Do you carry on conversations with yourself about a pending decision or personal encounter? Do you wonder what someone else is thinking? Interior dialogue – mine and others’ – fascinates me. It is something to savor when written well, and The Fell, by Sarah Moss, is a gem! Set during the early days of Covid, this novel explores the power of connections and the costs of isolation within a small community.
The single mother of a teenage son is exposed to the virus and must – by English law at the time – stay indoors for 10 days. Being a person who needs to move, to be outside, she is going stir-crazy. She convinces herself it cannot hurt to take a quick hike on the high moorland behind her home and tells no one because she intends to be back before dark.
As the novel unfolds, we learn the impact of that decision on her son, her neighbors, and members of a rescue team from each of their perspectives. We share her experience on the fell - her appreciation of the natural world and her realization of how precarious her situation is.
At once an adventure and a mystery, this novel portrays how ordinary people respond to the current pandemic with a collective turn inward and an appreciation for our connections.
The Fell reminded me of a favorite novel from a decade ago, The Spinning Heart by Ryan Donal (US publication by Steerforth Press, Hanover, NH). This portrait of an Irish village is painted by the varied and unique voices of its inhabitants, each with a chapter to relay their truth and understanding of life.
Liza Bernard is a voracious reader who enjoys both printed volumes and audiobooks. Formerly co-owner of the Norwich Bookstore, she maintains her connections with readers and writers as the Programming and Marketing Librarian at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock, Vermont.