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The Owl Service

Alan Garner

3.71 · Rating details · 5,328 ratings · 461 reviews

Something is scratching around in the attic above Alison's room. Yet the only thing up there is a stack of grimy old plates. Alison and her stepbrother, Roger, discover that the flowery patterns on the plates, when traced onto paper, can be fitted together to create owls-owls that disappear when no one is watching. With each vanished owl, strange events begin to happen ...more

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Paperback, 156 pages

Published September 1973 by Collins (first published 1967)

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Jul 28, 2018 Phrynne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5000-books

Sometimes along the way you find a really special book in a very unexpected place. The Owl Service is something I picked up to satisfy the requirements of a challenge and I am so pleased I did. It is a remarkable book.

I would classify this as a children's book written for adults because it would need to be a very smart child to understand even half of what is happening. One of the criticisms often thrown at authors is that they do too much tell and not enough show. Well Garner is an author who ...more

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Dec 21, 2010 mark monday rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: secret-histories, legendarium

an impressionistic tale of three teens reenacting a deadly eternal triangle in a welsh village. strange yearnings and mysterious motivations are anchored by enjoyably prosaic dialogue, the oddly off-kilter use of slang, and a sharp but subtle sense of warfare between the classes. a nicely clean and uncluttered narrative. one of the many endearing parts of this novel is the realization that the patterns of history and destiny that drive the characters forward are being reflected in the flowery an impressionistic tale of three teens reenacting a deadly eternal triangle in a welsh village. strange yearnings and mysterious motivations are anchored by enjoyably prosaic dialogue, the oddly off-kilter use of slang, and a sharp but subtle sense of warfare between the classes. a nicely clean and uncluttered narrative. one of the many endearing parts of this novel is the realization that the patterns of history and destiny that drive the characters forward are being reflected in the flowery patterns found on dinner plates and wallpaper. another charming thing: magical paper cut-outs of owls! but lest you think this is a cute story for tweens, know that the yarn being spun is one rooted in tragedy, violent possessiveness, and eternal regret. and it is a very mystical novel despite all of the expertly-done 'ordinariness'.

i've read that this low-key novel of the past tormenting the present is considered a classic by many. it even boasts a BBC adaptation. if you like Owl Service, you should find the tv series on dvd - it is actually pretty good. some very interesting and rather radical things happening in what is essentially a miniseries for kids. and the program keeps the mysticism intact, hurrah!

i am usually a little amused when i come across new agey 'anglo-saxon mysticism' in real life, in shops and in jewelry and in celtic tattos and whatnot. i can't help but roll my eyes a little at the cliche. is this mythology in some ways symbolic of the yearnings for mysticism and a rich warrior ancestry of the white middle class in general? is this the unfulfilled need that drove mel gibson to Braveheart? who knows. but when i actually read it, in places like this novel and in the Dark Is Rising series of susan cooper, it is a guilt-free pleasure.

(view spoiler)

...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Sarah Hale rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I will admit I didn't 'get' this book the first time I read it. In fact it was not until the third or fourth reading that I really began to understand the plot and central themes. It also certainly helps if you have read the story in the 'Mabinogion' that this book is loosely based upon. Garner's economical style is also an initial obstacle. Reading through some of the reviews here, I can see that some people have found fault with the fact that he almost completely omits description of any kind I will admit I didn't 'get' this book the first time I read it. In fact it was not until the third or fourth reading that I really began to understand the plot and central themes. It also certainly helps if you have read the story in the 'Mabinogion' that this book is loosely based upon. Garner's economical style is also an initial obstacle. Reading through some of the reviews here, I can see that some people have found fault with the fact that he almost completely omits description of any kind in this novel; very little information is provided about how the characters feel. The reason why I kept re-reading this book is directly because it doesn't reveal its mysteries easily. It keeps them close to its chest, and the reader must make an effort to uncover them. Indeed, the novel is almost exclusively made up of dialogue. It certainly can take several reads of a conversation to work out that one of the characters is angry, or upset. There are none of those usual clues that authors normally provide to help their readers understand precisely what's happening. In this way I like to think of the novel as pseudo-play, akin to Shakespeare; lines of dialogue followed by minimal direction. And it is exactly this level of economy that makes the book work; the reader's confusion mirrors that of the main characters. They are just as much lost as we are.

