Hol

This book is a historical novel about a woman named Agnes who has been convicted of a murder and is due to be hung for her crimes. She goes to stay with a family while she is awaiting execution and communes with a priest regarding her crime.

When I saw how successful this novel has become I thought it would be a good idea to read it. I’m a would-be author myself, so wanted an example of a debut novel that’s highly regarded.

This book was extremely good. I was more-or-less immediately drawn in and never felt the narrative lacking. All the elements to make this a good read were there e.g. sense of place, well drawn characters, plot.

In this novel perspectives changed frequently between the main characters. I felt this gave it a real freshness and I think it’s why I never became bored. Sometimes a narrative can drag if you become bogged-down with the protagonist’s outlook, whereas this didn’t suffer from that problem. Of course, the majority was told from Agnes’s viewpoint, but there was enough of a change in this to mean it didn't become boring.

I would definitely recommend this to others. It’s a lovely short-read, even though I did take time getting through it! If I hadn't been ill I think I would have flown through this one! It’s quite a light read-not in subject matter-but the narrative doesn't demand too much.

The only reason I've marked it down is because it was missing that edge and didn't really give me enough to get my teeth into.

All-in-all though definitely give this a go, I would highly doubt you’ll regret it.