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The Pursuit of William Abbey

Claire North

3.73 · Rating details · 1,602 ratings · 287 reviews

South Africa in the 1880s. A young and naive English doctor by the name of William Abbey witnesses the lynching of a local boy by the white colonists. As the child dies, his mother curses William.

William begins to understand what the curse means when the shadow of the dead boy starts following him across the world. It never stops, never rests. It can cross oceans and mount ...more

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Paperback, 420 pages

Published November 12th 2019 by Orbit

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Apr 26, 2020 Beata rated it really liked it

My first novel by Ms North, but definitely I'll read more of her books as William Abbey's story turned out to be a powerful and very much unsettling one. A young doctor who in the 1880s finds himself practising in South Africa, witnesses a hineous crime committed on a black boy and remains just an observer. The boy's mother curses William and from now on he is pursued by the shadow of the boy all over the world and tragic revenge is taken when the shadow manages to catch up with William.
This is ...more

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Nov 15, 2019 Phrynne rated it really liked it

Another good book from this very talented author. Not my personal favourite but still very good indeed. As happens a lot in her books the main character, William Abbey, is being pursued all around the world. His pursuer is the shade of a dead boy and the results if he gets caught are not good.

So, points to the author for the clever story and the way it makes the reader think hard about what is going on all the time. Points too for the amazing amount of research which must have gone into all the ...more

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Nov 24, 2019 Scarlett Readz and Runz....Through Novel Time & Distance rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

I was very excited to have the opportunity to review this title from the moment it appeared on my radar.

Like an endless sea, this remarkable work of fiction does not cease to ever end in scope and engagement as one reads through the 400+ pages. Hopes, dreads, dreams, and desires of a lifetime of every facete imaginable will be touched on in this journey of The Pursuit of William Abbey. Not a country in the world, not a shore unexplored, no historical events within its premise missed, no ...more

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Aug 20, 2019 Sarah-Hope rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley, 2019

I requested an electronic advance copy of this book from NetGalley because the premise it's built on sounded fascinating, and I was delighted that the publisher approved my request. The premise here is that William Abbey, an Englishman who sees (and doesn't act in response to) a child killed by a white mob in Africa, is cursed by the child's mother. The shadow of her son will follow Abbey for the rest of his life, and any time the shadow catches up, the person Abbey loves most will die. In essen I requested an electronic advance copy of this book from NetGalley because the premise it's built on sounded fascinating, and I was delighted that the publisher approved my request. The premise here is that William Abbey, an Englishman who sees (and doesn't act in response to) a child killed by a white mob in Africa, is cursed by the child's mother. The shadow of her son will follow Abbey for the rest of his life, and any time the shadow catches up, the person Abbey loves most will die. In essence, Abbey is stuck in a deadly game of tag.

There are some "rules" involved. First, Abbey is now a Truth-Teller. The closer the child's shadow gets, the more clearly Abbey will hear others' private truths and feel compelled to blurt them out. Second, the child's shadow travels at a steady pace, regardless of terrain. Abbey can buy himself time by using modern transportation to distance himself from the shadow, but eventually the shadow will catch up with him, unless he keeps moving.

Now, add two complications. First, Abbey isn't the only person who has been turned into a Truth-Teller by a curse—it turns out there are others like him. Second, the governments of many nations are on the hunt for "Truth-Tellers," who are exceptionally useful in resolving questions of guilt and acts of rebellion. The governments aren't necessarily looking for Truth-Tellers who will work with them voluntarily; they will imprison Truth-Tellers, if it serves their purpose.

That's the basic formula: one curse, two rules, two complications. It's potentially fascinating and nail-bitingly exciting, but the book never really hits its stride. Abbey can see into others, but not himself, so readers have a protagonist about whom they know relatively little and who remains partially occluded throughout the book. Also, the book is long (464 pages) and its pace is steady—a bit like the pace of the ever-approaching child's shadow. It's like driving at thirty-five without ever speeding up or slowing down.

