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niamhaine's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
anuskamat's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
bookber's review against another edition
5.0
**initially rated 4 stars but upped to 5 stars**
I really really loved this! It's a slower-paced, beautiful novel about humanity, nature and how life keeps moving in the aftermath of a tragedy.
The catalyst to this story is a young girl's disappearance, but the book focuses more so on the changing seasons and the everyday lives of the people living in this small village. The writing style has such an addictive, flowy quality to it that I literally could have read about 500 more pages and immediately added the companion novel [b:The Reservoir Tapes|37865948|The Reservoir Tapes|Jon McGregor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521095072l/37865948._SY75_.jpg|55656057] to my TBR.
Normally I'm not a fan of a story where the mystery doesn't play a huge role but in this case it didn't bother me at all. I was so enamoured with the smaller details about the natural world and the brief insights into the characters lives that I didn't need anything else.
A new favourite that I could see myself re-reading as a comfort book.
I really really loved this! It's a slower-paced, beautiful novel about humanity, nature and how life keeps moving in the aftermath of a tragedy.
The catalyst to this story is a young girl's disappearance, but the book focuses more so on the changing seasons and the everyday lives of the people living in this small village. The writing style has such an addictive, flowy quality to it that I literally could have read about 500 more pages and immediately added the companion novel [b:The Reservoir Tapes|37865948|The Reservoir Tapes|Jon McGregor|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1521095072l/37865948._SY75_.jpg|55656057] to my TBR.
Normally I'm not a fan of a story where the mystery doesn't play a huge role but in this case it didn't bother me at all. I was so enamoured with the smaller details about the natural world and the brief insights into the characters lives that I didn't need anything else.
A new favourite that I could see myself re-reading as a comfort book.
dancinrio's review against another edition
5.0
Exquisite.
I found the rhythm of the language and the changing seasons captivating. The way the story moved seamlessly between the lives of the village residents and the wildlife and landscape conjured such a strong sense of place.
Absolutely stunning. I think this one will linger long and I will find myself thinking of it often. I am very sad it is finished.
I found the rhythm of the language and the changing seasons captivating. The way the story moved seamlessly between the lives of the village residents and the wildlife and landscape conjured such a strong sense of place.
Absolutely stunning. I think this one will linger long and I will find myself thinking of it often. I am very sad it is finished.
aimeesbookishlife's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hieronymusbotched's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad sentence to be found, but I think the novel’s premise of a missing girl and the impact that has on the small village where the disappearance takes place is ultimately a thematic red herring.
What Jon McGregor accomplishes here - every chapter is a year, every paragraph a month, meaning each section is told in beautiful, micro-macro prose - is well worth celebrating, but I genuinely believe it would be just as interesting, if not more so, to see life as it’s lived unified around a more commonplace event, rather than pretend this anecdotal exception is what narratively holds the people of this unnamed village together. It only becomes increasingly distracting as it becomes more and more obvious that this will have no real outcome.
Don’t get me wrong, I think there are clues and intimations that would let you draw multiple conclusions, depending on the reader. It’s just that, for me, this kind of guessing game isn’t what makes Reservoir 13 interesting.
In short, I don’t know if this is an issue with the blurb on the back of the book overselling one event, or simply the author (in my opinion) putting another brick in the wall, and suggesting that it’s the keystone.
Dunno. Maybe I just think community is a circle, not an arch.
3.5*
Should round up to 4, but the purported premise actually kept me from feeling as much I otherwise could.
What Jon McGregor accomplishes here - every chapter is a year, every paragraph a month, meaning each section is told in beautiful, micro-macro prose - is well worth celebrating, but I genuinely believe it would be just as interesting, if not more so, to see life as it’s lived unified around a more commonplace event, rather than pretend this anecdotal exception is what narratively holds the people of this unnamed village together. It only becomes increasingly distracting as it becomes more and more obvious that this will have no real outcome.
Don’t get me wrong, I think there are clues and intimations that would let you draw multiple conclusions, depending on the reader. It’s just that, for me, this kind of guessing game isn’t what makes Reservoir 13 interesting.
In short, I don’t know if this is an issue with the blurb on the back of the book overselling one event, or simply the author (in my opinion) putting another brick in the wall, and suggesting that it’s the keystone.
Dunno. Maybe I just think community is a circle, not an arch.
3.5*
Should round up to 4, but the purported premise actually kept me from feeling as much I otherwise could.
slewis_16's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
I’m surprised by how much this book has stayed with me after I finished it. The story starts with people coming together to search for a missing girl, but the book is really about the village in the subsequent 13 years after the event. Each chapter is a year in the life of the village and surrounding countryside. The missing is mentioned occasionally but the majority of the narrative is brief sketches of people and relationships. These vignettes are immersed in the rhythms of the natural world across the seasons, from bird migrations to bats entering and leaving hibernation, foxes mating and growing up and butterflies spawning in the fields. It reminded me of the nature chapters in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, which I know are divisive. If you found those frustrating then this book isn’t for you. It also made me think of Lanny by Max Porter with its plot around a missing child, the impact of the village and the folk tale style of storytelling.
Although I found the book frustrating at times, I did find myself relating to the characters and the impact of the passage of time on relationships. It’s caught me at a particular time in my life when some relationships are fading while others are starting fresh. By the end, I found it moving. The effect is subtle, and I can’t say I loved this book, but I’m pleased I read it.
Although I found the book frustrating at times, I did find myself relating to the characters and the impact of the passage of time on relationships. It’s caught me at a particular time in my life when some relationships are fading while others are starting fresh. By the end, I found it moving. The effect is subtle, and I can’t say I loved this book, but I’m pleased I read it.
rageofachilles's review against another edition
2.0
I kept reading that this novel was a deep meditation on loss and time. I must have missed the "deep meditation" part because this novel annoyed me to no end. The narrator never stayed on one character for too long, and it is very hard to keep the myriad characters straight to the lack of attention paid to any one person. Ultimately, the main plot--that of a missing young girl--is diffused among the villagers and across the years, but why should I care about how these villagers feel? There's no emotional investment in the characters (with one notable exception--James) so there is no meaningful plot.
kingarooski's review against another edition
4.0
A teenage girl goes missing and a search is organised, but life goes on. As a reader, we follow the life of the small village in the moors over the years that follow the disappearance. The rhythms of life remain unchanged, the seasons come and go, the animal husbandry goes on. This is is a beautifully written book, with a gentle rhythm but best savoured slowly, with passages re-read (or re-listened).