Garner's sparse style also helps to build up an unprecedented level of tension that I have never since encountered in a supposed "children's" book. There are some parts of the book that are decidedly unnerving; the scratching in the ceiling, Alison's rage causing books to fly, Gwyn creeping through the eerie forest at night, being stalked by indeterminate streaks of light, the painting of a women surrounded by flowers whose petals are made of claws. It all comes together to create a story that makes your skin crawl.

It is difficult to describe this book. When I was asked at work what my favourite book was, without hesitation I replied 'The Owl Service' by Alan Garner. And yet when they asked me what it was about, all I could say was 'Well, it's about these three young people... on holiday in Wales... and they get caught up in a Welsh myth...'. And I suppose that's because on the surface, not an awful lot happens. And yet, in between nothing happening, everything happens. And that is precisely what makes this book so wonderful. There are so many layers, it's hard to know where to begin. Most obvious is the class conflict, coupled with English vs Welsh antagonism - Alison, Roger and their parents are English, and upper-middle class, while Gwyn and his mother are Welsh, and working class. The relationship between Alison and Gwyn causes reverberations within the perceived social hierarchy, to devastating effect. Then there is the mother-child dynamic; Roger, Gwyn and Alison all have difficult relationships with their mothers. In fact they are all neglected by their mothers in one way or another; Roger's (the 'Birmingham Belle') by running off with another man, Gwyn's by deserting the village and Alison's by being there but never really there. The sense of space and location; you get the feeling that this story happens because of the place that the characters inhabit. The Welsh valley they are caught within is almost a character within itself. Then there is the love triangle that threatens to engulf each generation, and lastly but most importantly, there is the eternal presence of the chillingly powerful force of nature. The characters have no will other than what nature dictates. Gwyn cannot escape the valley despite his best efforts; he is driven back by torrential rain and hounded by dogs. Alison feels compelled to trace the owl patterns from the plates, and hides them in the forest. Roger photographs the trees on the hill through the hole in the Stone of Gronw, and unwittingly captures a figure, holding something aloft...

There is one passage in the novel that in my mind completely encapsulates the main theme of the book:

'What is the power?' said Alison.
'I can't explain', said Gwyn. 'I once saw a nettle growing in an old garage in Aber. A pale little thing it was. It had split the concrete floor.'

This then, is what drives this book; the unstoppable power of nature, against which human beings are nothing but playthings. ...more

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Mar 25, 2016 Rebecca McNutt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, middle-grade, fiction, romance, fantasy, friendship, paranormal

The Owl Service is the kind of classic-style middle-grade fantasy novel that schools should have on its shelves instead of just Twilight and The Hunger Games. With its imagination, mystical story and creative characters, it's a wonderful book that you'll never forget.

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Mar 28, 2013 Kerry rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 7, childrens, library, 2013

Written as I begin...

She wants to be flowers but you keep making her owls.

This will be a paraphrase rather than a direct quote, as it's something I've always remembered, almost been haunted by, over the years since I read Alan Garner's The Owl Service as a child. Every so often, that evocative phrase would bubble out of my subconscious and I'd think of it for a moment before going back to my everyday life.

She wants to be flowers but you keep making her owls.

Despite that deep memory, I've never ...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Nikki rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-and-ya, favourites, based-on-myth-saga-etc, for-class

The Owl Service is a very, very powerful book. It used to scare me silly, when I was younger -- under ten, probably -- and it still has a very tense feel to it, an edge of fright. It draws on the story of Blodeuwedd, from the Mabinogion: Gwydion makes her out of flowers, to be a wife for Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who has been cursed by his mother never to marry a mortal woman. However, she falls in love with Gronw Pebr, and they plot how to kill Lleu. He is only changed into an eagle, though, and he ...more

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Jul 14, 2015 Wanda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-books, read-in-2015

