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30th out of 54 books
—
31 voters
Diving Belles
by
Lucy Wood
Straying husbands lured into the sea can be fetched back, for a fee. Magpies whisper to lonely drivers late at night. Trees can make wishes come true - provided you know how to wish properly first. Houses creak, fill with water and keep a fretful watch on their inhabitants, straightening shower curtains and worrying about frayed carpets. A teenager's growing pains are some...more
Hardcover, 223 pages
Published
2012
by Bloomsbury UK
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Jan 27, 2012
Bettie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Bettie by:
Laura
Shelves:
published-2012,
winter-20112012,
radio-4x,
shortstory-shortstories-novellas,
women,
fantasy,
cornwall,
fradio,
debut
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Amanda Lawrence reads Lucy Wood's tales of Cornish folklore intruding on everyday life.
Amanda Lawrence reads Lucy Wood's tales of Cornish folklore intruding on everyday life.
My full response to this collection appears here, at Buried In Print.
Whimsical and lyrical: Lucy Wood's short stories will touch the curious and sensitive reader who is willing to believe.
If you like your stories to be rooted in realism, Diving Belles is not for you, but if you enjoy discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary, these stories will certainly satisfy.
Take this bit, from "Lights in Other People's Houses":
"His skin looked waxy, almost blue in places and she knew immediately that he...more
Whimsical and lyrical: Lucy Wood's short stories will touch the curious and sensitive reader who is willing to believe.
If you like your stories to be rooted in realism, Diving Belles is not for you, but if you enjoy discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary, these stories will certainly satisfy.
Take this bit, from "Lights in Other People's Houses":
"His skin looked waxy, almost blue in places and she knew immediately that he...more
“Diving Belles” is the first book by Wood, but it doesn’t seem like it. She writes with a maturity that is rare in a new author.
These short stories are set in her native Cornwall, and the sea plays a part in some of the tales. A long dead ship wrecker takes up residence in a young couple’s house, bringing salt and sand and shells in with him. A woman deals with her guilt over her husband’s and son’s deaths by giving up most everything and living in a cave on the shore. Husbands leave home to be...more
These short stories are set in her native Cornwall, and the sea plays a part in some of the tales. A long dead ship wrecker takes up residence in a young couple’s house, bringing salt and sand and shells in with him. A woman deals with her guilt over her husband’s and son’s deaths by giving up most everything and living in a cave on the shore. Husbands leave home to be...more
Often the books you love are the most difficult to write about.
How do you capture just what makes them so very, very magical?
Diving Belles is one of those books.
It hold twelve short stories.
Contemporary stories that are somehow timeless. Because they are suffused with the spirit of Cornwall, the thing that I can’t capture in words that makes the place where I was born so very, very magical.
Lucy Wood so clearly understands what it is about the sea, what it is is about the moorland. The beauty, th...more
How do you capture just what makes them so very, very magical?
Diving Belles is one of those books.
It hold twelve short stories.
Contemporary stories that are somehow timeless. Because they are suffused with the spirit of Cornwall, the thing that I can’t capture in words that makes the place where I was born so very, very magical.
Lucy Wood so clearly understands what it is about the sea, what it is is about the moorland. The beauty, th...more
https://www.libboo.com/read/diving-be...
Beautiful stories! They really hit the spot for me. I've craved these kinds of haunting, wistful stories ever since I read Aimee Bender's books, and I was very very satisfied.
My favorties were Notes from the House Spirits (they're not very good with faces, and time blends together. They never miss anything, except for the round butter balls under the couch. They're here to protect the house, and they never miss anything. Except for the butter balls under...more
I saw this book mentioned on someone's blog (sorry to be so vague but I don't remember whose) and noted it down as a book that looked interesting but I wasn't inclined to buy on the spot. I may even have downloaded a sample to my Kindle.
Then Gav and Simon over at The Readers announced that it was going to be their second book club read. That was the push I needed and I bought the book and made sure I read it in time for the podcast (which will come out on October 5th, so I made it with some time...more
Then Gav and Simon over at The Readers announced that it was going to be their second book club read. That was the push I needed and I bought the book and made sure I read it in time for the podcast (which will come out on October 5th, so I made it with some time...more
English magical realism?
Lucy Wood's "Diving Belles and Other Stories," is replete with the surreal, the impossible, the unlikely, and the illusory.
As is often the case when artists or scientist delve into such subjects, it becomes difficult to tell what is real and what is extraordinary, which is part of the fun here.
Other times it is quite clear that the extra-worldly souls in "Notes from the House of Spirits" are talking to you, telling the stories of its many inhabitants. Or that the two te...more
Lucy Wood's "Diving Belles and Other Stories," is replete with the surreal, the impossible, the unlikely, and the illusory.
