Swansong

by Kerry Andrew

‘Swansong is the real thing, right from the spiky, strange and contemporary, but always with a dark undertow of myth and folklore tugging at its telling…this is a brilliant novel by a writer - and musician - of frankly alarming talent.’ Robert MacfarlaneIn this stunningly assured, immersive and vividly atmospheric first novel from the celebrated musician, a young woman comes face-to-face with the volatile, haunted wilderness of the Scottish Highlands. Polly Vaughan is trying to escape the ravaging guilt of a disturbing incident in London by heading north to the Scottish Highlands. As soon as she arrives, this spirited, funny, alert young woman goes looking for drink, drugs and sex – finding them all quickly, and unsatisfactorily, with the barman in the only pub. She also finds a fresh kind of fear, alone in this eerie, myth-drenched landscape. Increasingly prone to visions or visitations – floating white shapes in the waters of the loch or in the woods – she is terrified and fascinated by a man she came across in the forest on her first evening, apparently tearing apart a bird. Who is this strange loner? And what is his sinister secret?Kerry Andrew is a fresh new voice in British fiction; one that comes from a deep understanding of the folk songs, mythologies and oral traditions of these islands. Her powerful metaphoric language gives Swansong a charged, hallucinatory quality that is unique, uncanny and deeply disquieting.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Magical Realism, Contemporary, Scotland, Fantasy, Novels

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 25, 2018

Reviews

[Ends of the Word · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

Kerry Andrew is a musician with three British Composer Awards to her name (*four* as of the 6th December, 2017). She has written choral works which subtly subvert the tradition. As her alter-ego You Are Wolf she (re)interprets folk songs in a contemporary, electronica-tinged idiom. Andrew's first novel, Swansong, is inspired by a folk ballad and shares some of the concerns and methods of her musical projects.

The novel's feisty protagonist and narrator is Polly Vaughan, an English literature undergraduate who, by her own admission, is more into booze, drugs and sex than into literary theory. After she experiences a disturbing incident in London, Polly joins her mother Lottie on an extended holiday in the Western Scottish Highlands. Polly hopes that this will help ease her feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Plans, however, soon go awry. For a start, her attempts to build new friendships and relationships seem to fail miserably. Moreover, the natural environment, beautiful and wild as it is, also comes across as decidedly uncanny. Right on her arrival she spots a strange man pulling a bird apart in the dead of night. And as the days roll on, she starts to have increasingly strange and unsettling visions which cannot be easily explained away as the effects of weed on a heavy conscience. Could something otherworldly really going on?

What makes the style of this novel particularly distinctive is the stark contrast between the fresh, contemporary (and sweary) narrative voice and the elemental, mythical and timeless symbolism which underpins the story. This is not the only dichotomy present in the novel. Indeed, the book often presents us with opposites which turn out to be closer to each other than may be obvious at first glance. "Dead / Not Dead", the mantra which Polly repeats to herself, starts off as an expression of guilt and, by the end of the novel, attracts a deeper meaning. There are similar contrasts between the urban and the natural, the human and the animal, the old and the new.

Andrew also manages to combine seemingly disparate genres. This is, at heart, a supernatural novel, a reworking of a timeless myth. But it also has elements of the psychological thriller, the crime story and the Bildungsroman. It is also a nature novel where the landscape itself becomes a central character. Somehow, it all manages to gel.

If I have any criticism of the novel, it is that sometimes the metaphors pile on top of each other, giving the impression that the author is trying too hard to come up with an unusual or striking image. To be fair, however, Polly is herself a whimsical literature student and so the unconventional narrative voice is in character.

What I do know is that when I finished Swansong, I suffered withdrawal symptoms, which does not often happen to me. That is when I realised how much I enjoyed this eerie but beguiling novel.

A full review, with a playlist to go with the book can be found at:

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...

[Dawnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly this book was bad for me.

It could be for a number of reasons why that is:
- magical realism and me are a very... messy thing. We either love each other way to much or hate each other with a fiery passion. (In this case the later!)
- i do not like a books make me feel like i have NO clue what is going on for another reason than to make the story appear more mysterious and strange. (which this book does)
- has a VERY unlikeable main character that is utterly selfish and is not a person i want to spend any amount of time with, let alone the amount it took me to read this!
- the writing was... all over the place? If there was actual flow and connection to everything i did NOT see it.

So to say this in other words:

If you love strange books, that have elements of magical realism that are sometimes actual magic and sometimes could be either just imagined things or dream like moments or anything in between those things, this book is perfect for you.

If you love people as characters that are behaving in ways that nobody really should behave like... this book is for you.

