https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2020/07/202086-cottingley-alison-littlewood.html ( )

the book was a very good read. would definitely read it again. It was suspenseful and i liked that in books i read. ( )

The title of this novella, from NewCon Press’s second quartet of novellas, immediately signals what this story is about, who it is likely to feature, and what is likely to happen… Which means that when a writer uses a title that is, so to speak, a hostage to fortune, they’re going to have to work especially hard to confound expectations. Littlewood frames her story as epistolary, a series of letters between an invented character, Lawrence Fairclough, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or rather Doyle’s associate, a “Mr Gardner”. Fairclough describes how he and his granddaughter stumbled across a small group of fairies at a brook in a wood by their home. But these fairies are more like malevolent insects. When Fairclough finds the skull of one, typical fairy tricks such as souring milk and making food go off persuades his daughter to return the skull – and a fairy spits in one of her eyes, blinding it. The story, making many references to the fairies photographed by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, unfolds through several letters. We do not see Gardner’s letters and can only infer what he wrote from Fairclough’s replies. Fairclough has answers to all of Gardner’s questions – clearly he’s afraid it might be a hoax – but whatever evidence he has gathered disappears one by one (such as the skull). Cottingley suffers from the same problem as all epistolary novels: how to tell the story in a way that doesn’t read like reportage. Which means the letters don’t really read like letters. They’re too descriptive, there’s too much interiority, and they’re far too fixed on the theme of the novella. On the one hand, these quartets of novellas NewCon Press are publishing are handsome books; on the other, I’m not a fan of dark fantasy or horror, so I knew this particular quartet were unlikely to appeal to me. There’s still three to read, of course; and a fourth quartet being published even now – with novellas by Gary Gibson, Adam Roberts, Ricardo Pinto and Hal Duncan. ( )

This book is written entirely in letters, which is not a style that I enjoy. And while this didn't change my opinion on the writing device, I have to admit it was exceptionally well done. Especially considering it's not only letters, but only one side of a correspondence. Still, Littlewood managed to create a followable plot that didn't feel forced. The language is appropriate for the time period and the formality right for letters between two people who have never met. Really, I'm shocked to have liked it as much as I did. ( )

I love reading about fairies and this book did not disappoint. It was a very great read although only 4 stars as I had trouble reconciling with the ending. Truly an enjoyable book for any fantasy/fairy lovers. ( )