The Borrowed Hills: ‘A sucker-punch of a novel’ Guardian

The Borrowed Hills: ‘A sucker-punch of a novel’ Guardian

The Borrowed Hills: ‘A sucker-punch of a novel’ Guardian
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(as of Jul 24, 2024 04:50:48 UTC – Details)


‘Viscerally vivid . . . a sucker-punch of a novel, edged with knife-sharp black humour and shot through with moments of startling beauty . . . half Tarantino and half pitch-black northern realism’ Guardian

‘A tremendously exciting novel . . . A brilliantly realized voice: Steve’s every utterance is the product of where he comes from . . . as blunt and brutal as the fells he works among’ Times Literary Supplement

‘A spiky, precisely focused novel with flavour, intensity, and oodles of character’ The Times

‘Preston’s debut arrives like a punch to the gut . . . This is an elemental tale shaded in tones of heroism, machismo, moral intensity, and mythmaking. It’s also a love song to the landscape . . . Gritty, gripping, and fearlessly committed’ Kirkus

‘A blistering debut . . . This dark and inspired tale pulses with life’ Publishers Weekly

‘Taught, intelligent and beautifully told’ M. J. Hyland

‘A startlingly original addition to the literature of northern England’ Ian McGuire

‘A powerful evocation of a landscape and a way of life’ Joseph Kanon

With foot and mouth disease spreading across the hills of Cumbria, emptying the valleys of sheep and filling the skies with smoke, two neighbouring shepherds lose everything and put aside their rivalry to join forces. They set their sights on a wealthy farm in the south with its flock of prize-winning animals. So begins the dark tale of Steve Elliman and William Herne.

Their sheep rustling leads to more and more difficult decisions, and Steve’s only distraction is his growing fascination with William’s enigmatic and independent wife, Helen. As their home comes under the sway of a lawless outsider, it is left to Steve to save himself and Helen in a savage conflict that threatens an ancient way of life.

Lyrical, cinematic and steeping in folklore, Scott Preston creates an uncompromising vision of farmers lost in brutal devotion to their flocks, the aching love affairs that men and women use to sustain themselves and the painful consequences of a breathtaking heist gone bad. The Borrowed Hills is a thrilling adventure that reimagines the American Western for the fells of northern England.


From the Publisher

'A sucker-punch of a novel' Guardian'A sucker-punch of a novel' Guardian

Everyone has a hill they'll die onEveryone has a hill they'll die on

'Evocative of Cormac McCarthy' Reader Review'Evocative of Cormac McCarthy' Reader Review

'Like a punch to the gut' Kirkus'Like a punch to the gut' Kirkus

'Brilliant. Bleak, funny and beautifully written' Reader Review'Brilliant. Bleak, funny and beautifully written' Reader Review

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CKYRSL2C
Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Murray (11 April 2024)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4770 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages

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