If you don't mind strange writing style that makes the story feel disconnected and strange, not flowing together, strongly put together in ways that makes me feel like parts of the story where written years ago and randomly fitted into newer written parts in moments the story needed... something. Give this book a try.


All in all?

I have no idea how to rate or review this book because i just know that for me personally i didn't work.

I wanted to like it. I am always happy to give books that are set in Europe and different parts of it that are not typically mentioned a try. I love given books a try that talk about folklore and myths, and include them into the story in a way that makes you wonder if it might be something or not.

But this book just didn't work for me on too many levels to be able to say that i can recommend it.

Decide for yourself it you want to give it a try or not!

*Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for a free and honest review!*

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really beautiful and compelling read, I just couldn't put this down. It keeps you guessing the whole way through and there are so many brilliant twists. Loved it!

[Erica Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘In this stunningly assured, immersive and vividly atmospheric first novel, a young woman comes face-to-face with the volatile, haunted wilderness of the Scottish Highlands.’

Published: January 25th 2018
by Jonathan Cape

~ Following a disturbing incident in London, English Literature student Polly heads to the Scottish Highlands on holiday with her mother, in a bid to escape the reality of Uni and the repercussions of certain actions.
This is a contemporary tale intertwined with supernatural elements that was inspired by traditional folk ballad ‘Molly Bawn.’ If you’ve ever been extremely North of Scotland, you’ll know that this is the perfect setting for this kind of ‘magical realism’ and it won’t be too difficult to imagine the atmosphere of the rural village in the West Highlands that Swansong describes. Or indeed the strange phenomenons that Polly begins to experience. Kind of. Or is it just what she’s been smoking?

Polly is by no means a perfect fictional heroine, she’s actually quite a typical British millennial student, and this novel is all the more compelling for it. She makes ‘bad’ decisions and doesn’t always do the ‘right thing’. In fact it’s pretty much established in the first few pages that she is not really always a likable person (bearing in mind that this is written entirely from her own point of view and general feelings of inadequacy) And I should mention that while the Highland setting might be romantic, our protagonist’s descriptions of that setting are certainly not:

‘…the seaweed was like discarded latex-wear from an S&M basement party.’

Despite the supernatural element, this novel is fresh and contemporary, driven by Polly’s personality – colourful metaphors and all. While I appreciate that this converging of genres and different elements will be too jarring for some peoples tastes, for me personally, to be frank: it’s fucking weird and I love it.

5/5*

~Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am not associated with the author or publisher in any way. My opinion is completely unbiased and entirely my own~

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polly Vaughan has ended up in Scotland with her mother after a disturbing incident in London. Whilst she is there she is intending to try to wrestle with her coursework to try to get her grades back into shape. Almost immediately though she begins to question what this place is, after seeing a man sitting on a stump plucking and dismembering a bird. But she has other things on her mind and sets about seeking sex, drink and drugs, something that the barman in the pub is happy to assist with.

Living miles from anywhere is unnerving for her having been using to the business of London but she finds he feet and life zips by once again in a boozy and smoke filled haze. However, she begins to see visions and hear strange sounds in the woods and waters of the Loch and can even sense that there is something else out there even when she is stone cold sober. She has a moment when she meets a grandmother of one of her crowd who takes one look at her and says she has been here before, something she brushes off.

Polly comes across the man she saw dismembering the birds once again; she has heard that he has a sinister secret, a fact that terrifies her, but something compels her to find out more about him. As they grow closer together, her visons grow stronger and more tangible until something appears one night that stirs memories that were long suppressed.

It is difficult to categorise this novel; its very heart is a mystery but its setting in the wilds of Scotland add almost timeless elements. It has depth and history in the narrative and the language makes it feel modern and contemporary. In this mix are the supernatural visions and other things that keep happening to Polly which make it very very eerie. The characters in here are not going to be ones that you grow to love, they are sometimes spiky and all have their own deeply flawed elements, however, this adds to the story that is rooted deeply in the folklore of the landscape. Great debut and one to watch out for in the future.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I really loved this. Magical realism can be a bit hit or miss for me but this one really worked.

[Rosalie Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It’s part coming-of-age story and part psycho-thriller – I’d even call it a modern Gothic romance with its dramatic landscapes, mysterious characters, and mystical happenings.

The main character, Polly, is a modern young woman with modern problems. She goes on holiday to Scotland to escape her past, but discovers that not only does her past come with her, she finds herself tangled in someone else’s past.

