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Ormeshadow
Acclaimed author Priya Sharma transports readers back in time with Ormeshadow, a coming-of-age story as dark and rich as good soil.
Burning with resentment and intrigue, this fantastical family drama invites readers to dig up the secrets of the Belman family, and wonder whether myths and legends are real enough to answer for a history of sin.
Uprooted from Bath by his father's failures, Gideon Belman finds himself stranded on Ormeshadow farm, an ancient place of chalk and ash and shadow. The land crests the Orme, a buried, sleeping dragon that dreams resentment, jealousy, estrangement, death. Or so the folklore says. Growing up in a house that hates him, Gideon finds his only comforts in the land. Gideon will live or die by the Orme, as all his family has.
Burning with resentment and intrigue, this fantastical family drama invites readers to dig up the secrets of the Belman family, and wonder whether myths and legends are real enough to answer for a history of sin.
Uprooted from Bath by his father's failures, Gideon Belman finds himself stranded on Ormeshadow farm, an ancient place of chalk and ash and shadow. The land crests the Orme, a buried, sleeping dragon that dreams resentment, jealousy, estrangement, death. Or so the folklore says. Growing up in a house that hates him, Gideon finds his only comforts in the land. Gideon will live or die by the Orme, as all his family has.
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 16, 2019
39 people are currently reading
2,521 people want to read
About the author
Priya Sharma
138books234followersPriya Sharma’s fiction has appeared venues such as Interzone, Black Static, Nightmare, The Dark and Tor. “Fabulous Beasts� was a Shirley Jackson Award finalist and won a British Fantasy Award for Short Fiction. Priya is a Shirley Jackson Award and British Fantasy Award winner, and Locus Award finalist, for “All the Fabulous Beasts�, a collection of her some of her work, available from Undertow Publications.
“Ormeshadow�, her first novella (available from Tor), won a Shirley Jackson Award and a British Fantasy Award. It was a 2022 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire finalist.
"Pomegranates", her second novella (from Absinthe, an imprint of PS Publishing) is a Shirley Jackson Award, British Fantasy Award finalist and won a World Fantasy Award.
Her stories have been translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, and Polish.
“Ormeshadow�, her first novella (available from Tor), won a Shirley Jackson Award and a British Fantasy Award. It was a 2022 Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire finalist.
"Pomegranates", her second novella (from Absinthe, an imprint of PS Publishing) is a Shirley Jackson Award, British Fantasy Award finalist and won a World Fantasy Award.
Her stories have been translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, and Polish.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
August 26, 2019
HELLO, THIS BOOK WAS GORGEOUS AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND DARK AND ACHY AND IT WAS NOT FOR ME.
This book is for people who liked Wuthering Heights--who love books about horrible people brooding on moors and everything being awful. But in a beautiful way. I love dark and achy, but bleak isn't my thing, and Ormeshadow has bleak down to an art.
The prose is absolutely gorgeous, graceful and flowing from one chapter--vignette?--to the next with a lyrical darkness I've rarely experienced outside of books written in the 1800s. The slow, delicious reveal of characters and their true natures, the peeling back of layers until you see the rot beneath the floorboards is so well done. The mist and atmosphere, the haunting legacy of this family, their village, and their drama absolutely permeate the soul, and this book eats at the mind to make you think about these characters and why they are the way they are.
It's small and dark and unhappy, atmospheric and aching, and though family drama isn't my thing and the Wuthering Heights vibe was real, I...didn't hate this book? I really didn't. Which is shocking, to be honest.
This book is for people who liked Wuthering Heights--who love books about horrible people brooding on moors and everything being awful. But in a beautiful way. I love dark and achy, but bleak isn't my thing, and Ormeshadow has bleak down to an art.
The prose is absolutely gorgeous, graceful and flowing from one chapter--vignette?--to the next with a lyrical darkness I've rarely experienced outside of books written in the 1800s. The slow, delicious reveal of characters and their true natures, the peeling back of layers until you see the rot beneath the floorboards is so well done. The mist and atmosphere, the haunting legacy of this family, their village, and their drama absolutely permeate the soul, and this book eats at the mind to make you think about these characters and why they are the way they are.
