Lie of the Land by Kerry Hadley-Pryce

A young woman family lawyer meets a man with the intention of a brief affair – he is engaged after all. But this quickly becomes something else as they commit to buying an old dilapidated Victorian house with the intention of doing it up and selling it in order to make a profit. They make friends with their next-door neighbours who have two daughters.

The story opens with the main character describing the big oak tree that blocks out the light in the garden, and the birds she believes are nesting in it. These are things she refers to throughout: the oppressive tree and the house, the birds symbolic of freedom and the tenuous link between life and death. She finds herself strangely trapped like a bird caught in the attic. Although she is a successful professional she remains caught in a relationship she doesn’t care for in a house she doesn’t like.

The writing style is unusual but suits the tone of uncertainty and suggests, perhaps, the mindset of someone in the legal profession. From the lawyer’s perspective in the third person, everything is expressed in a future tense, not always clearly and with a fair amount of ambiguity that leaves everything open. Excellent writing.

However, the real main character is the landscape. Set in the Black Country, an area undefined in the the English Midlands, there is a hint of crime and unsafe areas such as the canal. There is a gothic atmosphere highlighted by the tall buildings, cold weather and sunless rooms – even the girl next-door dresses as a ‘Goth’. This is a story of stagnation and continuity, from the ancient oak and rituals of birds, to rocks and fossils. If someone wasn’t of the Black Country to start with, they would change to become part of that land.

A clever, psychologically disturbing and an original book.