Wow, a very intense little book. Considering that it’s a children’s book, there are some very adult themes addressed. Not only are there step-family issues being worked out in the English family involved, but there is a past intertwining of their family with the Welsh woman who is currently working as their housekeeper. Alison’s mother seems to be very class conscious and tries to keep her daughter away from the housekeeper’s son, Gwyn. The resentment of the Welsh, who are seeing English ...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Lolly's Library rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: mythic-fantasy, young-adult

What the hell was this? It started off fine, if a little bit bumpy. I kept waiting for the 'tragic romance' of the premise to begin--frankly, I was waiting for any kind of action to take place--yet nothing of the kind ever developed. There was an interesting, if bizarre, set up involving owls and plates and mysteries, but *fzzzt* it completely fizzled out. Nothing was ever explained and that ending... What kind of an ending was that? There was no resolution, no explanation, nothing that rewarded ...more

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May 21, 2018 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, fantasy, own

Very odd story, which I have thought a lot about since reading. I didn't know anything about it at the time, but it was advertised as a children's classic, though I had never heard of it. Later I realized it's a) based on Welsh mythology, and b) a British children's classic, so a lot of the social issues went over my head at first.

But definitely worth the read, spooky without being too scary, and reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones or Edward Eager, but more mature.

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Jul 27, 2017 Nick Swarbrick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I am coming to dislike the blunt instrument of the four-star review. This is a haunting book, begging all sorts of questions about the author and his relationship with landscape and legend. It is, for me, maybe not Garner's finest, but four stars because it is not the great novel that is Thursbitch or the complex writing of Red Shift seems mean-spirited.
Owl Service sits - perhaps uncomfortably- on the cusp of a new kind of writing , as YA becomes a genre in its own right. However, that edge is ...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Kailey (BooksforMKs) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I've liked some of Alan Garner's other books, but this one was just confusing. Most references to time are left out, like "The next day..." or "hours earlier...", so you have no idea what is going on, until you realize halfway into the characters conversation that this must be the next day, or they must have moved to inside the house now b/c this wouldn't make sense if they were still outside. He just leaves you guessing.

I do not understand any of these characters. Every word they say is so ...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Amber rated it liked it

Shelves: read-childrens-and-teen

The best thing about this book is the elliptical strangeness of it, the odd otherworldly language and broken narrative structure yet... the worst thing about this book is the elliptical strangeness of it, the odd otherwordly language and broken narrative structure.

I don't see how this is a book for children. The children in the book do not talk like children, or adults for that matter. Everyone talks in circles and riddles. There are large chunks of the narrative missing which you are meant to ...more

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Feb 12, 2017 Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: don-t-know-where-to-shelve-this

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I did. It had so much potential!

First, it's set in the Welsh valleys. That in itself is great. Then, you've got the whole mystery of the owl service itself, like why is Alison obsessed with it? What's going on in the locked room? and all like that.But Garner does his own plot a disservice. Maybe he needed a better editor, one who could guide him on how to flesh out these very good bones into something rounded and satisfying for the reader. I really wish Garner I really wanted to enjoy this book. I did. It had so much potential!

First, it's set in the Welsh valleys. That in itself is great. Then, you've got the whole mystery of the owl service itself, like why is Alison obsessed with it? What's going on in the locked room? and all like that.But Garner does his own plot a disservice. Maybe he needed a better editor, one who could guide him on how to flesh out these very good bones into something rounded and satisfying for the reader. I really wish Garner had got some help somewhere because it was a cracking idea.

Talk about "show don't tell!" Most of the novel is dialogue, and that's fine in itself. But we aren't told a story, we're given scraps. WHY does "Mummy" never appear? She's either lying down, or out for a walk, or upstairs, never in the same room with her family, with whom she never interacts on the page; she seems to hover over the narrative like a malignant ghost. It's apparently her honeymoon trip with Clive, Hubby No. 2, to her country home in Wales (which actually belongs to daughter Alison). Everyone talks about Mummy, but no one seems to like her much, and that includes Hubby. Clive brings son Roger into the marriage, and there's Gwyn, the live-in help's son. We are never given any real indication of the ages of the three youths, though I figured Alison's mystery illness of "gripes" that opens the novel was probably menstrual pains; given the fact that she becomes the catalyst for the paranormal action, that gives us the adolescent-girl-trope so beloved of this sort of book/movie of the period. (Think Carrie, think Audrey Rose, think The Exorcist). None of these kids act like kids--no fooling about, games, or anything else except one game of ping-pong and another of pool--both with adult Clive. Roger I figured must be what? Fifteen? with his darkroom and all. But we are never told, given the author's fragmentary non-narration. Aside from Alison's yellow hair, we have no idea what any of them look like, either.

