Chloe McDermott

Unsettled Ground by Clare Fuller takes place in a small, rural village where twins Jeanie and Julius have their quiet life upturned and unravelled by their mother’s death. They attempt to navigate the strained reality of dealing with a loved one’s death while being completely out of money. At the same time secrets from their mothers past come bubbling up to the surface which reshapes their entire history and view of their mother.

The writer puts a lot of her focus into strong characterisation. It is to the point where the novel feels truly more like a character study. We see two different personalities deal with immense hardship and both perspectives feel painfully realistic and relatable. She also pays close attention to how she characterises side characters and antagonists throughout the novel. Nobody feels unbelievable or cartoonishly evil, which when dealing with some of the casual cruelty of this book can be an easy trap to fall into.

The writer often explores themes of being left behind by modernity and how it can link directly to poverty and social isolation. Ms. Fuller chooses to represent a poverty in rural areas of the UK, which is not often explored in the media. The atmosphere she creates throughout the novel brings you into the themes of dealing with death and poverty while surrounded by beauty. Like the cottage they live in for example is a picturesque thatch roof cottage but is slowly rotting away. Which in good representation of how sometimes something may look beautiful and put together can easily hide the sadness or humiliation behind a pretty mask.

Ms. Fuller often explores certain uncomfortable feelings and themes including how it feels to witness your life suddenly go from stable to entirely upended by a singular event. She explores how humiliating it is to go through these things where everybody knows you and pities you. The text is rich with anti-capitalist messaging, Fair-weather friends and the casual cruelty and humiliation we make the impoverished endure daily.

At times this book can be hard to get through. As you may imagine a book dealing with the harsh realities of life fresh off of dealing with grief was emotionally taxing. This book will definitely make you feel something that’s for sure. Yet, even when so much goes wrong for our protagonists there are key moments of warmth, understanding, redemption and hope.

I also really enjoyed how the books plot of the mother’s secrets coming out kept aligning with a major theme of the book in some way. Like her mother lying – by omission – about her declining health and wealth. As well, as other bigger secrets that get revealed in the later chapters of the book. They all come back to this theme of being surrounded by a picturesque façade. She drip feeds us the information as our main protagonists learn more about their mother, they have to open their eyes and take in the rot below the surface.

This book hits hard emotionally. The characters are interesting and complex – for the most part – and if you are like me, you will thoroughly get into it. Themes are rich and plentiful in this text, and the writer can be incredibly skilled at weaving these themes into the narrative. It is beautiful and haunting in equal measure. The only book close to this I have read in the past is ‘Nothing but Blue Sky’ by Kathleen MacMahaon which deals with similar themes. I am glad to see another book to deal with the isolating feelings of grief and have bittersweet moments of fleeting joy and hope stringing it together.

Overall, this book will hit you in the gut emotionally and at the same time enrich your understanding of its main themes. It’s thoughtful and more than worth your time.