Eynhallow by Tim McGregor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I adored this story. Eynhallow is a darkly-creative, visceral and heart-breaking. I read it with equal parts horror and empathy. Oh, my heart…
This book first came on my radar after seeing a few trusted Book Friends’ glowing reviews. I really didn’t look into it too deeply, I just took their word for it.
Holy moly, am I glad that I did. It’s set on Eynhallow, year 1797, in the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland. This is a desolate, and extremely remote location, with only a handful of families roughing out a life there.
As an island resident myself, I understand the challenges, but during this time period, I cannot even imagine. There’s no ferry schedule to count on when you need an escape…
I listened the audiobook, and the narration by Angela Ness, a Scottish voice actor, brought incredible authenticity to it. The main character is Agnes Tulloch, and I truly felt like she was telling me her story.
I am not going to say anything about the events of the book. I feel it is best to go in knowing as little as possible and just let it all envelope you.
I found it so easy to become fully immersed in the story. The atmosphere is rich, and honestly, quite bleak. I felt everything Agnes went through over the course of the story. The ups-and-downs, the emotional roller coaster that often felt close to derailment. I felt it.
This is the 2nd-novella that I’ve read from Tim McGregor, and it’s also the 2nd 5-star rating. His quality of writing, the attention to detail in his storytelling, his ability to channel emotion through the narrative, it’s just top notch.
I would absolutely recommend this to any Horror lover, but in particular my atmosphere girlies, fans of Classic Horror and Historical Horror lovers. You know who you are.
