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Loading... The Wind Eyeby Robert Westall
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Belongs to Publisher SeriesPeacock Books (129) AwardsNotable Lists
A family holiday near the Farne Islands on the coast of Northumberland starts with the usual rows, especially when Madeleine steps on St Cuthbert's tomb in Durham Cathedral. The children feel as if the saint's eyes are watching them. Waiting for them at their house is a strange boat - known locally to belong to St Cuthbert. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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They have not been at the beach house for long when strange things occur centred around a man who appears at night and seems to be luring the youngest girl from the house. But first there is the discovery of an ancient boat in the boathouse, which has the ability to take its passengers back into the past, into the period when Cuthbert was alive.
I quite enjoyed the story and found the characters fairly realistic with their tensions, squabbling and hangups. Interestingly, at the start the mother is the unsympathetic character and the father seems the nice one, but part way through they flip over. The father's flaws become all too visible.
Knowing something about Saint Cuthbert, this was quite an interesting take on his character although one thing jarred: his tomb would not have been a simple slab. The original one was a raised gold and jewel encrusted shrine - it formed an important place of pilgrimage until the Reformation at which point the shrine was broken up and the valuables pocketed by the officials of King Henry VIII. The simple slab is a modern replacement, so the guide's story about the saint miraculously carving the name in the floor just as it is seen by them is completely wrong, and no one in the story suggests he is talking rubbish so that came over as a clunking mistake, early on in the book. However I was able to suspend disbelief afterwards although I don't know how accurate the portrayal of Cuthbert and his circumstances actually was. I rate this story as a 3-star quite interesting read. ( )