The book is written in first person narrative, which I find very powerful as a way to get into the mind of the main character. I loved Polly’s inner thoughts – often critical and sarcastic, but also witty and humorous. While she may come across as abrasive, reckless, or even self-destructive, I found her very relatable and ultimately endearing as she struggled with her inner demons and tried to make sense of the mystery around her.

I followed Polly’s interactions with her mother and her mother’s friends, her attempts to make new friends, and her encounter with a strange man in the woods with some level of trepidation – would she end up a victim? Or would she have to try to escape the potential mysterious danger just as she had tried to escape her problems back in London?

It’s truly a page-turner – I really couldn’t put it down. And there is nothing predictable about this book, including the ending. I wondered, along with Polly, at the strange visions she was having – was she just hallucinating, or was it something real? I soon realized that these visions might have something to do with the other voice that emerges along the way. I loved how the story unfolded, layer by layer, much like the swan wings that grace the cover of the book and figure into the story.

For the best experience, I recommend that you avoid reading too many reviews, the book jacket, or the end notes until after you’ve read the book. I had read a description, but happily by the time I got to read the book, I had forgotten the details. For this book is best taken at face value, with the mystery – and the unexpected ending – coming upon you as organically as the Scottish wilds come upon Polly. However, I found the end notes both enlightening and uplifting, especially given the background of the author.

My final verdict: An excellent read.

5/5

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swansong is a haunting mix of modern life and ballad mythology in a novel about guilt, the past, and transformation. Polly is in the Scottish Highlands to escape everything that went wrong in London—her degree, her flat, her friends, and an incident after a night out she’s fleeing from. There’s not much to do except drink, drugs, and seducing the local bartender. However, Polly keeps seeing strange white shapes across the water and soon she’s intrigued by the mysterious loner who lives in the woods. She’s keeping her secret whilst trying to work out his.

Part of the novel is based on a folk ballad story and even without knowing this until the end, the book has a feeling of being steeped in tradition, whilst also being about a girl firmly in the modern day. Andrew combines descriptions of the landscape and Polly’s strange visions with imagery rooted in contemporary references to create a writing style that updates old tradition and stories of metamorphosis into another iteration, a modern one.

Swansong is a book about a young woman escaping messed up city life and mental health issues by ending up somewhere more remote, similar to other recent novels like Sara Baume’s A Line Made By Walking. This sub-genre feels like a reaction to modern life for young people and at its best—like in Swansong—feels like it combines literary and other traditions with contemporary issues in interesting ways. The folk music side to the novel is quite understated in the actual reading experience, becoming most apparent in the following author’s note, but the not quite natural goings on hint towards something mythological.

This is an eerie and strangely tense novel that shows how the transformation of old material and styles can produce stories both modern and traditional at once.

[Ruth P · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a slow burn...think gothic Sarah Waters but with bad attitude...set in a gloomy Scotland where mists from the nearby loch hide something otherworldly.I really enjoyed the feisty lead character and her car crash relationships.An original and clever book...recommended.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarrely this is the second book I've read this month which borrows from myth/folk tale about swans to tell a modern story and as with the other novel this book was a joy to read. The plot centres around Polly a young woman who having failed he first year college exams ,and sinking into a drug and sex fuelled binge which leads to a fallout with her flat mate and a potentially dead student escapes to stay with her mother in a small Scottish village next to a remote loch. There she becomes involved with the local youths , continuing her party girl lifestyle until an encounter with a reclusive older man and the feeling of something otherworldly going on changing the direction of the book.
I loved the story and characters and particularly the lyrical writing and evocation of both place and nature.
At the end the author references some of the local legends and folk songs that inspired this book and I put it down sorry to finish a great tale well told and looking forward to reading more from Kerry Andrew.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Polly escapes to a remote part of Scotland to get away from her life in London where she left a man to die. She encounters various characters whilst dealing with her guilty conscious. This is based on an old ballad and the author's credentials as a musician shine through in the writing. I found Polly an unlikable character with her drug taking and slapperish ways but rounded this up to a 3 star rating because of the lyrical writing.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One word review: Audacious 

Rambling review: My first impressions of this book were dark and gritty. My first impressions weren’t wrong.

It’s darkly comic and has a Fleabag vibe to it (if you haven’t watched Fleabag yet, then where have you been and please rectify this).

It verges on a ghost story, as the protagonist – Polly - is haunted by the wrongdoings of her past (and of others’). It’s difficult to say too much more without alluding to the plot twists, but the character developments are really interesting. This book isn’t for everyone as it is a difficult protagonist with a challenging love interest, but I loved it. Polly was audacious and norm-defying, with her tongue in her cheek throughout; the narration style was highly immersive, as well.