The first third or so of the book was fine and held my attention, but then suddenly it becomes this long drawn out whinge of "oh you mustn't talk to me, Mummy doesn't like it." You know what? Gwyn never spits out what he's got on his mind, not even on the several occasions when he does manage to get Alison on her own for a minute or two. Not once! There's a lot of chatter about social class and judging people on how they speak--"He's a yob" occurs more than once. I know that sort of classism was and is rife in the UK, but it could have been used better to contrast later events--another trick the author missed.

When we finally get down to it, what happens? Not much, at least not to tie it all into the "legend." Gwyn is soo important to the action, instrumental to the legend-narrative and then at the crisis--nothing. Huw is supposedly the centre of the problem and--nothing. Of course--Wales needs these English summer residents to work it all out for them??? ??? But then it's all about the effect on Alison; the villagers are just background. I expected, I don't know--for the village to be swept away in the flood, or at least to have the "poorly built" bridge go out with someone on it.

And then the author cops out with a "Post Script" in which he basically apologises for his novel by explaining its inspiration etc. In my experience, if an author has to explain his purpose to the reader in so many words, it means he has failed in that purpose and he knows it. The earliest example I've seen is the Epilogue scene in Shakespeare's As You Like It, in which he ends by saying something like, "We know this is just a piece of fluff, we don't even have a title for it, call it what you like."

Two stars for a decent idea. One for the poor development. ...more

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Oct 25, 2015 Isobel Robertson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone with an interest in Celtic (esp. Welsh) mythology

Recommended to Isobel by: My mother

This is perhaps my favourite novel of all time. It's strange, mysterious, confusing and haunting. I inherited my mother's childhood copy, and I think it says a lot about the timeless quality of the book that I loved it as much in the 1990s as she did in the 1970s - and still love it today. Although marketed as a young adult book, this is actually a very adult book in many ways, and can certainly be enjoyed by much older people.

As a huge fan of Celtic mythology, I love the subtle way in which ...more

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Feb 15, 2015 ☆ ĄňŊǡƂėƮĦ ☆ ŞŧŎŋė rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I was given this book by my father who thought that it would be good. I read the summary and thought that it was a children's book but I read. In the beginning it was okay but soon it became very difficult to read and I ended up reading half of it and skimming every other page to the end. It was very boring.

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Nov 05, 2011 Beth Bonini rated it liked it · review of another edition

I know this book is considered to be a fantasy classic, but I found it surprisingly difficult to read. Let me be specific: it doesn't take LONG to read, but it is hard to follow. There is a lot of dialogue, and the language/vernacular already seems archaic even thought the book was written in the 1960s. Also, it is very elliptical -- both in terms of the language and the plot.
Most of my reading at the moment is geared towards my teaching; so as I read, I'm constantly evaluating whether or not I ...more

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Dec 03, 2007 Becky rated it liked it · review of another edition

I read this hoping I might be able to write my Celtic Literature paper on it; it ended up not being a good fit, but it was still a pretty interesting novel. It centers around the brief friendship of two English teenagers with a Welsh boy their age. The depiction of Welsh-English hostilities was the strongest thread of the novel; Gwyn, the Welsh boy, is a great character and his story is subtle but heartbreaking. There was also a very cool contrast between the social realism and the fantasy ...more

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Jan 03, 2010 Beth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In a pastoral Welsh valley, a tragic love story plays itself out anew with each generation. When three teens discover a set of old dishes with an odd design, the haunting legend is set into motion once more. Can Alison, Roger and Gwyn break the cycle?

The suspense and supernatural occurrences drive the plot. Garner is a master storyteller, weaving the past with the present seamlessly. His use of plot devices such as books and village gossips to drop hints and tell part of the story is natural, ...more

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May 03, 2013 Leah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: magical, mythical

A tightly-written, intense little novel that belies its childlike exterior.