The Pursuit of William Abbey is interesting (an over-used word, but an appropriate one in this case). Unfortunately, interesting isn't the same as engaging or engrossing. The reader's experience feels flattened. ...more

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Dec 15, 2020 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, history, 2020-shelf

For a historical fantasy, it starts very slow and stays very close to its historical roots, from the Boer War and onward toward the first World War, being very English but then, again, not at all. It's an indictment and a commentary in all the best ways.

But then it becomes fantastical in a way that I'm very familiar with when it comes to Claire North's writing. Slow and steady and exquisitely detailed always eventually becomes a huge rebellion/revolt/epic-tragedy. It's almost crazy to think that ...more

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Oct 28, 2019 Nils | nilsreviewsit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

‘The Great War had been coming for such a long time. It was born in the hearts of our ruling men the day they were held up in the crib and told they were blessed with a greatness that others could not share. It was nurtured when they saw their greatness challenged, and sought some way to prove their strength. Now it eats us whole.’
~
The Pursuit of William Abbey is a powerful historical fiction and also part fantasy novel by the award winning author, Claire North. As I’ve never read any b 3.5 stars

‘The Great War had been coming for such a long time. It was born in the hearts of our ruling men the day they were held up in the crib and told they were blessed with a greatness that others could not share. It was nurtured when they saw their greatness challenged, and sought some way to prove their strength. Now it eats us whole.’
~
The Pursuit of William Abbey is a powerful historical fiction and also part fantasy novel by the award winning author, Claire North. As I’ve never read any books by North before but have always heard much praise for her narrative style, I was very intrigued to read this one. This book is described as ‘utterly though-provoking’, which I can say, I firmly agree with.

The book tells the story of William Abbey, a young English doctor, working during the 1800s, which was around the period when many countries were being colonised. William witnesses a young boy in South Africa being executed by a group of white colonists; he stands on the sidelines doing absolutely nothing to stop the atrocity and nothing to save the boy afterwards as he lay dying in his mother’s arms. In the wake of the mother’s wrath, she curses William. From that day forward the shadow of the dead boy relentlessly pursues him across the globe, and whenever it is near, William becomes a ‘truth-teller’, as he gains the ability to discover people’s inner thoughts and desires. The shadow must also never catch William, because when it does the person he loves most in the world will immediately die.

That premise alone instantly drew me in, I mean how could it not? Then in the first opening chapters we are introduced to a wartime nurse, who meets our main protagonist, William Abbey, whilst dealing with an overwhelming amount of severely injured soldiers, fresh from the battlefield. North hits you with vivid descriptions of the mess, the gore, and the decaying caused from soldiers with missing limbs, and infected wounds; the dead, the dying. The dramatic beginning certainly grabs your attention and I truly commend North for not shying away from the harrowing realities of warfare. The stark depiction also continues as William recounts the time of the boy’s execution, to the nurse, and describes his horrific burning in great detail. This was a particularly uncomfortable, and unsettling scene to see unfold, and it hit me quite emotionally. I respect North for again choosing not to sugar coat anything, which also worked perfectly to establish the central theme in the novel; the nature of truths. Although this may be a work of fiction, no-one can deny that these horrendous lynchings did take place in history, and no one can deny that many of those were solely because of prejudice, therefore these stories should also never be denied.

No matter what you feel about these scenes, North powerfully engraves these images in our minds, and they are images that should never be swept under a rug. We owe it to the people who suffered to know and remember the extent of their suffering, and I applaud North for bringing this to light. I also very much enjoyed North’s use of stream of consciousness during these scenes as it elegantly reflected the emotions of guilt and confusion that William wars against. He makes us question, should he have risked his life and reputation to save the boy? Does he deserve the curse or was he just as much a victim of circumstances?

A large majority of the novel then focuses on William Abbey running from the youth’s shadow in order to save those he holds dearest to him. From Berlin to Egypt to Ireland, and throughout the globe, we see William become embroiled in situations that become out of his depth. I felt the plot significantly slowed during this point, and went off in directions that perhaps took away from the exploration of the shadow and the curse. Although we do get more revelations on this slowly throughout the story, my expectations were that this would be the sole focal point, not one that also involved espionage. Having said that I did appreciate the backstory to the side characters that were introduced later on.
I particularly enjoyed the backstory of Margot, a French woman who William becomes entangled with, and her history was pretty sad.

