Harvest Home: A Novel

This book was a delightful surprise, having chose it solely on its good reviews. I picked it up and couldn't put it down again. Harvest Home is set in the close knit farming village of Cornwall Coombe, a village that holds tight to tradition and the ways of old. When Ned, his Wife and Daughter, find their new home in the village, they are welcomed into the community and embraced by it's residents. But Cornwall Coombe holds secrets, secrets that are carefully protected from outsiders. When Ned's curiosity begins to get the better off him, he runs afoul of the local wise woman, The Widow Fortune. It is then he begins to comprehend the darker side of the 'Old Ways', and the lengths the Widow will go to to protect the village traditions. As a Pagan myself, reading about the old traditions of a community that relies entirely on the abundance of the harvest, really drew me in. In the modern day, these traditions are still upheld by many, albeit symbolically. So, I enjoyed reading about my own traditions and beliefs played out in real life. Maybe I am a bit biased, but by the end, I had firmly sided with the Widow, and the women of the Coombe. My thoughts were that the men,

Gripping story: begins with a mild introduction of the characters and their lives, proceeds with a subtle unfolding of a theme and reaches a crescendo of terrifying but satisfying proportions. Brought out the pagan in me.

I have 2 coppies of this book and the movie with Betty Davis is great. Love it