There are some really on-the-nose descriptive passages which bordered(!) on poetic. My favourites were:

“I slurped at the tea. A noseful of steaming hay, old flowers and sweat” (this made me reach for the kettle, as a tea addict I can vouch for this statement).

“Glorified perfume oil”, referring to Finn’s cocktail creation, a 14 year old’s idea of what grown women drink: Archer’s, lemonade and mango juice. Yum.

And, whilst one adjective can’t qualify as a passage, referring to songs as “lived”. I like that a lot, my grandfather was a prolific local folk singer (from the Surrey and Sussex area, ironically), and those songs were lived (some even have lives of their own).

Because I was reading an ebook proof, I am not entirely sure how much of the punctuation play was intentional? For example, Polly’s name isn’t capitalised in the version I read. Is this because she doesn’t value herself to consider herself a person of importance, or was it just an error?

I was given this e-book copy by Penguin (via NetGalley) but I loved it so much that I will be purchasing a physical copy as well (also because the cover is gorgeous).

P.S. Polly is from Redhill, which is a town over from where I grew up, and the bulk of the novel is based a stone’s throw from where my partner grew up!

Star rating: *****

Year published: 2018

Publishing house: Penguin, Jonathan Cape

Amazon Summary: In this stunningly assured, immersive and vividly atmospheric first novel, a young woman comes face-to-face with the volatile, haunted wilderness of the Scottish Highlands. 

Polly Vaughan is trying to escape the ravaging guilt of a disturbing incident in London by heading north to the Scottish Highlands. As soon as she arrives, this spirited, funny, alert young woman goes looking for drink, drugs and sex – finding them all quickly, and unsatisfactorily, with the barman in the only pub. She also finds a fresh kind of fear, alone in this eerie, myth-drenched landscape. Increasingly prone to visions or visitations – floating white shapes in the waters of the loch or in the woods – she is terrified and fascinated by a man she came across in the forest on her first evening, apparently tearing apart a bird. Who is this strange loner? And what is his sinister secret?

Kerry Andrew is a fresh new voice in British fiction; one that comes from a deep understanding of the folk songs, mythologies and oral traditions of these islands. Her powerful metaphoric language gives Swansong a charged, hallucinatory quality that is unique, uncanny and deeply disquieting.

[Jess Kill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Polly Vaughan is a messed up, failing university student who is living chaotically in London and who escapes to remote Scotland with her mother after a serious incident - a symptom of the life she's been living in London. The Scotland that Kerry Andrew describes is remote, harsh and becomes increasingly otherworldly, as opposed to the 'normal' reality of city life that is more familiar to most of us - but what I love is that it is this quite alien, weird environment that grounds Polly eventually. She seemed rootless and flailing in London and takes that behaviour to Scotland with her but she does change tangibly. The unfolding mystery keeps you page turning too. Really enjoyed, read in one sitting.
Edited to add - this book really stayed with me, and I couldn't pick up the next book on my list, so I re-read it within the week. It's a very long time since that's been the case for me. I noticed that the only other books I've rated five stars on here are by William Golding and Phillip Pullman - and I still give this five stars. It is a wonderfully, evocatively written book with characters who stay with you. I think they always will.

[Mireille Prusak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredibly good retelling of a traditional folk ballad. The writing is absolutely magical, one of those novels where you can get so completely immersed you forget there is a "real" world. (And I really wish I was in Scotland now.) Storytelling at its absolute finest (and the author's music CDs under You Are Wolf are pretty incredible as well).

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of those books you wonder if you're going to like it. I read the synopsis and it won me over. Then I read reviews of it. Some were great and others didn't like it because of the swearing in it. I'm not a prude but I am not a fan of swearing so this made me think will it be my sort of book. But like I said the synopsis won me over and I'm so glad it did. I found it to be gritty, and at times on the edge of my seat. Also the descriptions of the place etc were wonderful. I wasn't sure whether I was going to like the main character Polly what she did left a lot to be desired and how she treated people too wasn't great. But as the story went on you got to see behind all that and realise what a lonely person she was. I liked Jim. Yes he came over very strange at first eg: Polly's first meeting of him at the beginning of the book. Polly and Jim needed each other and loved how they each seemed to heal each other. This story is based on folklore/myth. If this is Kerry Andrew's debut nove I can't wait for more from her.