I also felt the ending was left a bit too open for my own personal taste, as I would have preferred more closure. However, regardless of my opinion, the ending does have an authentic stroke to it because realistically speaking, when you’ve lived a life full of seeing truths, deceit, tragedy and a life of continuous running from a shadow, well it’s never going to end nicely tied up with a pretty bow, is it? There are some things that you just keep on running from or chasing towards.
~
‘Where was that fine young man I believed myself to be? Perhaps he had never lived. Perhaps we were all just savages, in the moonlight through the blackened boab tree.’

Arc provided by Orbit in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy! The Pursuit of William Abbey is out 14th November 2019
...more

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Nov 30, 2019 William rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4 stars

(An attenuated review, due to my loss of all my notes, sorry)

Another extraordinary book, and Ms North proves again to be a genre unto herself, unlike any other. Truly wonderful.

As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.

Claire North (Catharine Webb)

Full size image here

William Abbey is a man almost without courage or purpose in life, just a loser cursed to live often in terror, and to often be a tool of the "great and good".

Throughou ...more

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Aug 16, 2020 Lukasz rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020, dark-fantasy, historical-fantasy

3.5/5

Claire North's ideas continue to impress me. William Abbey is cursed - a shadow spirit's presence follows him around the world. When close, it gives him the power to see the truth of men’s hearts. When it catches him, it will kill those he loves.

Abbey spends most of his life running away from the shadow, working as a spy (government sees a perfect tool in him and his unique skills), becoming a traitor, falling in impossible and dangerous love. His story doesn't lack suspense but it's dense ...more

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Nov 19, 2019 Shalini rated it really liked it

A very well researched book which had a curse as the focal point. It all started with one and led to a merry chase.

William Abbey in Africa, did not save a child from the mob. The child died and the mother cursed him that the shadow of her child would pursue him throughout his life. If the shadow caught William, someone close to him would die. And William needed to be on the move in any mode of transportation. The shadow would come after him at a steady rate. And William in essence became the Tr ...more

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Dec 25, 2019 Marianne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: wishlist

4.5★s

“I know the truth of men’s hearts, and what I know is that they are right, every single one of them. They live within the power of their own rightness, and anyone who disagrees with them can only be wrong, and being wrong, they are therefore less. That is what I know, and it terrifies me.”

The Pursuit of William Abbey is the sixth stand-alone novel by award-winning British author, Claire North. Banished to South Africa by his wealthy father, Dr William Abbey is (poorly) practicing medicine i 4.5★s

“I know the truth of men’s hearts, and what I know is that they are right, every single one of them. They live within the power of their own rightness, and anyone who disagrees with them can only be wrong, and being wrong, they are therefore less. That is what I know, and it terrifies me.”

The Pursuit of William Abbey is the sixth stand-alone novel by award-winning British author, Claire North. Banished to South Africa by his wealthy father, Dr William Abbey is (poorly) practicing medicine is a small town in late 1884 when, after an inhuman act of cowardice, he is cursed. He watched as a white mob tortured a Zulu boy and, upon his death, the boy’s mother visited a life-long curse on William: the shadow of the boy will follow him, always.

He soon discovers that if Langa’s shadow catches up, the person most beloved by William dies and quickly understands he must flee. But a side effect of the curse is the ability, when the slowly-shuffling shadow is gaining ground on William, to know the true thoughts of those around him. He is a truth-speaker. Certain agencies see this as a beneficial attribute: William suddenly finds himself in the service of Her Majesty’s Government.

They have the resources to help him outrun Langa’s shadow, as long as he’s willing to use his special ability to their advantage. In doing this, he discovers there are other truth-speakers. He seeks them out, in hope of a cure, but not all see it as a curse, considering it instead, a blessing, a gift.

In 1917, in a field hospital in France, as she watches him sit vigil with a wounded soldier, Sister Ellis begins to understand that Dr William Abbey was very probably not sent from HQ, but is there for another reason. He seems to know her heart and, in the early hours, he explains the long and convoluted path that has led him there.