After reading the first two books in the Weirdstone of Brisingamen trilogy - more on the third later - one could be forgiven for considering Alan Garner a bit light on the characterisation end of things. Susan and Colin were, after all, little more than boy's-own-adventure tropes masquerading as children in the countryside.

But this would be a serious underestimation of Garner's skills with tone and scenario. He says in A tightly-written, intense little novel that belies its childlike exterior.

After reading the first two books in the Weirdstone of Brisingamen trilogy - more on the third later - one could be forgiven for considering Alan Garner a bit light on the characterisation end of things. Susan and Colin were, after all, little more than boy's-own-adventure tropes masquerading as children in the countryside.

But this would be a serious underestimation of Garner's skills with tone and scenario. He says in his postscript that the idea for this story came to him posed as the question: 'What would happen to three people who were forced to live together, despite having little in common?', and it seems fairly obvious that jumping off from this point has driven his characterisation in a strong and determined direction. The three youths belong to the great 'what-ho!' English legacy of Enid Blyton, but they made a lengthy stopover in the sly and callous territory of Evelyn Waugh.

In short, these are child-characters for grown-ups. They are horrible, in one way or another, genuinely nasty and vicious and snide, and then the next minute vulnerable or hilarious or kind. They are uncomfortable to spend time with, because they are uncomfortably like us. Garner's scenario pays off excruciatingly well: we find ourselves slowly stripped of the false notion that these people know, or even like each other, and discover that beneath the surface lies a tension that simmers between class, expectation, and desire, which frequently erupts into hateful words and irreversible actions.

Sound a bit heavy for what has always been marketed as a children's book? Fear not! There's also a groundskeeper who might be thousands of years old, a flock of invisible owls, a mysterious motorbike and a myth that comes back to haunt the valley. Garner touches lightly on all these points, dipping into one, then another, never overdoing it or laying it on expositionally thick. A brushstroke here, a pencil line there, and before you know it a sketch forms behind your eyes, done with nothing more than a few choice lines of dialogue and some sparse description.

All these elements of storytelling are familiar to me now, having read Boneland, the third Weirdstone book, which is told almost exclusively in short, sharp bursts of dialogue and feverish internal monologue, and yet somehow manages to paint a vivid, dreamlike picture of the story. Although The Owl Service is not quite there yet, the potential clearly is, and Garner lightly weaves a tale of murder, myth and madness to create something truly unique and unforgettable. ...more

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Feb 13, 2016 imyril rated it really liked it

Shelves: spooktastic-reads

Three resentful teenagers are trapped in a Welsh valley for the summer - trapped between social expectations and the rising power of a myth that haunts the hills. Gwyn the housekeeper's son is clever and ambitious, but quick-tempered and given to sharp words; Roger is cruel with privilege; and Alison has no idea what she really wants, too quick to cave in for an easy life. They aren't prepared for the rage of Blodeuwedd, or how it will use their bitternes to force a confrontation that has ...more

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Jul 07, 2014 Kaethe Douglas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: animals, adventure, ya, fantasy, romance, fiction

Garner wrote this in a spare Kitchen Sink Drama style, and it mostly deals with class conflict. Not at all what I was expecting from a Welsh myth. And the ending - I didn't see that coming. I'm not sure that I'd recommend this to any but a rather mature reader, since Garner has made this more a playscript than a novel. It would be hard for many young readers to figure out what's going on and what all the tension is about. It's practically Pinter.

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Mar 30, 2017 Sara Saif rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: you-re-cute-but-not-that-cute, its-a-tie, 2017

My God, this book is weird.

Not only did I not like the insufferable vagueness and the "shrouded in mystery" vibe, I also couldn't synchronize myself with the dialogue which is SO odd. The book is short and I'm not sure if it works in or against its favor. I got the general idea of the myth explored in there but the rest just feels like the aftermath of an explosion; shards everywhere, smoke and haze and utter helplessness. Like, WHAT EVEN is going on?