As is often the case when artists or scientist delve into such subjects, it becomes difficult to tell what is real and what is extraordinary, which is part of the fun here.
Other times it is quite clear that the extra-worldly souls in "Notes from the House of Spirits" are talking to you, telling the stories of its many inhabitants. Or that the two te...more
I was lucky enough to attend Lucy Wood's first author event at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester where I bought a signed copy of Diving Belles. I must preface my review by saying that I don't feel qualified to write one. However much I may regret it, I did not study literature at university and have not done a creative writing degree. My formal literary education stopped at English A level. My knowledge of mythology and folklore is sketchy. And so from listening to Lucy speak I quickly for...more
I sought out and purchased an ARC of this book based on the recommendation of the Readers podcast, and I guess I am glad that I did.
I am still a bit unsure about this book, and unless I reread it I don't think I will know exactly how I feel.
The book is composed of short stories that explore various folktale creatures and magic, bringing them into the real world and having them interact with the mundane. What i enjoyed is that the stories, for the most part, left me thinking, wanting more, needin...more
I am still a bit unsure about this book, and unless I reread it I don't think I will know exactly how I feel.
The book is composed of short stories that explore various folktale creatures and magic, bringing them into the real world and having them interact with the mundane. What i enjoyed is that the stories, for the most part, left me thinking, wanting more, needin...more
Magical, mythical, a little quirky, sometimes creepy, and just plain fun!
Diving Belles, an engaging new short story collection by Lucy Wood, grabbed me from the opening passage:
"Iris crossed her brittle ankles and folded her hands in her lap as the diving bell creaked and juddered towards the sea. At first, she could hear Demelza shouting and cursing as she cranked the winch, but the as bell was cantilevered away from the deck her voice was lost in the wind. Cold air rushed through the open bott...more
Diving Belles, an engaging new short story collection by Lucy Wood, grabbed me from the opening passage:
"Iris crossed her brittle ankles and folded her hands in her lap as the diving bell creaked and juddered towards the sea. At first, she could hear Demelza shouting and cursing as she cranked the winch, but the as bell was cantilevered away from the deck her voice was lost in the wind. Cold air rushed through the open bott...more
I bought this book, almost entirely because of how beautiful its presentation is. The illustration on the cover, the script of the title and most of all the faded image of a lantern on the spine. The colours of the cover drew me straight to it and then I couldn't put it back on the shelf. Is that good book cover marketing or what! Eventually I opened it and read the blurb on the inside of the cover and it sounded interesting - cornish coastal mythology etc and so I treated myself.
This is Lucy Wo...more
This is Lucy Wo...more
3 likes · like · see review
A gorgeously written but sadly unfulfilling collection of what I would call scenes, rather than stories. Lucy Wood's debut combines traditional Cornish folklore with the mundane reality of the everyday: her characters are often lonely, uncertain, leading fragmented and unsatisfying lives, and into these almost painfully realistic depictions the author weaves elements of the strange, the fantastic and the magical. There's a giant's boneyard, people turning to stone and witches who can transform i...more
This book was filled with individual stories which sparkled and delighted like popping candy; a gourmet treat. Cornwall's plethora of mythical romances born from a culture of seafaring, casts some heady spells. The stories in Lucy Wood's debut collection have a magical sensation to them – slightly surreal, steeped in enchantments and shimmering with an bouillon of the area's folklore and landscape. This is a place in which fairies and spirits and bards rampage unchecked, and pillage from modern-...more
These are the type of short stories that typically don’t appeal to me. They end abruptly and leave me hanging with more questions than answers, feeling less than satisfied. All the stories are slightly odd and fantastical, tinged with melancholy and regret; people turn into stones or animals, watery ghosts take up residence in apartments, seaweed grows freely within houses. Most of the stories take place along the coast of England (the back of the book says in Cornwall, not that I would have kno...more
Lucy Wood's debut collection is a series of stories set in Cornwall. The central problems are average ones, such as dealing with moving away from a childhood home, losing a husband or growing up, with some added folkloric complications. For example, a woman helps out her ex-boyfriend, who needs a lift to see a new house he might be buying, but she's on a deadline as she's turning into stone. A boy with a giant father isn't growing, and frets about it while hanging out with a friend in a giant's...more
Lucy Wood’s debut short story collection is haunting, dreamy, and so, so beautiful. I’m not familiar with Cornish folklore, but my understanding is that each of these stories involves some aspect of this folklore, from wisht hounds to droll tellers, husband-stealing mermaids to buccas. Now, let me stop you before you decide, “I don’t know what any of those things are, so I don’t care to read this.” It doesn’t matter. You will be so fascinated and curious that you will spend hours reading up on C...more
I thought I was going to love this because I remember reading something in which Wood was compared to Angela Carter but no--Wood is absolutely no Carter. And she doesn't try to be. There is no humor in Wood's short stories, no satire, no dark comic brooding, no tongue-in-cheek story-telling. Sure, most of these stories are firmly of the magical realism genre but that's where the similarities end. These stories are sentimental. I don't necessarily mean that as a bad thing, I guess. It's just not...more
I don't normally read short stories, but I enjoy modern retellings of fairy tales or myths, so thought I would try these. They are all based on stories or fables from Cornwall and I went through them quickly. The endings were interesting, in that I wasn't sure there was an ending actually. But at the end, each one made me think about the story and I could actually relate them all to my own life in some way. Since they are modern retellings, they deal with universal issues like death, regret, los...more
Oh Diving Belles, how I love thee so.