North’s characters, despite their flaws, are easy to invest in. William freely admits to being a coward, although occasionally proves the contrary in a tale not devoid of heroic acts: the most heroic actor will likely be a surprise to readers. The most despicable, too, is will only gradually be revealed as that. For the rest of the cast, when Langa is close, the swamp of truths from those around him that fill William’s head give the reader a multitude of lives: some as detailed vignettes, some just snippets, and a generous dose of history.

What an amazing imagination Claire North has! Again, a cleverly plotted tale that is well-thought out, utterly riveting and thought-provoking, a perceptive commentary on empires and how they use their power. North gives her characters a wealth of insightful observations on human nature. Brilliant, as usual.
...more

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Nov 07, 2019 The Tattooed Book Geek (Drew). rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...

In 1917, France, against the backdrop of the Great War. In a French hospital for wounded soldiers with cannon and gunfire reverberating outside and enemy forces closing in Dr William Abbey, over a few nights and with Langa, his shadow ever approaching and drawing nearer recounts his story to Sister Ellis.

Abbey’s story starts in South Africa, Natal, 1884, in a small and dusty frontie As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...

In 1917, France, against the backdrop of the Great War. In a French hospital for wounded soldiers with cannon and gunfire reverberating outside and enemy forces closing in Dr William Abbey, over a few nights and with Langa, his shadow ever approaching and drawing nearer recounts his story to Sister Ellis.

Abbey’s story starts in South Africa, Natal, 1884, in a small and dusty frontier town. Abbey watches unmoving, too cowardly to intervene, to scared to put his own well-being in jeopardy as a gang of white colonists violently lynch Langa, a local young black boy to death.

In her arms, as her boy fades from this world and as he breathes his last breathe his mother curses William Abbey. Abbey made his choice, to do nothing and choices have consequences. His lack of action, lack of caring and lack of thought cursed him, he could have stood up and been counted, could have made a change, could have told the gang to stop…but he didn’t. Instead, the privileged white man, he chose to stand idly by as Langa, who, due to his colour is seen as a nobody and a nothing was brutally murdered. The curse, that the ghost of, the shadow of Langa, her son will follow Abbey to the ends of the earth, across the expanse of the known world. The shadow won’t ever stop following him, no matter how far or how fast he runs Langa will always be there, endlessly tracking him, walking, across different countries, different continents, across oceans, deserts, mountains and land always at the same steady pace, never wavering and never tiring. For the rest of his days, Langa will be there dogging his every step, haunting him.

The curse turns Abbey into a truth-speaker, someone who can see into the hearts of others but not into their own, their own is the one truth closed to them. It is like looking into a person’s soul, laying them bare, knowing them intimately and seeing who they truly are. As Langa draws nearer, Abbey sees the truth within people and the nearer the shadow, the stronger the connection. When the shadow of Langa is far away, Abbey is himself with his own beliefs, thoughts and feelings. As Langa draws near he starts dreaming the obscure and vague thoughts of others but still maintains his own senses and his own sense of self. As Langa approaches the clearer that Abbey can see into other people’s hearts and the truth that they hide within, the truths that they hold in the deepest, darkest part of their hearts, the truths that they won’t admit even to themselves or others. When Langa is in close proximity to Abbey, days, hours away, the effect of the curse is overpowering, overtaking his own thoughts, feelings and beliefs overwhelming his own truth and turning him into a babbling, rambling wreck with the truths of all of those around him cascading like rain, flowing like blood from a freshly opened wound from his mouth in a torrent. If the shadow, if Langa should reach Abbey, should touch him then, the person that he loves the most in the world will die. The cycle will repeat until everyone Abbey cares about is dead, there is no cure, no removal, Langa will haunt him forever on a never-ending journey as, to survive, to allow his loved ones to survive he must walk an endless road.

