The Gifts: The captivating historical fiction novel - for fans of THE BINDING

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Impressive… A celebration of female solidarity, it's brimful of historical detail and beautifully written." ― Sunday Express Magazine (UK) I see that some people love this book but it is not for me and I think the synopsis needs rewriting to make it more accurate and it definitely needs Content Warnings.

I fell in love with ‘The Gifts’ from the opening in the Shropshire woods through to its dramatic conclusion. I found Liz Hyder’s writing beautiful and loved the imagery of these mysterious transformations. The challenge- the biggest one for me is the animal abuse. It was in the vein of scientific research and had only short descriptions but they were abhorrent to me and I’m very sensitive to this content. It did fit in with the storyline somewhat but was very unexpected by me. I hope it encourages other people to take more risks in terms of what they write and also what is published, because it is an unusual book,” says Hyder. Thank you so much Liz for your story. And to the publisher, Zaffre Books for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.I devoured The Gifts, eager to find out the fate of its wonderfully drawn characters. A wonderful, atmospheric book that immersed me in the dirty streets of nineteenth century London and swept me away to the hills of Shropshire. A real gem." ―Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City and Miss Aldridge Regrets My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Gifts”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. She had left the mine feeling “so angry and upset about it, the brutality of it, the rawness. It is awful. It’s real, extraordinary exploitation, and it’s a fact that kids are still working in mines now around the world. It’s not gone away.” The unique plot, combining historical fiction and magical realism in a literary writing style. When it comes to magical realism, over-explaining kills the fun. The author reveals just enough details to keep us invested, but doesn’t explain/justify the reasons for the fantastical elements. This keeps the magic alive.

Brimming with historical detail and beautifully written, the soulful prose soars. It's an insightful mysterious read celebrating female friendship and solidarity." — Daily Express (UK) I have a lot to say about this book but I also want to keep it all to myself. I read an advance copy that the publisher kindly sent me and if it’s affected me in it’s unfinished state, the finished copy (complete with illustrations!! Eeek!!) is guaranteed to be a marvel. I cannot wait to see it!Hyder, who also works as a PR consultant, says: “It’s the seventh book I’ve written, and the first to get published. I don’t feel any of the books before it are worth revisiting – the gap between the one before and Bearmouth is massive. I just thought, you know what? I’m never going to get published, so I’m just going to write absolutely what I want to write. I wrote it completely from the heart. I cried quite a lot when I wrote it. It was very intense.”

After a year of reading the horrific stories of the very young children who were sent down mines, this time in England, she wrote Bearmouth in four weeks. In her dystopia, children are sent down the mines as young as four, and live and work there, sending money to their families on the surface, hoping “the Mayker” will reward them in the next life. I enjoyed seeing the scenes from five different points of view, four of which were women. The third person narration ensures that the proceeding is somewhat easy. However, five perspectives automatically means plenty of characters and, as the story progresses, plenty of interconnections as well. It takes some time to remember who is who. Moreover, the switch in character perspectives sometimes happens too often. Though this isn’t too confusing because of the third person, it takes some time to get attuned to. October 1840. A young woman staggers alone through a forest in Shropshire as a huge pair of impossible wings rip themselves from her shoulders’. I’d defy anyone reading The Gifts not to feel a wide range of emotions. I encountered sorrow, elation, determination and a considerable desire to commit violence! The Gifts was an astonishing book to start the year off with. Honestly, I am absolutely blown away by Liz Hyder’s magical, immersive and compelling novel.While I enjoyed the overall theme, some of the details in the story were just not my cup of tea. There was a magical realism element that I loved but it wasn’t ever explained, unless I missed it, so while it was cool, it just didn’t make any sense as to why or how. October 1840. A young woman staggers alone and frightened, running for her life through a forest in Shropshire as something impossible begins to happen: a huge pair of wings that should only belong to those above us rip from her shoulders creating something that surely cannot be real amongst mere mortals.