It's small and dark and unhappy, atmospheric and aching, and though family drama isn't my thing and the Wuthering Heights vibe was real, I...didn't hate this book? I really didn't. Which is shocking, to be honest.
July 13, 2020
Update 13 July 2020: Best Novella, Shirley Jackson Awards (2019)
This is another one of those incredible Tor Publishing novellas that not only introduced me to a wonderful writer, but which also took me completely by surprise. I went into this cold, and had no idea even that it was a version of high fantasy.
Publishers Weekly comments that it “reads like an old-fashioned idyll of rural life in Georgian England.� With so much contemporary fantasy, and SF as well, harping on complexity and darkness as their main ingredients, it is so refreshing to read something as simple and as beautiful as Ormeshadow.
The Belman family relocates from Bath, England to the rural community of Ormeshadow, where Gideon’s father has a stake in a sheep farm, together with his brother and their family. Gideon’s father tells him a legend about a dragon settling on the Orme, and eventually becoming part of the landscape in its dreaming slumber.
One of Gideon’s ancestors determined the family legacy when he told the creature, the sole survivor of a great war between the dragons: “Then I will keep you safe and tell my sons to tell their sons, and their sons� sons and so on, that here lies a dragon and the Bellamanses must always shelter her and be there for her when she wakes from dreaming.�
A certain tragic event starts a chain reaction of events that quickly spirals into wonder and terror. Despite this being such a short book, the characters are so well-rounded, and the world they inhabit so lovingly depicted, it makes for a truly incredible reading experience in which the reader is fully invested right until the end.
Sharma’s writing is simply beautiful. Lyrical and evocative, she gives equal measure to each and every single character, down to even the hunting dogs that Thomas owns. Unlike high fantasy, there is much hardship and cruelty in the rural world that the Belmans find themselves transplanted to, and Sharma makes no bones about this. There are some truly horrific scenes here. But then there is also beauty and redemption.
“Dragons aren’t real.�
“Are you sure?�
In Bath there was lamplight and street theatre. There had been the great house with a library where his father worked for the old man. Living in Bath it was easy not to believe in dragons.
This is another one of those incredible Tor Publishing novellas that not only introduced me to a wonderful writer, but which also took me completely by surprise. I went into this cold, and had no idea even that it was a version of high fantasy.
Publishers Weekly comments that it “reads like an old-fashioned idyll of rural life in Georgian England.� With so much contemporary fantasy, and SF as well, harping on complexity and darkness as their main ingredients, it is so refreshing to read something as simple and as beautiful as Ormeshadow.
The Belman family relocates from Bath, England to the rural community of Ormeshadow, where Gideon’s father has a stake in a sheep farm, together with his brother and their family. Gideon’s father tells him a legend about a dragon settling on the Orme, and eventually becoming part of the landscape in its dreaming slumber.
One of Gideon’s ancestors determined the family legacy when he told the creature, the sole survivor of a great war between the dragons: “Then I will keep you safe and tell my sons to tell their sons, and their sons� sons and so on, that here lies a dragon and the Bellamanses must always shelter her and be there for her when she wakes from dreaming.�
A certain tragic event starts a chain reaction of events that quickly spirals into wonder and terror. Despite this being such a short book, the characters are so well-rounded, and the world they inhabit so lovingly depicted, it makes for a truly incredible reading experience in which the reader is fully invested right until the end.
Sharma’s writing is simply beautiful. Lyrical and evocative, she gives equal measure to each and every single character, down to even the hunting dogs that Thomas owns. Unlike high fantasy, there is much hardship and cruelty in the rural world that the Belmans find themselves transplanted to, and Sharma makes no bones about this. There are some truly horrific scenes here. But then there is also beauty and redemption.
“Dragons aren’t real.�
“Are you sure?�
In Bath there was lamplight and street theatre. There had been the great house with a library where his father worked for the old man. Living in Bath it was easy not to believe in dragons.
August 20, 2024
WAAAAAAAAAAANT
THIS.
THIS.
Read
March 24, 2020
18/3/20
You knew and you still left me with them.
