Witch Bottle by Tom Fletcher is a very mundane story featuring ghosts, a giant, and a witch. And of course a milkman.
Location: near the A595 in Cumbria in the UK
Witch Bottle synopsis
Daniel once had a baby brother, but he died, a long time ago now. And he had a wife and a daughter, but that didn’t work out, so now he’s alone. The easy monotony of his job as a milkman in the remote northwest of England demands nothing from him other than dealing with unreasonable customer demands and the vagaries of his enigmatic boss.
But things are changing. Daniel’s started having nightmares, seeing things that can’t possibly be there – like the naked, emaciated giant with a black bag over its head which is so real he swears he could touch it . . . if he dared.
It’s not just at night bad things are happening, either, or just to him. Shaken and unnerved, he opens up to a local witch. She can’t discern the origins of his haunting, but she can provide him with a protective ward – a witch bottle – if, in return, he will deliver her products on his rounds.
But not everyone’s happy to find people meddling with witch bottles. Things are about to get very unpleasant . . .
Book review
How a small thing like chatting with a lonely person can brighten up someone’s day. When you give them the chance to talk about their problems, you might even help them by becoming the middleman between the ward maker and the one visited by unwanted nocturnal guests. In that sense, milkman Daniel does a far better job than those who turn a blind eye to all the terrible things happening in the world.
The opening scene had me hooked: what am I reading? Where can I open a window to watch that giant? It is the perfect teaser for what’s to come later in the book. There’s also a more symbolic role for the giant (monster) in the story. Past experiences can linger with you for a long time, eating you from within, until they bring the worst out in you and those around you. So, who is the actual monster, the giant or the human?
With every chapter you learn about another part of Daniel’s life, be it a story from the past, the introduction of an acquaintance, or a continuation of the present. The now is the most interesting as this is where the giant and the witch live. All these memories from the past serve a purpose but make for a slow first half of the book. Then out of nowhere, the witch bottle makes its entrance. Something is happening in Cumbria, and by page 100 you know it and they know it.
Every chapter ends with an anticlimactic sentence to end the scene, killing the action and any further thoughts, almost as if the Witch Bottle is a theater piece. Because of this, the book feels more like a collection of anecdotes and encounters held together by what’s going on in the area. Witch Bottle by Tom Fletcher is an interesting book to read, though not as suspenseful as the synopsis suggests. It is, as advertised, a “deeply atmospheric literary horror novel”.
I’m still not sure whether I like the ending. To me, it felt like the stories and troubles of the farmers – my favorite part of the book – were left behind in favor of finishing the bigger story. The supporting cast felt more like real people, while Bean, Ryan, and Graham were not as interesting. Kathryn’s story seems unfinished as well, even more because some of the chapters were written from her perspective. I would have thought she would be more on top of things. On the other hand, Daniel stayed true to his personality until the end.
Interested?
Pre-order your copy of Witch Bottle from Amazon (available 26 November 2020).
Many thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