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of Polly and Jim, up in the North of Scotland, though no the romantic North.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dazzling, must-read, book. Polly is a student and a screw-up, who runs away to a remote part of Scotland after something bad happens. She drinks and smokes too much. The Scottish countryside seems to be alive to her, and the book carries a parallel tale, that only makes sense towards the end of the story.
The writing accurately captures what it is like to not know what you are doing when you are that age and fuelled by too much drink and dope. The book gradually evolves from a tale of her messing up to a strange and very satisfying mystery.

[Lucy-May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polly Vaughan is a very modern young adult, with a love of drugs & partying, not much seems to bother her; but after a bad night out with her best friend, a night that involved them convincing someone to take drugs with them ending with them in a coma, Polly runs away to Scotland in an attempt to escape her guilt. Polly’s running doesn’t work though & instead she becomes even more lost, finding herself haunted by the ghost of a girl long gone. Swansong is a messy book with a messy protagonist, but it’s also gripping & full of punch, & I for one loved it.

A huge thank you to Vintage Random House for providing me with an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Extended Review: https://wp.me/P8MbIo-3Ee

[Milana Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, couldn't put it down. It was a very realistic coming-of-age story with a dash of ghost story and a pinch of folk tale, and while I'm not really a magical kind of girl, this story sucked me right in from the very first sentence.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

True enough, I am a sucker for all things Scottish, but this was brilliant! An old ballad is the inspiration for this compelling mystery/thriller. A wonderful blend of wry humour and compassion. Love this new novellist.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kerry Andrew creates the same atmosphere with her words as she does with her music.

In Swansong, which is inspired by the Molly Bawn folk ballad, she writes the Bildungsroman of Polly, an English literature student, who flees from London after a terrible incident that exacerbates her feelings of inadequacy adding guilt to it, joining her mother on a Scottish holiday. In the Highlands, she finds herself in a village full of rural magic (often literally, too) and an array of colorful characters whom she can’t build meaningful relationships with. From the furry tarmac to the misty garden with its glossy lawn and from the firecrackle glaze of minerals to the breathing, costume-changing loch, Andrew paints (or composes) nature with lovely details, as Polly settles in her strange new home, though there is more strangeness in her head…

Though this messed-up substance-abusing lead character and first-person narrator couldn’t resonate with me, her character was developed skillfully. From the usual pop culture references and sometimes tiresome self-criticism to her disregard for danger and pangs of shame that teach her nothing, she is the archetype of student all regular parents, but her aloof mother, dread their children would become. She is a bit passive aggressive in her new environment, as she lets the world go on around her, commenting on everything in her head and completely undiplomatically just hating people she doesn’t like (Becca).

Although it was used effectively and I admit I may be in the minority here, I found that her language pushed the dirt level higher than I am willing to take in a book with aspirations of literary fiction (f- and s- words on almost every page). Polly’s hyperactive imagination is relayed with goofy humor, which sometimes prevents the reader from immersing herself in the magical story and absolutely fantastic and lush descriptions of nature. The punchlines did make me laugh out loud a few times, but this combination of humor and contemplation with the irritating f-words et co. created a fragmented feel. Although the atmosphere alone makes it a worthwhile read, I would have enjoyed it much more if at least half of the typical studentish dirty-and-fun talk had been edited out (I hope it will be edited out in the final version). The love scene description with the disillusioning and vulgar details definitely shifted it towards the YA romance category, but fortunately it shifted back to the literary fiction genre in the second part, where the threads were tied together.

What seems just a dash of magical realism in the first part turns into full-fledged folklore in the second part and perhaps this shift was not as delicate as I hoped it would be. Accepting the magical elements as something natural paradoxically detracted from the very magic. That said, the strange mythical voice that interspersed with the first-person narrative and grew unbearably intense towards the end where the mystery was elucidated, was dreamlike and beautiful. The plot, seasoned with the individual stories of some of the secondary characters, was designed masterfully around the folk tale.

In the end, Polly’s extraordinary character development, the sensitive observations and the vivid atmosphere made it a satisfying read and the magic lingered long after I closed the book.

Many thanks to the publisher for the advance reader copy.

[Juli Rahel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only spent a year in Scotland but I fell in love with its rugged charm and haunting nature. Ever since that year I have been looking for more books set in Scotland, especially because I adore its folk takes and culture. So a folk song adaptation set in the Scottish Highlands? Count me in! Swansong looked to be right up my street so of course I had to check it out. Thanks to Jonathan Cape and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Swansong is quite a complicated read at times. The novel is a mix between a coming-of-age novel, a mystery thriller and magical realism. On the one hand Andrew's novel is grounded in the relatively realistic troubles of young Polly Vaughan whose life is slowly unravelling, but on the other hand Swansong soars above that, mixing the magical with the realist. Polly is not always a likeable character. Actually, most of the time you want to shake her and tell her to pull herself together. But then I remember myself at university, how terrifying it can be to suddenly have to stand on your own two feet, to deal with all the consequences of stupid actions and to push through it all somehow. So although you can't always empathise with Polly, you can understand her. Polly is just as in the dark as the reader, arriving in a completely different environment where things have been brewing under the surface for a while. As she slowly loses herself in the woods the question becomes, who will she be when she emerges?

