Fertile Ground by Sally Grey sees Clementine Finch return to her childhood home shortly before Christmas.
But this isn’t a chocolate box, family singing carols around a roast turkey with all the trimmings. This is a frighteningly believable dystopian future. In fact, it’s so believable that you could easily get a fair way through Fertile Ground and think it’s set in a modern day English village where things are far from normal.
First up is Clementine’s turbulent relationship with her younger brother and then the particularly unsettling bond with her recently deceased mother.
“I think, now, they must have been wondering why a child with severe burns to her feet had been left on her own. … Then his voice changed. ‘You really shouldn’t have been trying to use the kettle though, you’re a bit too young to make Mummy a cup of tea just yet.’
“I was confused. What kettle? What cup of tea? And why did his voice make it sound like it was my fault that Mother had filled the bath with boiling water? Only a shallow pool, but she stood me in it, held me there, only pulled me out when my feet and ankles had swirling patterns imprinted on them. I screamed so hard I was sick.”
And that’s before you even get to the highly productive kitchen garden in the dead of winter. Something weird is definitely going on.
What did I think of Fertile Ground?
Sally Grey’s writing is exquisite. With her highly descriptive and emotive language you’re transported right inside the crumbling Finch cottage. Not that you’d want to spend much time amongst its rats, mice, dead crows and life-taking garden shears. There is a wonderfully sinister atmosphere to this novel which pricks at the back of your neck.
Would I recommend this debut novel?
I thoroughly enjoyed Fertile Ground but hope to never find myself in Clementine’s shoes. But then again, after reading this fab novel I’d certainly have some tips and tricks on what to do. And the ending is great.
It’s a thumbs up from me. I’d certainly recommend Fertile Ground and I hope to see more from the highly talented Sally Grey. Enjoy.