I don't know how old the three characters

...more

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Sep 02, 2019 Rebecca rated it liked it

Shelves: obscure-classics, fantasy, birds, suspense, reviewed-for-blog, childrens-or-ya, get-free-bookshop, 20-books-of-summer-2019

(2.5) I’d heard of Garner, a British writer of classic children’s fantasy novels, but never read any of his work until I picked this up from the free bookshop where I volunteer on a Friday. My husband remembers reading Elidor (also a 1990s TV series) as a boy, but I’m not sure Garner was ever well known in America. Perhaps if I’d discovered this right after the Narnia series when I was a young child, I would have been captivated. I did enjoy the rural Welsh setting, and to start with I was ...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Roddy Williams rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, mythology, cult-novel

‘Scratchings in the loft above Alison’s room – not mice or rats – but claws being sharpened, then Roger had felt himself reeling under that scream and the vibration of the ancient rock. And Alison was obsessed with those plates – she did nothing but trace the owl pattern on them. Gwyn couldn’t fathom it yet, but he was trapped too in the Welsh valley and its legend.

Only old half-mad Huw knew the power of the ancient tragedy – of a maiden made from flowers who betrayed her husband, Lleu, with a ...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Robert rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tale-myth

I'm in two minds about this one. On the one hand, it had a genuinely effective sense of eery creepiness and inevitable doom building throughout. On the other hand, the book is primarily dialogue based, which was difficult for me as a reader, because the characters have strange speech patterns that I am not used to (they're meant to be Welsh, but to me they sounded partially like West Country people, and partially just incoherent - and not just the slightly mad ones).

Often, all we get is the ...more

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Jul 11, 2017 Peter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-and-science-fiction

As childrens books go this is top of the tree. There is so much raw power here it's astounding.
The shear strength of myth and emotion are intense, way beyond a standard childrens novel.

The TV series as stayed with me ever since I was a child and is word perfect to the book and this is down to the author given free reign, just as it should be.

A deserved winner of awards.

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Nov 30, 2019 Daniel Polansky added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

hree adolescents in a decaying house in rural Wales are forced to recreate a tragic mythic rite. Gardner is widely regarded as one of the best Y/A writers of the 20th century, but the things that I've liked by him (this and the bizarre, horrifying, very clever Red Shift) are barely Y/A at all. The narrative and conflicts in this book are as far as possible from the 'special child discovers how special he is' plot of most modern Y/A books (and, for that matter, Gardner's to my mind overlauded ...more

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May 26, 2018 kari rated it really liked it · review of another edition

How is it possible to write such a short book with a narrative that feels like pieces that the reader will have to assemble on their own, and make it brimming with themes and ideas? There's mystery, there's myth, the inevitability of a story repeating itself, class division, cultural appropriation, all of this, and more.

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May 01, 2019 Keri rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: school, pg-count-200s, out, pub-hmh

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The parts that were haunting were great, but I just wanted a little more. It was a little hard to follow at times because of the slang, humor, and Welsh lore. Alison's mother was annoying and you never actually SEE her! I'm not even sure what happened at the end.

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Apr 18, 2014 Dearbhla rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Alison and Roger have come to Wales on a holiday with their parent and respective step-parent. Roger’s father and Alison’s mother have recently married and in a way this is a sort of bonding session. The house is technically Alison’s, she inherited from an uncle. Gwynn is the housekeeper’s son, the same age as Alison and Roger but very much not of the same class.

Have I mentioned that this book was written and set in the 60s? Because they really needs to be in your mind when reading it.

Alison has Alison and Roger have come to Wales on a holiday with their parent and respective step-parent. Roger’s father and Alison’s mother have recently married and in a way this is a sort of bonding session. The house is technically Alison’s, she inherited from an uncle. Gwynn is the housekeeper’s son, the same age as Alison and Roger but very much not of the same class.

Have I mentioned that this book was written and set in the 60s? Because they really needs to be in your mind when reading it.

Alison has been hearing strange scratchings from the attic and when Gwynn goes up to investigate he discovers a dinner service, he takes a plate down and almost immediately Alison becomes somewhat obsessed with the pattern. It appears to be flowers, but Alison can also see an owl in the flowers.

