this (kinda gormless) sect is that it offers poor bedraggled women the chance to step out of their lives and begin anew, clean slate and new name and eradication of personal history and all? So what exactly is the point of hiring someone, a fairly unknown outsider at that, to put down the stories of who they are and what made them trek out to this god(dess)forsaken island? They can't find one of their own for the job, if it absolutely has to be done? Also, am I really supposed to believe that for decades now, these ladies have lived a 100% self-sufficient life off the land on a cold, rocky island while their predominant activity seems to be communal all-night singing? The whole idea of the Iníons is about as well thought out as one of Nell's artsy-fartsy mind-projects.

Also, the island features a Sound. This Sound is, like, totally mysterious -- not everybody can hear it, but those who do wish they didn't. Needless to say, that whole Sound business pretty much falls apart as well, because the author does not seem to care about narrative too much. When we first meet the MC, she's on the beach as the Sound starts, and she just about makes it to safety before it starts raining dead seabirds, killed off by the noise: "The roof is horribly dented and Nell fears it might cave in. When the noises finally stop, she opens the door" to a scene of about twenty dead birds, some "utterly mangled. Twisted legs, eyes scooped out on impact [...]. A lone gannet, twisted and bloody, lies broken in the basket of her bike." (Yes, quite over the top. And by the way, the first thing our heroine does after making it home from that brutal eye-scooping bird carnage: "Craving comfort, she takes a chicken from the chest freezer for dinner." You go, girl!)
After this loving description of animal mass destruction, all that dumb Sound does is annoy those who can hear it, or make women bleed, even the really old ones. Not a single dead bird in sight. Also, you'd think this kind of natural phenomenon (the mass wiping out of seabirds; the mass-induced hemorrhaging in female humans) would bring all sorts of scientists and cranks and just general attention to the island, but no. Bible with ladies in it? OH MY GOD! Island-wide sonic avian death? Who cares.

Like I said, this is like something written by a fairly gifted, but totally unworldly teen.

Which also fits in neatly with the rest of the "action", which deals with Nell and the two boys, sorry, men she's involved with, one of whom she totally stalks, forever hovering outside his hut in the middle of the night, which is obviously totally normal behaviour and completely all right, even admirable: "Would he be disgusted or turned on by this lurking? He might even be impressed at the discipline, the commitment." Or he might quite reasonably grab his gun, lady. I was not all that impressed with a character that drives across the island to some other character's isolated house, with the single intent of secretly gawping into his lit windows. I was even less impressed with her 100% stalker "I bet he even likes it" reasoning, or the fact that the whole thing is presented as somehow "sexy".
(When the dude finally does figure it out and returns the favour, she basically drops her pants right there on the doorstep and has him screw her pretty much without even saying hello or something, so we know it must be love.)
The minute horny hut-dwelling stalkee guy is out to sea, Nell screws the local international movie star who's there to find his roots, which is every bit as cringe as it sounds, but hey, he's hot, all the females (though apparently none of the males, making this an exclusively heteronormative island) experience "blushing from eyelash to nape" when he's around, so what can you do.

I don't know. In essence, this is trashy fun with the fun part removed. It also reads like this was begun and put back in the drawer again a couple of times; the first couple of chapters I was actually quite drawn in by what I supposed was an exploration of the unsuccessful-yet-driven artist's life... but then the bad boy love interest showed up and things took a turn into YA-country. This kind of auctorial "Don't know where I want to be going" about-turn happens a number of times. There's no real flow to the narration, and like I said, the internal logic of the book just doesn't make sense. If you tossed out the pseudo-literary aspirations, you could turn this into a fantastic beach read -- rebel artist! Mega-isolated island! Mysterious (literally) killer sound! Ominous all-girls sect whose leader confiscates members' passports so they can't leave! World-famous movie star love interest vs, local troubled wild guy love interest! Touches of Wicker Man and crazy woman in the attic! A title that sounds fantastic but has no connection to the actual book at all!
Sadly, this apparently wants to be literature with a big L, so I suspect we're supposed to take all this nonsense seriously; which is basically made impossible by the rinky-dinky prose.
I think I'll go bury myself in seaweed now.

Love the setting of haunting island. The characters are complex. The writing is engaging and book is gripping. Well the island is not only haunted for unexpected happenings but also because there are stories of people and there is a mystery and long buried secret. The creepy elements were good. Loved learning about art, folklore and how women came from all over the world.

Nell is an artist living in a cottage on an irish island. One day, she receives an invitation to make an art piece to celebrate history of Inions ( old irish for daughters). But she feels both suspicious and curious. An actor who came to live on an island before her shares his version of story. And a man who returns to island adds mystery to the story as well. The setting is atmospheric and characters are complex and so mysterious that it is hard to fathom them. I liked the description of Samhain. After the night of Samhain nothing remains the same.

When you will read the book, you will feel like there is a long buried mystery, a void and something is hidden behind the solace and stillness of the island. The conversations and creepy elements will grip you and the ending will give answers of your questions but will leave you longing for more. This is an immersive read, one needs to consume it completely to be able to feel everything.

Many Thanks to the Author and Publisher

This is wonderful and odd and unsettling and intriguing. The atmosphere and setting is its strength. I loved the idea of the Iníons and was really drawn to the exploration of creativity and fulfilment. Really well written with gorgeous language and very real characters.

I was recommended this book after a friend heard about it on the radio and thought it sounded like my cup of tea. I must admit, when I read the synopsis, I wasn't particularly stirred. How wrong I was! From the first page, I was intrigued by Nell and her life. Her life somehow manages to seem both idyllic and lonely but she comes across as a strong character and one that I warmed to instantly. We join her as she is invited to document the local convent-type place, that is shrouded in mystery as the order do not mix with any of the other island inhabitants. A really lovely read.

Haunting and very ethereal. A cult on an island? Some very strange sounds making people go mad. What is happening with this place? Well it swas slow finding out but very interesting. The ending was a bit of a cop out I thought but not sure what I was expecting!

This is a deep and atmospheric novel, an exploration of relationships and where people fit into the world. Excellent writing: the starkness and raw elements of the island are vividly brought to life.
Loved the ‘cult’ vibes and the build up to the ceremony, but was disappointed with the ending- too many books finish with the convenience of a fire.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

3 stars!

I was going to give this maybe a 3.25 but I settled on a 3 for now. I really liked how this was written and how we dive into this island and the mystery behind Rathglas and the Iníons.

I sadly just wanted to this take a weirder or unsettling step. I loved exploring the Iníons with Nell but was hoping this would go one way but felt like it built up to something that I sadly built up way too much with anticipation in my head so that's on me, but I was hoping for a stronger ending after hearing so much about the ceremony.

I loved the atmosphere in this. It was creepy, intense and intriguing, and left me wanting more. Although slow in parts, it kept me guessing until the very end. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

An artist on a small island in the west of Ireland, a mysterious community of women and an eerie noise coming from the island itself. Haunting and atmospheric novel, with some great writing.