For Abbey, it is a curse, for others, those in a position of power, they don’t see it as a curse but as an ability to be used and Abbey, himself as a tool to be exploited. As such, Abbey comes to the attention of the Nineteen, a government agency for the British Empire where he is enlisted, employed to spy on people and learn the truths of them, of political secrets, of talk of rebellion and of threats to the Empire.

Abbey can’t settle down, can’t stay anywhere for too long and has to always be on the move to keep ahead of the shadow that will follow him until his last breath. He is always on guard as Langa needs to be close enough so that he can be useful to his masters in the Nineteen and hear the truths of his mark, his target and report on any threats that he finds.

There are others with the same curse as Abbey, some, like him, see it as a curse, others as a blessing and when he meets another truth-speaker they can converse simply by knowing the truth of each other with no words needed. The shadow never shows you your own truth, that remains a mystery to you, something that you can only glimpse if you see it in the eyes of another truth-speaker. As such, there is a sense of mystery to Abbey and his own truth. He is a coward and a rather inept spy but due to the presence of Langa, even when he isn’t under Langa’s influence from initially being blind to the thoughts of others, blinkered, he learns to open his eyes, read people and see the truth in them.

There is the truth, things that are fact, reality and that everyone knows to be true. Then there is your own truth, opinions, beliefs and feelings that you hold to be true but that are subjective to you, personally. Also, there is the truth that you believe about yourself but won’t admit, the truth that you keep hidden and that you keep locked away because you are too scared to look in the mirror, too scared to look too deeply within. If we don’t know the truth about ourselves then we can pretend that we are decent, honest and good, that we are content and happy, that we would do the right thing if needed, that we aren’t lonely and that we aren’t drowning in a sea of pain. But, what if someone could look inside and know the truth, pull back the mask, reveal the lies that we tell ourselves and know our own truth and what we keep in our heart, it is a frightening thought.

North has crafted a clever, complex, harrowing and thought-provoking story that is full of suspense and tension. The Pursuit of William Abbey spans the breadth of the globe, takes place across many years and is layered with depth. I was gripped by it and found it utterly fascinating. The blurb doesn’t give much away and honestly, I think that it is for the best as it allows you to experience how the story unfolds for yourself with only the bare minimum of information. Prior to reading the book, I had read the blurb and apart from the vague outline, I didn’t know what awaited me within the pages, what dark and disturbing roads the story would travel down. But, whatever I expected it wasn’t what I got with the story going far above and beyond what I envisioned happening and it is a powerhouse of impressive storytelling on display by North…just go buy it, read it and love it.

The Pursuit of William Abbey transcends any single genre to be something more, merging together historical fiction, mysticism and the supernatural, a revenge tale and an espionage thriller with hints of a love story and horror all thrown into the mix to create an incredible and powerful story. ...more

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Oct 21, 2019 Liz Barnsley rated it it was amazing

Review to follow for the tour.

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Dec 28, 2019 Robin Bonne rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish

Yikes on a bike. I don’t want to put the emotional labor into unpacking what is wrong with this narrative. The “magical negro” trope is a big no-no for white authors.

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Feb 17, 2020 Christa Jackson rated it really liked it

Mmmmm, started of well but then sort of lost track of what was happening. William started off as a young doctor witnessing the murder of a young black boy in South Africa in the late 1800’s, he is cursed by the mother and the shadow of the boy follows him. He becomes a truth speaker and is recruited by the British government to spy on the European countries. he then tells his story to a nurse in the trenches during WWI . While I found the story riveting, it did jump from one timeline to the next ...more

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Jun 10, 2020 Lauren Stoolfire rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, horror

I liked the story here, but the audiobook narrator left something to be desired. I think I would have preferred experiencing this in print format instead.

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Apr 17, 2020 Samantha rated it it was ok

This just felt...flat. Better in concept than in execution. And way too much melodramatic shouting.

Claire North’s newest offering is part ghost story, part spy novel, part...speculative historical fiction, I suppose. Which should be an oxymoronic description, but somehow it fits here.

I liked the idea of it, certainly, and in its more active moments, the story is propulsive. And yet I found myself struggling to care about the characters or the outcome and indifferent to the atmosphere.

