The Owl Service

The Owl Service follows three principal characters -- Alison, Gwyn and Roger. They are all staying at Alison's inherited home in the Welsh valleys, tended to by the mysterious groundskeeper and caretaker, Huw 'Halfbacon'. Gwyn's mother is Nancy, who displays something of a snitty attitude towards Gwyn's speaking of Welsh, which he says needs to practice for his exams at Aberystwyth Grammar.

Roger's father is Clive, who is also Alison's stepfather. There is some tension established early on whereby Nancy tries to assert her authority over Alison despite it not being her home. Her display of derision towards Welsh is doubly unusual when her son has a Welsh name himself but this, as well as her hostility towards Huw, is explained later in the main twist of the story.

The Owl Service is an odd but quite original story. The premise is hard to summarise, but it opens with Alison finding a load of old plates in the loft of the house, which she then, powered by some unknown force, is compelled to trace vaguely floral patterns of owls on, hence the book's title. This unlocks an ancient power that connects to the mysterious 'Stone of Gronw' by the river and the local legend tied to it. The three teenagers' lives then start to eerily mimic this legend, a legend which only the strange Huw Halfbacon seems to have awareness of.

After having struggled with The Once and Future King for a while, this is just what I needed to break me out of the resulting reading slump. It is short, subtle and there is no waste; Garner's novel is predominantly dialogue with sparing but effective description. The interactions and dialogue are authentic with consideration given to dialect, as it is to themes of class and nationality. Despite being a short book, and frequently described as Young Adult, it is anything but simple. One of the stronger entries on David Pringle's list that I've so far read.