About the Book
Shipwrecks are part of life in the remote village of Porthmorvoren, Cornwall. And as the sea washes the bodies of the drowned onto the beach, it also brings treasures: barrels of liquor, exotic fruit, the chance to lift a fine pair of boots from a corpse, maybe even a jewel or two.
When, after a fierce storm, Mary Blight rescues a man half-dead from the sea, she ignores the whispers of her neighbours and carries him home to nurse better. Gideon Stone is a Methodist minister from Newlyn, a married man. Touched by Mary’s sacrifice and horrified by the superstitions and pagan beliefs the villagers cling to, Gideon sets out to bring light and salvation to Porthmorvoren by building a chapel on the hill.
But the village has many secrets and not everyone wants to be saved. As Mary and Gideon find themselves increasingly drawn together, jealousy, rumour and suspicion is rife. Gideon has demons of his own to face, and soon Mary’s enemies are plotting against her…
Format: Hardback (384 pages) Publisher: HQ
Publication date: 12th July 2018 Genre: Historical Fiction
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My Review
I’ve had Wrecker, Noel O’Reilly’s debut novel, on my bookshelf for quite a few years but I was prompted to pick it up – and include it on my 20 Books of Summer reading challenge list – after I read the author’s latest novel, The Darlings of the Asylum.
Set in a small Cornish fishing village, Wrecker‘s protagonist is the headstrong, independent-minded and sharp-tongued Mary Blight. I loved the pithy, sarcastic dialogue the author creates for her and the way her inner thoughts show us the things she’d like to say but can’t. Mary dreams of a life beyond her current hand-to-mouth existence caring for her sick mother and younger sister. Unlike most of the other villagers she can read and write. She doesn’t much care what other people think about her, although she discovers that this can make you enemies and mean you find yourself alone and vulnerable.
The residents of Porthmorvoren have become used to supplementing the meagre income they earn from fishing or working for the local squire by salvaging goods from ships that run aground on the treacherous coast. Pillaging crates of goods, even the odd trinket is one thing but committing an atrocity such as the one visited on a drowned woman is quite another. I enjoyed the occasional inclusion of sensationalist newspaper reports concerning the individual dubbed the ‘Porthmorvoren cannibal’.
Gideon Stone, rescued from the sea by Mary (an event cleverly echoed in the final scene), at first seems the upright, pious and devout minister he professes to be, fuelled by a desire to rid the villagers of their superstitious ways. Mary is attracted to him, not just as a man, but because he seems to offer a way out of her humdrum life. The fact he is married is a mere obstacle to be overcome. Unfortunately Gideon’s favouring of Mary, notably her appointment to the role of Sunday School teacher, only serves to increase the enmity towards her.
I confess I never really warmed to Gideon, especially as we discover more about his past. Mary begins to wonder too. ‘What was I to make of Gideon Stone? Wheat and chaff seemed all mixed up in him. On the one hand, he was a soaring spirit who risked life and limb to save the souls of his fellow men. But in the shadows of his past lurked another man, a frail sinner, lost in drink and unable to master his base urges.’
The author populates the book with colourful characters, including the puritanical Aunt Madgie, Pentecost, a giant of a man and regular visitor to the ‘kiddlywink’ (local pub), and Gideon’s simpering wife with her affected airs and graces, and laughable play-acting.
Wrecker is an engaging story told in a spirited style with a memorable female protagonist.
In three words: Atmospheric, lively, dramatic
Try something similar: The Mermaid’s Call by Katherine Stansfield
About the Author
Noel O’Reilly was a student on the New Writing South Advanced writing course. He has worked as a journalist and editor at the international business media company RBI, and is now a freelance writer. His first novel is Wrecker and The Darlings of the Asylum is his second. He lives in Sheffield. (Photo: Author website)
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