The rela ...more

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Sep 08, 2020 Corinne rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Very disappointing

I very much enjoyed this author’s first book, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, so I was really looking forward to reading this one. What a disappointment! It was far too long and repetitive. It could easily have been 100 pages shorter with no loss to the narrative. I found myself skipping large sections just to get it finished and move on to something else.

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Nov 11, 2019 eriophora rated it it was amazing

This review and others can be read on my blog, Black Forest Basilisks. Thank you to Orbit for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m convinced: it’s literally impossible for Claire North to write a bad book. I think she’s just genuinely incapable of anything less than excellence. When she writes a sentence, it just comes out good. Every single time. Of this I am certain. Alternatively, there’s the much more mundane and likely scenario: she’s very, very good at proofing, has a wo ...more

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Dec 09, 2019 Laura Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, historical-fiction, library, kindle

This is a phenomenal book. It has a strong philosophical bent. What is truth? What is the truth of a person's heart? Can one heart contain multiple conflicting "truths"? So powerful and thought provoking. I can't imagine the author choosing a better time to set this masterpiece. Set between 1884 and 1917, a time when people believed that science and reason could master all, but when magic and superstition were still strong in many cultures. A time when the British Empire covered 3/4 of the globe ...more

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Nov 29, 2019 RG rated it liked it

3.5* recently when I've read a North book ive been a little underwhelmed. We have the great prose shes known for, a more linear plot style and a story very well researched ( historical fiction elements). I just didnt feel as engaged as I did with her previous stories. ...more

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Nov 12, 2019 Hiu Gregg rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs

Review to come!

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Jan 29, 2020 Pauliina (The Bookaholic Dreamer) rated it really liked it

Shelves: i-cant-wait, own, audio-books

3.5 stars!

Claire North's books are always extremely intriguing. The premise sucks you in and the writing is spectacular, both introspective and intelligent. Although the premises of the previous books I have read by the author have been more complex than this was one, I was more confused by the events in the Pursuit of William Abbey than any others.

William Abbey is a doctor in the 19th century and in Africa, he evidences a horrendously cruel event of white men burning a black boy alive, and he d ...more

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Mar 08, 2020 Anna rated it really liked it

Recommended to Anna by: Annise

Shelves: fiction, supernatural, wwi

This is the second novel of Claire North's that I've read, the first being The End of the Day. Based on these reading experiences, I think I prefer North's genuinely fascinating ideas to her writing style. I find the latter involves a lot more tell than show, manifesting in verbose inner monologues that wear a bit thin. This is entirely personal preference, of course. I found a lot to appreciate in 'The Pursuit of William Abbey' and definitely enjoyed it more than The End of the Day. The concept This is the second novel of Claire North's that I've read, the first being The End of the Day. Based on these reading experiences, I think I prefer North's genuinely fascinating ideas to her writing style. I find the latter involves a lot more tell than show, manifesting in verbose inner monologues that wear a bit thin. This is entirely personal preference, of course. I found a lot to appreciate in 'The Pursuit of William Abbey' and definitely enjoyed it more than The End of the Day. The concept is this: in 1884 William Abbey stood by and watched while an African child was brutally lynched, and the child's mother placed a curse upon him. The shadow of the murdered child follows him relentlessly at a walking pace and as soon as it touches him, the person he loves most dies. When the shadow is merely near, however, he is essentially psychic, able to 'read the truth of someone's heart'. Once he and the reader understand this, which takes a little while, the substantive plot begins. While I found the pace rather inconsistent, the latter half of the book is really involving and builds considerable tension. Two moments stand out in particular. (view spoiler)

The overarching theme of the novel is the damage caused by colonialism. While this is certainly conveyed very effectively, the tell-not-show approach was not always to my taste. I would also have preferred the narrative to be grounded more concretely in historical events. Many of the main characters are spies and agitators, yet their activities are not woven into actual political debates and upheavals of the late 19th and early 20th century. It would have been great for actual politicians and revolutionaries of that period to appear. As it is, the novel generally felt more like an alternate universe than a historical novel with supernatural elements. Still, I did appreciate the sense of technological change over time. Although I didn't find William Abbey himself a very interesting character, he made a good foil for a cast of appealing secondary characters. Above all, I loved the exploration of how the truth-speaker's curse was experienced, interpreted, and exploited very differently in a range of cultural contexts. The story is one of continual movement to evade pursuit and the dread this evokes builds very well indeed. (view spoiler) Despite my doubts about the style, I found 'The Pursuit of William Abbey' thrilling and involving. ...more