Part of what intrigued me about Swansong was Kerry Andrew's writing. Initially I struggled getting into the mood of the novel, as Polly's narration is quite choppy. Her thoughts are quick and jumbled, she is panicking and stressing, torn between regretting the past and trying to forget it. Once I got into it, however, it really started working for me. Thanks to the writing you really get into the main character's head and it contrasted beautifully to the more magical and lyrical moments in the novel. One of the best things about this novel are Andrew's beautiful descriptions of the Scottish Highlands. Having been there, Swansong felt a little bit like a return to that landscape. Andrew takes you on a journey through a ravaged young woman's mind and although it isn't always comfortable or understandable, you do end up caring for her. Aside from her story, an ancient 'whodunnit' mystery pops up, adding to Polly's desire for answers and fear of the past. At time it almost feels like too much, but Andrew manages to strike a good balance.


For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.hk/20...

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torn over rating 3.5. The pacing really picks up around half way in and then gradually starts running, and I enjoyed it once it got going.

I’ve read several books with what seems to be roughly the same protagonist- a young London or London-adjacent student or recent graduate seeming to revel in making self-destructive, unlikeable choices while trying too hard to be edgy or ‘cool’, which mainly seems to consist of a rambling mumblecore internal monologue peppered with polite swearing and a very middle-class experimenter’s exploration of drug use - every time one faces any emotion that isn’t blinding joy or hedonism they simply must pop outside for a joint (oh and they take the odd ‘E’ at the club as well, whilst simultaneously finding actual drug dealers repulsively criminal), almost always ‘fit’ and the correct amount of obsessed with thin-ness, and most having made decisions like fucking a close friend’s boyfriend- but only because they were drunk, you understand- and no one mentions their enormous destructive drinking habit in any shaming way throughout. All that to say they’re an irritating bunch. Polly doesn’t improve throughout, she just fades away as the plot and other characters move forward, after which the story becomes very compelling.

The book lost me when anyone Scottish had to speak for more than a sentence. Rocky being the worst offender, although equally disappointing was Finn, who for some reason spoke like he’d popped up from somewhere in Southern England for the weekend. A weegie appearing in a bothy in a tracksuit was at least accurate. The landscape was well described and vivid, I have to assume Kerry Andrew spent a fair amount of time in the Highlands, although her character’s inability to walk more than a hundred meters without a paragraph about her legs burning became somewhat exhausting. But the plot, and Jim, and the mythical elements of the book, the working in of the myth, were very interesting. Tiny little clues were nicely peppered through without spoiling anything and I never felt the mystery was trying to be coy. The pacing, as said, was very good, especially reaching the crescendo of the book, I tore through the whole thing in a few hours. She mixes the right amount of description with dialogue, moving the whole story forward with most scenes, and her descriptions of landscape and environment are never overbearing or flowery, but nothing blew me away.

Good, but I probably won’t buy Skin.

[K.h.k · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read and a solid 3.5 stars. An 'elevated' romance with a good dose of intrigue, writing prowess and freshness. Couldn't quite shake the feeling that this book was definitely born from a 'Twighlight' generation of storytellers, but other than the general 'vibe' of this type of girl meets boy plot, it shares no other traits with the not-too-well-written vampire series. There seems to be a subversive literary trend in which female leads are becoming increasingly gritty, liberated, brash and 'fuck you' ballsy (to appeal to real world feminist politics perhaps) whilst their male love interests are frankly becoming more stone-age. Nonetheless, it works and is an acknowledgement that primal ovarian tastes simply do not change, whether feminist or not.

Whilst overtly a romance with mystical fairy-tale leanings, the story is well layered and subtly asks the reader to question their preconceptions of guilt, control and the pace of modern life. Our flawed protagonist, Polly, is a tight prickly ball of other people's expectations, rebelling against a perceived lack of control over her life with a stream of drugs, alcohol and brazen sexual encounters. In contrast, both the ancient landscape of the Highlands and the darkly mysterious Jim, are complex and purposeful in their stillness and abandonment to nature. Frantic nothingness vs expansive voids brimming with complexity and meaningfulness.