Those of you who are familiar with Welsh legends might be thinking, hmmm, flowers. Could this have anything to do with the myth of Blodeuwedd? Well, if you’re thinking that you’re perfectly correct.

Oh I have many thoughts about this book. Many many thoughts.

First off, I’m sure I read this as a child and had absolutely no idea what was going on. I’m pretty sure I also caught bits of the television adaptation, but I don’t remember any of that, apart from a general sense of weirdness. A description that definitely fits the book.

I really enjoyed it1 , it is just so strange. Garner describes it as a ghost story, and it almost feels like you are living through these crazy unexplained events because so much is just described. There are some reasons provided, and we get the myth of Blodeuwedd and that tragedy to underpin it all, but there is so much more than just the supernatural aspect to the book.

Most of the book, as I said, is descriptions of what is happening right now. There is very little internal monologue or expressions of what different characters are feeling. Not that there are none, but they are almost like dialogue that just isn’t spoken aloud. I’m not doing a good job of explaining this, am I.

The setting is very much in the here and now2 yet also about how the present is shaped by the past and the mistakes people make, and seem to make over and over again.

It is full of classism and prejudice. Alison comes from the land-owning classes. Roger’s father is wealthy but a business man. Gwynn is the working class boy, the servant. He is also Welsh and there are numerous snide remarks about that. Of course the reverse is also true, the Welsh resent the English for the very fact that they are English.

It is one I think you have to read to get any grasp of what it’s all about. ...more

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About Alan Garner

Alan Garner

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Alan Garner OBE (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist who is best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. His work is firmly rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of Cheshire, North West England, being set in the region and making use of the native Cheshire dialect.

Born into a working-class family in Alan Garner OBE (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist who is best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. His work is firmly rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of Cheshire, North West England, being set in the region and making use of the native Cheshire dialect.

Born into a working-class family in Congleton, Cheshire, Garner grew up around the nearby town of Alderley Edge, and spent much of his youth in the wooded area known locally as 'The Edge', where he gained an early interest in the folklore of the region. Studying at Manchester Grammar School and then Oxford University, in 1957 he moved to the nearby village of Blackden, where he bought and renovated an Early Modern building known as Toad Hall. His first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, was published in 1960. A children's fantasy novel set on the Edge, it incorporated elements of local folklore in its plot and characters. Garner completed a sequel, The Moon of Gomrath (1963), but left the third book of the trilogy he had envisioned. Instead he produced a string of further fantasy novels, Elidor (1965), The Owl Service (1967) and Red Shift (1973).

Turning away from fantasy as a genre, Garner produced The Stone Book Quartet (1979), a series of four short novellas detailing a day in the life of four generations of his family. He also published a series of British folk tales which he had rewritten in a series of books entitled Alan Garner's Fairy Tales of Gold (1979), Alan Garner's Book of British Fairy Tales (1984) and A Bag of Moonshine (1986). In his subsequent novels, Strandloper (1996) and Thursbitch (2003), he continued writing tales revolving around Cheshire, although without the fantasy elements which had characterised his earlier work. In 2012, he finally published a third book in the Weirdstone trilogy.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Garner

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information. ...more

Books by Alan Garner

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Tales of Alderley, #1)

The Moon of Gomrath (Tales of Alderley, #2)

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Quotes from The Owl Service

“She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting.” — 59 likes

“Lleu is a hard lord,” said Huw, “He is killing Gronw without anger, without love, without mercy. He is hurt too much by the woman and the spear. Yet what is there when it is done? His pride. No spear. No friend.”
Roger started at Huw. “You’re not so green as you’re grass-looking, are you?” he said. “Now you mention it, I have been thinking— That bloke Gronw was the only one with any real guts at the end.”
“But none of them is all to blame,” said Huw. “It is only together they are destroying each other.”
“That Blod-woman was pretty poor,” said Roger, “however you look at it.”
“No,” said Huw. “She was made for her lord. Nobody is asking her if she wants him. It is bitter twisting to be shut up with a person you are not liking very much. I think she was longing for the time when she was flowers on the mountain, and it is making her cruel, as the rose is growing thorns.” — 9 likes

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