Daughter of Black Lake

I was excited to read an ancient world book: Roman soldiers and pagan tribes in early Britain…yes, please! Daughter of Black Lake, however, fell short. The story goes back and forth in time, which is tough to execute. Flashbacks can pack a punch when well done. In this book, the excessive back and forth dragged the momentum. Or was the book supposed to be a parallel story of mother and daughter? The story description tells of Devout but the book begins with her daughter, Hobble, and splits the story line between the two. Either way, over-used flashbacks or parallel story lines, it didn\’t work for me. The author\’s low-key voice hampered story progress as well. An even-keeled tone is wonderful, as long as you give the reader some change, some highs and lows when warranted. With this book, emotions are boxed up and far from the page. For example, one scene with the druid should\’ve been fraught with danger. I read the scene, and when it was done, I realized, \”That was supposed to be tense and frightening.\” It wasn\’t. That\’s never a good sign when you put down a book and tell yourself, \”I think the author meant (fill-in-the-blank)\” yet you experience nothing. The author\’s voice is, at times, accessibly eloquent, but too, too low key. Or overly focused on atmosphere? And sparing elsewhere? The author certainly did her homework on early pagan tribes. However, it\’s problematic when I put a book down and don\’t want to pick it up again. It\’s been two months and the book remains untouched. I\’ve read almost half, and I\’m not sure I\’ll finish it.

Even though it was somewhat confusing at times, because of the alternating time lines but with the same characters, it was hard to put down. I enjoyed it and wished it was a longer book.

The 2000 year old setting gives an interesting setting to the whole book. The historical background suggests an detailed knowledge of the times by this author. Amazing

I requested an ARC of Daughter of Black Lake because I loved the author\’s first novel, The Painted Girls. In other words, I went into reading Daughter of Black Lake with a lot of assumptions. The first part of my reading process was disappointing because for the most part I was letting go of those assumptions and embracing the book for what it is. Once I embraced the book for what it is, I found it a deeply engaging read: one of those \”just one more chapter\” books that leave once exhauted and bleary-eyed the next morning. Daughter of Black Lake is set in Britain during the Roman occupation. The Romans aren\’t much of a presence around Black Lake, a tiny hamlet perched at the edge of a bog, but the knowledge that they could appear at any moment shapes much of the narrative. Some people in Black Lake see the occupation as an opportunity: to learn new skills, to move beyond their old boundaries, and to make money. Others see the occupation as a threat to their entire lifeway, which is shaped by by Druid beliefs and practices.* Hobble, the book\’s central narrator, is simultaneously less-than and more-than those she lives with. As her name suggests, she disabled, though not significantly. She walks with a limp, but her father has taught her her to run, and she\’s a swift as anyone else just a bit more ungainly. And in this Druid world, where the runts and imperfect animals are chosen for sacrifice, disability puts one at specific risk: there haven\’t been any human sacrifices in a generation, but those with weaknesses know that, if that changes, they may be the ones paying with their lives. At the same time, Hobble is a Seer. She\’ll be stopped in her tracks by a flash of blinding white light only she can see, then finds herself viewing images of some future event or location. This is primarily a pragmatic skill: she knows where clusters of mushrooms grow hidden, she easily collects plants for her work as a healer, she sometimes plays with her friends telling them where they\’ll find a particular stone or other item. But Hobble can\’t choose what she\’ll see or when she sees it, so when others want her to use this gift for a specific purpose, she can\’t. Smith and Devout, Hobble\’s parents, have a relationship at once loving and distant. They hold secrets from one another, and neither fully knows the other. With her gifts, Hobble sees each of them more clearly than they see the other, but Hobble\’s understanding of their relationship remains incomplete. The plot is moved along by the arrival of a Druid priest determined to inspire the villagers to a final uprising against the Romans. He\’s keeping a close eye on Hobble and her family, who can\’t be sure whether this attention reflects respect for her gift or disdain that might lead to Hobble being seen as a candidate for sacrifice. What I particularly enjoyed about this novel is the way the two narratives—Hobble\’s growing understanding of her parents and the tensions the Druid\’s presence creates in Black Lake—play out in tandem, making the book simultaneously mythic and very human in scale. I strongly recommend this title, which rewards readers on multiple levels. You may find the start a bit slow, but trust that you\’ll be caught up in the novel\’s tale and characters if you just keep reading. I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

From the first few sentences to the very last ones, I fell in love with this book and almost every character within it. I read late into the night, so compelled by this small settlement and their customs in what is now England, threatened by the rapacious invading Roman Army who are never far away. The story is told from two points of view: the girl Hobble (she is lame and thus a runt) and her adoring mother and father, and the second story from the point of view of her mother Devout in her own girlhood when she passionately loved another boy before she married Hubble\’s father. The secrets of that, and the healing arts in herbs and flowers gathered from the earth, are broken by the arrival of a Druid who wants the people to adhere only to the old ways which include human sacrifice of the weakest. Hobble, who is lame though she can see the future, feels his stern gaze. A rich, tender, unforgettable novel about the redemptive powers of love. When you are traveling near London next time, you will feel the earth and see the world of the people who lived there; time will part and show them to you.

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