There is a real grittiness to this story and whilst we are initially lead on to believe that it's the gay-boy pick-ups and dirty sex in bathrooms flash backs, the real punches come from the primitive simplicity of Jim, from eating your kill and being utterly vulnerable to the harsh Scottish landscape. From his influence, we see Polly grow into being true to herself and ultimately finding a balance and peace between that which she can control and that which she cannot. And in so doing, also redeeming Jim from his overly fatalistic leanings. With regard to writing style, I found the prose at times jerky and confuddled but at others beautifully nuanced in description and on-the-money metaphors. My main criticism of the book is with regard to the Author's 'dipping her toe' into stream of consciousness writing and then pulling it out again at will. It's a language - either go in with both fists or don't go in at all.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is rock and roll! I have never had a book grasp me so quickly within the first couple of pages and then enthrall me until the very end.

I almost didn't buy it as a few reviews had mentioned that the main character Polly was sarcastic & unlikable.

However I didn't find that, at all! And I hate how long I've waited to read this amazing gem.

I immediately fell in love with the writing style and Polly's sense of humor was pure gold to me. A dark humor based in grim reality with truly hilarious metaphors. She's not sarcastic like an American sitcom character, she's much more clever, authentic, and her observant nature points out little dark humors around her. I don't like negativity for no reason, you know those characters that just complain and whine all the time, but Swansong doesn't read like that at all. I think perhaps that some people just won't be able to relate to the main character, especially if your looking for sunshine and rainbows. Polly is down to earth, blatantly honest and is very comfortable with sexuality and perhaps uses it as a means to escape. She's smart but yet reckless and isn't a people pleaser. She's a bit selfish but isn't without conscious either. And mostly this city-born character is used to living a world full of sex, drugs, and music until she lands herself stuck in the country side, trying to bury her guilt, find adventure, and figure out what the hell is going on in this odd loch side town.

Back to the writing style. It's refreshing and wonderfully executed. The author doesn't hold your hand or feel the need to tell us every little unessasary detail. Sentences transition from choppy to free flowing just as our thoughts with poem like passages throughout. The more I read, the more this style of writing just 'wowed' me; a sort of fluid dance and perfect similies. Characters quickly fill with energy and come to life. This book is filled with suspense, some shocking humor, dreamy mysteries, and a building romance.

You'll find all the good stuff in here with references to math rock, S & M parties, Edward Scissor hands, Monty Python, and  "rock nerds armed with tiny hammers and hard-ons."

I fell in love with this book and never wanted it to end. This is one of those folk stories that will still have you thinking about it long after the book is over.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, ‘Swansong’ struck the perfect balance between whimsical and gritty.

First and foremost, I want to clarify that this is not a book about the supernatural. While Andrew appropriates Celtic mythology and Gothic conventions, this story is ultimately about a young woman trying to make sense of herself. Like many of us, Polly is a creature of contradictions. She fears failure but self-sabotages. She craves connection but pushes people away or seeks affections in the wrong places. This is what I adore about Polly. It would be easy to shake my head and scoff at some of things she does but I also see aspects of myself in her and how I might be compelled to behave similarly.

While the story is not about the supernatural, it’s inclusion is valuable and is done so in a skilful manner. Even prior to the appearance of apparitions in the trees, Andrew’s vivid descriptions of the vast and untamed landscape easily convince you that there is something truly magical about the Highlands. I encourage readers not to be discouraged if they aren’t particularly familiar with Scottish culture or mythology. Anything essential is either explained when mentioned or at the very end of the book and if not, can be explained with a simple google search. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the books as much if I was well-versed in the underlying mythology. However, even if you are, is is presented is such a unique way that I’m sure it would still be appreciated.

I am not giving this 5 stars because while I really enjoyed it, I can see why it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I can see why some people might think it’s a bit slow. However, I’d argue that it’s one of those books where at the time you think nothing of importance is happening until you look back on it later and realise everything was happening then. Even if it’s a bit ‘slow�� I think it’s worth enduring. To get to the fever dream that is the last few chapters.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m not the intended audience for Swansong, and I found it grating. The blurb and quoted praise misled me – I was expecting a moody and atmospheric novel with a hint of Scottish ghost story and some really great writing, but found it closer to a mash-up of YA and Chick-Lit.

Wild child university student Polly Vaughan thinks she may have killed someone: having forcefully persuaded another student she met in a club to take some MDMA; when he then turns out to be epileptic and fits in the street from the drugs, Polly and her friend run away.