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Dec 28, 2019 Kat Hooper rated it liked it

Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com. ...more

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Nov 11, 2019 Lel Budge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: compulsive-readers

William Abbey witness the killing of a young child by a mob of white men in South Africa, he did nothing to help.

The child’s mother, after seeing her sons last breath curses William, the child’s shadow will follow him for the rest of his life…..if it catches up to him, someone he loves will die.

William starts travelling to keep ahead of the shadow, he can also hear people’s inner truthful thoughts and has no choice but to then speak them out loud. He’s now a truth-teller and as a result various ...more

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Nov 18, 2019 Onceinabluemoon rated it really liked it

Very different, upsettingly graphic at times to the atrocities against mankind...

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Jan 04, 2020 Straw rated it liked it

Maybe I will only really enjoy one book by this author?! About done with trying the new ones.

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Jan 26, 2020 Sunyi Dean rated it liked it · review of another edition

Conflicting read

"And I knew at last what I had wanted to know since I had met her: that there was no such thing as simple as the storyteller’s love in her, that love was a tangled measure of a thousand different things, and that sometimes there was a word called love that she knew and understood, and then sometimes it was gone, and she could not master it, and being unmastered, she longed to let it go, and then thinking of it, it came again."

Another beautifully written but structurally chaotic n ...more

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Nov 17, 2019 Joanna Park rated it really liked it

This was a fascinating, gripping and thought provoking read. I always enjoy this author’s books as they are always very unique reads. The Pursuit Of William Abbey is no exception as it manages to be part historical, part science fiction but does this incredibly well so it’s never confusing.

The story intrigued me from the start with an interesting opening and I soon found myself drawn into the story. The writing is beautiful and very vivid with some fabulous descriptions of the places that Willia ...more

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Apr 20, 2020 Kieran McAndrew rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

William Abbey watched a boy get lynched and is cursed by the boy's mother to carry his shadow with him for the rest of his life.

The shadow allows him to see the truth in a person's soul. This truth is a weapon, as all truth is, and a group of spies are willing to use William to learn sensitive truths.

North's novel is thought provoking and melancholic, looking at the abuse of power on countless levels, delicately elaborating that to know the truth is to hold the ultimate power. ...more

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About Claire North

Claire North

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Claire North is actually Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated young-adult novel author whose first book, Mirror Dreams, was written when she was just 14 years old. She went on to write seven more successful YA novels.

Claire North is a pseudonym for adult fantasy books written by Catherine Webb, who also writes under the pseudonym Kate Griffin. ...more

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“We live in ignorance most of the time. We make up stories to find sense, to make the thunder the wrath of a dancing devil, to make the sunrise about our lives, a gift to us, rather than just the turning of the world that turns regardless of whether we live and die. We tell ourselves stories to put ourselves at the centre of everything, and invent knowledge to prove this, and truths to justify why we are important, and one day I thought… damn, maybe I am a great Buddhist after all! Because if I have learnt anything from my brother-in-law’s ghost, it’s that the world we see when we are trying to understand ourselves is nothing compared to the world we see when we simply let ourselves look. Truth… is imperceptible to human eyes, because we are so caught up in being ourselves that we are never simply here, seeing, here, being, here. We desire truth, the story that makes us right, I think, more than anything we have ever known. It is nonsense. It is noise. Let it go.” — 2 likes

“Perhaps you don’t hate the British,” I mused. “Perhaps it is simply injustice.” “Of course!” she tutted, not turning her head from her examination of the road before us. “Of course it is injustice! But when injustice wears the same pasty face, you make connections, no? It is not truth. It is simply how the heart works.” — 1 likes

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