First published on Fri 7 May 2021 07.00 EDT
Sorrowlandby Rivers Solomon (#Merky, £12.99) is an exhilarating journey to the outer limits of science fiction, steeped in the southern gothic tradition and grounded in the physical and social realities of being poor, powerless, black and female in America. It begins with teenage Vern giving birth alone in the woods to twins she names Howling and Feral. She has escaped from Cainland, a religious compound ostensibly set up to allow black people to live free from white oppression, but with strict rules that make it a prison. She is determined her children will grow up truly free. Their life in the woods is hard, but also idyllic â unfeasibly so, but thereâs a reason for that, revealed when she makes an impossible escape from an armed stalker, and realises that her body is in a process of transformation. She is becoming superhumanly strong and quick, but there are other changes, physical and mental, which frighten her into return
THE world famous Cottingley Fairies hoax has inspired a chilling novel exploring post-natal depression. The Cottingley Cuckoo by Alison Littlewood (writing as AJ Elwood) is described as an eerie reimagining of the fairy photographs which fooled many people, including scientists and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in the early 20th century. Set in Cottingley, the novel is a gothic take on the darker side of motherhood and the terrifying impact of the mischievous fairies of Cottingley Beck through the years. Elwood interweaves a modern day setting with past events to create a story of mystery, fantasy, and psychological horror. Captivated by books and stories, Rose dreams of a life away from the care home where she works, until elderly resident Charlotte Favell offers an unexpected glimpse of enchantment. She keeps an old stack of letters about the Cottingley Fairies, which insist there is proof that they existed. Rose is eager to learn more, but Charlotte allows her to read onl