Overcome with a strong desire to keep her sex-and-drugs-and-clubbing life on the right side of prison walls, she runs away to Scotland, where her mother has rented a cottage. Despite her utterly charmless and mean-spirited nature, Polly instantly befriends most of the village.

But Polly is not heartless. She looks up the possibly-dead-possibly-in-a-coma student on Google a couple of times, in between having sex, smoking some pot she found in her mother’s rented cottage, and drinking.

The writing is patchy – much of it is clichéd and forced – though I did get drawn in sometimes and thought the novel was opening up and Polly was starting to grow and change, but the characters remained shallow and charmless and the writing couldn’t sustain its promise. The love interest is seedy and made my skin crawl, and the ghost story is ludicrous: it goes nowhere and has no point. The ending is not so much an ending, as somewhere Andrew makes a half-hearted attempt to wrap up a couple of the plot threads then stops writing. I felt like Andrew had perhaps published too soon and forced a genre that her writing style doesn’t quite fit.

I received a review copy of Swansong from the publisher, via NetGalley

[SadieReadsAgain · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up mainly because of its setting, the West Highlands being an area I know very well and I love to see Scotland on the page. I was also intrigued by the story - failing uni and running away from a traumatic event, Polly joins her mum for a stay in a small village in order to escape London. One of the first things she sees on her arrival is a man pulling a dead bird apart with his bare hands, and strange visions on the lochside leave her unnerved. A friendship with the local barman promises to break the monotony of her stay, but she should have learned from her previous experience that messing with drugs doesn't always make for a fun time. Upset and increasingly freaked out by the apparitions by the loch, Polly is drawn to the man with the bird, a strange loner who seems to be hiding something.

This book mixes a spooky atmosphere - as inspired by a folk ballad - with a mystery, all seen through the eyes of a snarky student. At first, I wasn't really sure it was working for me. Polly is not a likeable character, and I very quickly got bored with her "everything is shit, this place is so lame" attitude and selfish ways. I'm not a huge fan of writers who set their stories in places they don't seem to have a great understanding of, and Polly's attitude to Scotland and the author's attempts to make it come across as quite backward nearly made me put this book aside. However, I was curious about the other-worldliness and finding out the story of the gruff outsider, so I decided to give it a bit longer. I'm glad I stuck with it. Polly remains pretty insufferable throughout the book, but thankfully her attitude is tempered as events take over, and the community becomes a bit more realistic once we get to know the characters.

There is a sense of magical realism in this story which struck just the right note, and in particular I really enjoyed the character of Jim. This story explores guilt, loss and the impact of split-second decisions. I also really loved some of the depictions of the nature and scenery, and on the whole felt that the writing had moments of really clever wordplay that were descriptive and evocative without being flowery...which is pretty much my ideal.

[Paul Gormley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story that takes a while to get going. Polly is in the wilds of Scotland with her mother after an unfortunate and tragic event whilst out clubbing in London. Prolly is, in her own words, a 'fuck-up'; failing at university and becoming overly dependent on drugs and alcohol.

Whilst there, she meets an enigmatic and reclusive man and becomes drawn into his world, close to nature, as far from her own experience as she can imagine. Both of them are carrying secrets and strange things are happening around Polly. Is she in danger?

The first half of the story shows Polly adapting to life in a new environment, shunning her mother and getting to know some of the locals. This section is overlong and there is little happening to enmesh the reader in the story. The action picks up in the latter half of the story and there is an increasing level of tension.

Polly is an interesting and engaging character, spiky and defiant but with an element of fragility. Other characters are much more sketchily drawn.

There is a supernatural aspect to the story (based in part on an ancient folk tale) which is unconvincing to say the least.

[Claire Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were moments I loved this debut novel and moments when I didn't. I loved the lyrical writing, how the setting was described, and the overall idea of the folk-horror story, although I had some frustrations with it too.
Polly, 20ish, goes to the Scottish Highlands to stay with her mother who is on holiday there. She's escaping from a moment when she and a friend gave a Spanish boy some drugs and now he's in a coma. She hasn't admitted this to anyone. In Scotland she mopes around, pissed off with everyone and everything, when she meets Jim, a strange loner, and Fraser, a folk-music-playing-drug-taking young man. And everywhere she goes a strange mist and feathers seem to follow. There is a mystery at the heart of the novel which when it unravels I found ultimately unsatisfying because nature-loving Jim shoots his previous girlfriend who has transformed into a swan, and shoots her because? Because his mother who we never meet has put a spell on him, I think it was dealt with so briefly, as was the storyline with the Spanish boy. Maybe it was to do with pacing - too slow at the beginning and two fast at the end? 3.5 stars