I would leave the review at that but I accept that it won't help you much. Diving Belles is a beautiful short story collection by Lucy Wood that weaves the sea, the land, the people and the mythology of Cornwall into enchanting yet modern tales.
There are tales of husbands lost at sea but not lost forever. The wife that takes a trip in a diving bell for one last encounter. The house, slowly reclaimed by the sea. The pagan care home. Tales of the young and of t...more
I would leave the review at that but I accept that it won't help you much. Diving Belles is a beautiful short story collection by Lucy Wood that weaves the sea, the land, the people and the mythology of Cornwall into enchanting yet modern tales.
There are tales of husbands lost at sea but not lost forever. The wife that takes a trip in a diving bell for one last encounter. The house, slowly reclaimed by the sea. The pagan care home. Tales of the young and of t...more
3 likes · like · see review
"Cornish folklore, fairytales and half-remembered ancient myths are collected, collaged and reimagined, brought to life with original imagery and lyrical language. From snatched spouses to talking magpies and invisible lovers, Wood reinvents all sorts of folkloric and fairytale tropes, and her distinctive voice transforms them into otherworldly allegories of longing, loss and isolation."
(Excerpt from full review of Diving Belles at For Books' Sake)
(Excerpt from full review of Diving Belles at For Books' Sake)
Here is, essentially, my experience with this book: one) I thought, 'awww, funky cute cover!'; two) I flipped to the back and thought, 'awww, cute author!'; three) I opened the book and read the first few stories and thought, 'ohhellyeah!'.
I raced through this slender volume in a day -- managing three stories on my commute, two at lunch, three before dinner, the rest after dinner -- and while I probably should have moved a little more slowly -- savored -- I didn't want to stop swimming in Wood's...more
I raced through this slender volume in a day -- managing three stories on my commute, two at lunch, three before dinner, the rest after dinner -- and while I probably should have moved a little more slowly -- savored -- I didn't want to stop swimming in Wood's...more
Diving Belles is incredibly lovely, all of the stories in here are gorgeous. They sure speak to someone like me, who is pining for the sea. I love the way that myth is a given; a gargantuan bone yard or a hospice for shape-shifting demi-gods make for fantastical backdrops, but the stories set against them are still about ordinary people, even if some of the happen to live in seaside caves. The briny deep plays a staring role here, but there are a lot of other natural (and supernatural) elements...more
This is the best book I’ve read so far in 2012: a wonderful collection of contemporary stories which draw on Cornish folklore. I reviewed Diving Belles for Strange Horizons, so I’ll direct you over there to find out more – but this is a book you really ought to read.
I loved the stories in this book. They were amazingly fantastical! While most of them had a "dark side" to their meaning, they drew you in and made you wonder where the next one would take you (and you never knew). Growing up in the U.S. I am unfamiliar with many of the myths and fairytales the stories are drawn from, but you still get a sense of them through the words. I can't wait to share it with my sister!
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. They are each just the right length to provide the reader with enough background and detail of the characters. They often end in a mysterious way, leaving the reader to imagine what happens next or with the need to think about the story for a while. My favourite is the House of Spirits, which is really excellent.
These stories are lovely little things, and very beautifully written. But they're so unsatisfying because they don't seem to end, they just stop. This was actually interesting for the first few, but when you can predict the vague way all the stories will end, the magical effect wears off somewhat.
All of the stories start out beautifully. Most continue to be lovely, with well-drawn characters and absorbing plots. But then they fall apart and don't really end. It's as if the author either doesn't know how to end them, or doesn't want to. The stories just stop.
There's some beautiful writing in this book, and a couple of the stories are really good, but too many of them feel like vignettes. There were a couple where I thought the story was just getting started, and it ended. Good ambiance, not enough story.
Some of these tales are really beautiful but the mystical and the magical are not my natural environments and so found some others to be slightly hard going. All the stories were beautifully written though, with beautiful descriptions of the sea.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Readers: Book #2; Diving Belles by Lucy Wood | 13 | 65 | Oct 06, 2012 03:07pm |
Jan 20, 2012 02:45pm