With winter firmly upon us, what could be better than a good novel to read as the nights draw in?
Francine Toon’s debut novel Pine presents us with a chilling, supernatural thriller set against the backdrop of a remote hamlet in the Scottish Highlands, where it is permanently raining, cold and bleak.
But the weather isn’t the only dreary thing about this novel. We are immediately thrown into the somewhat depressing world of 10-year-old Lauren and her troubled father Niall. We learn that Lauren’s mother Christine disappeared without a trace when Lauren was a baby and that Niall has been struggling to come to terms with this loss, using alcohol and poor parenting to get by.
Now an ethereal woman keeps appearing from the trees, presenting herself to people in the community, but yet only Lauren seems to be able to remember her. Others who have witnessed her forget almost immediately that she was ever there. What is the purpose of her presence? Does it spell danger for Lauren? Could it be something to do with her long, lost mother whom the villagers believed was a witch?
We join Lauren on a spiritual journey of discovery as she simultaneously deals with school bullies, a complex friendship with her best friend Billy and the neglectful, chaotic nature of her father.
Pine is an incredibly atmospheric book with striking imagery that feels so real. This combined with the haunting, supernatural elements of the book made it vivid and very unsettling. If gory, shocking horror is what you’re after then this book may leave you underwhelmed. For me though, the subtle, understated elements – such as the permanently leaky roof, a dog eared spell book, the glow of a Himalayan salt lamp – are what kept me on edge and made the book such compulsive reading.
It's hard to believe that this was a debut novel, such was the richness of Toon’s writing. At times the story itself seemed a little muddled and I felt that the ending was rather abrupt, but none of that really mattered when I consider how the book made me feel. I could almost trace the raindrops down the window of the school bus, smell the pine and feel the cold of the forest beneath my feet as I read this.
Truly the perfect book to read by candlelight underneath a cosy blanket this winter!
Review by Laura Fidell | Dec 2023 | Issue 1
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