For fans of Eowyn Ivey, Rose Tremaine, and Kate Atkinson, The Orphan of Salt Winds is a bewitching debut about the secrets that haunt us.
England, 1939. Ten-year-old Virginia Wrathmell arrives at Salt Winds, a secluded house on the edge of a marsh, to meet her adoptive parents—practical, dependable Clem and glamorous, mercurial Lorna. The marsh, with its deceptive tides, is a beautiful but … with its deceptive tides, is a beautiful but threatening place. Virginia’s new parents’ marriage is full of secrets and tensions she doesn’t quite understand, and their wealthy neighbor, Max Deering, drops by too often, taking an unwholesome interest in the family’s affairs. Only Clem offers a true sense of home. War feels far away among the birds and shifting sands—until the day a German fighter plane crashes into the marsh, and Clem ventures out to rescue the airman. What happens next sets into motion a crime so devastating it will haunt Virginia for the rest of her life. Seventy-five years later, she finds herself drawn back to the marsh, and to a teenage girl who appears there, nearly frozen and burdened by her own secrets. In her, Virginia might have a chance at retribution and a way to right a grave mistake she made as a child.
Elizabeth Brooks’s gripping debut mirrors its marshy landscape—full of twists and turns and moored in a tangle of family secrets. A gothic, psychological mystery and atmospheric coming-of-age story, The Orphan of Salt Winds is the portrait of a woman haunted by the place she calls home.
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The Orphan of Salt Winds is a beautifully written, atmospheric novel reminiscent of Jane Eyre with its wild, bleak setting and houseful of mysteries… Bewitching and haunting.
The Orphan of Salt Winds (Call of the Curlew – outside the US) begins on 30 December 2015. 86-year-old Virginia Wrathmell has known for years that one New Year’s Eve she will walk onto the marsh and meet her end there. She has been waiting for a sign. The sign has now appeared on her doorstep in the form of a fragile curlew’s skull. Virginia’s plan to spend her final day bidding farewell to her life through the objects in the house is interrupted by the discovery of a near-frozen teenaged girl sitting on the wall outside the house. The girl claims a puzzling connection to the house.
Virginia has lived at Salt Winds, a house on the edge of Tollbury Marsh in Essex, since she was ten-years-old when she was adopted by Clem and Lorna Wrathmell. Clem is a writer and some years older than Lorna. An immediate rapport develops between Virginia and Clem although her relationship with Lorna is less easy and develops slowly. The Wrathmell’s wealthy neighbour and Clem’s boyhood friend, Max Deering, is an unsettling presence. Almost a stereotype with his smooth face and pencil thin moustache which he strokes, Deering appears to have some sort of hold over Lorna.
The story is told in dual timelines—the days of the 30th and 31st December 2015 and two years beginning December 1939—in alternating chapters; the modern chapters are much shorter. Both are in Virginia’s point of view but the 1940s story is the observant child’s incomplete understanding of what is happening around her, although there is enough information for the mature reader to draw conclusions. There are secrets in the lives of all the adults at Salt Winds, secrets still affecting lives in 2015.
The story is atmospheric with the marsh almost a character itself, changing in response to the seasons and Virginia’s view of the world. For the most part, the 2nd World War is a rumble in the background of the novel, but when it finally arrives on Tollbury Marsh it has far-reaching consequences for Virginia and her family. Call of the Curlew is beautifully written in poetic, haunting prose and the characters, perhaps with the exception of Deering, well developed. As the story progresses slight observations or brief conversational asides can alter the reader’s perception of characters, rounding them out more fully. Although I found the 1940s story much more compelling than the later period, both are necessary for the complete resolution of the mystery at the heart of this novel. It is a memorable story that touches on themes of loss, guilt and the hold the past can have on the present.
WW2 related fiction is a personal favorite. Twisty and interesting path to redemptive acceptance. Good read
I really enjoyed this story; it has an awesome plot that they author has done a wonderful job in relaying to the reader. She has made the characters come to life and has done a brilliant job in moving aback and forth in time without losing my interest or my ability to follow the story. I love cover of the book and everything about how this story is told and presented.
Not my favorite
I enjoyed this book. Very interesting, nicely written. Loved it.
Interesting story. Thought I had knee how it would end, but was wrong!
I did not like this book. Suicide plans and then murder? Not my cup of tea. May have ended positively but I could not get through the revenge and suicide plans! Too dark for me
Strange all the way to the end!!
Very dark and sinister
Disappointing
Like Daphne du Maurier, this novel powerfully conjures up a place, a time and a story that are unforgettable.
The Orphan of Salt Winds is an atmospheric, beautifully paced novel about sacrifice, the urge to belong, and revenge. It’s full of well-drawn characters I loved to hate, and those that I didn’t want to let go, even after I closed the last page.
Filled with unexpected twists, beautifully rendered characters, and told with great style, The Orphan of Salt Winds will seep into your soul.