I just finished reading Ormeshadow what a splendid, magical and heartbreaking tale. Set in a sea-side town, this coming-of-age story centres around Gideon Belman. As a young child and the son of a secretary his life in Bath gets uprooted by his father's failures. He and his parents eventually find themselves on Ormesleep Farm, where the land crests the Orme, an ancient dragon vast asleep, waiting to rise again. You as the reader get to read between the lines and figure out the complex relations within the Belman family as you wait for Gideon to understand the true nature of the travesties that have transpired in his short life. Funny enough, I thought the book would be centred around dragons, but the true magic of this story lies in the Belman family's history and lore.
17/3/20
Got this the other day! Have had this book on my radar for a couple of months now :D
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February 22, 2020A very bleak Victorianish story in the style of Thomas Hardy at his most depressing. 1800s. Man returns to his family farm with his wife and son to live with his brother, wife and kids. Tragedy, cruelty, adultery, misery, and abuse follow, along with a story of the dragon that lives under the land.
It's a compelling read, but not an enjoyable one unless you like Hardy and Bronte gothic, in which case you will have a marvellous time. There's some fairly grim attitudes to women on display which are the time, not the author: these are clearly abused women warped by that abuse. Not exactly horror, but certainly domestic horror. Very good on its own terms, if not my cup of tea. (I am firmly at the Cold Comfort Farm end of this genre.)
It's a compelling read, but not an enjoyable one unless you like Hardy and Bronte gothic, in which case you will have a marvellous time. There's some fairly grim attitudes to women on display which are the time, not the author: these are clearly abused women warped by that abuse. Not exactly horror, but certainly domestic horror. Very good on its own terms, if not my cup of tea. (I am firmly at the Cold Comfort Farm end of this genre.)
November 19, 2019
Not using ŷ to the extent I once was but wanted to pop over and leave a review and rating for this fabulously bleak little Gothic novella.
I'm a bit biased at this point, as Sharma is one of my favorite active writers, but this flipped all my usual switches. If you're looking for something short and not-sweet, simmering with emotion and jealousy and atmospherically dismal moors, here's your thing!
I'm a bit biased at this point, as Sharma is one of my favorite active writers, but this flipped all my usual switches. If you're looking for something short and not-sweet, simmering with emotion and jealousy and atmospherically dismal moors, here's your thing!
March 19, 2020
Read this review and hundreds more at .
Priya Sharma’s Ormeshadow overflows with dark family secrets, generations of lore, and tragedy. Sharma has a knack for pitting characters against one another with beautifully selected words. Ormeshadow reads like a wood-carving: Sharma removes all the excess material and presents a pristine, sharp product that feels at once succinct and sprawling.
Gideon Belman’s life completely changes when his father, John, ushers the family to Ormeshadow farm on the heels of his failure as a scholar in Bath. The land rests near the Orme–a sleeping dragon, as legend puts it, upon whose back the land has grown. John regales young Gideon with tales of the dragon and his family’s inextricable ties to it. John’s wife, Clare, tolerates the stories. Ormeshadow is tended by John’s brother Thomas, a rugged farmhand supported by his wife Maud, his boys Peter and Samuel, and his daughter Charity. The reunion dredges up years of resentment and hatred, and Gideon is thrust against his wishes into a life that seems intent on dragging him into madness and cruelty.
A true novella, Ormeshadow reads at a brisk pace, following Gideon’s life after the move and skipping years of time. Sharma’s chapters are snapshots in time, and the blanks she leaves can be easily filled in by imaginative readers. It’s almost like a series of vignettes, each serving a simple purpose: to tell us how Gideon has coped with the innumerable tragedies that befall him in Ormeshadow. The short length serves to better the book by quickly leading the reader to new, darker territory with every turn of the page.
The plot itself could be described as predictable (and probably has been described that way by some). However, when a predictable plot point was finally revealed, I felt spurred on by it, rather than hindered. Sharma’s characters are so believable that I became ravenous for more detail. To experience the characters dealing with their struggles is the heart of the story. Moments of realization and heartbreak abound, but they’re overshadowed by the subtler character moments that follow. Peppered throughout the book are the stories of the Orme and how it came to be. These stories lend mystical context to the modern-day goings-on in the tale, and they’re the cherry on top of the Sharma’s prosaic cake.
All that said, if you read Ormeshadow for any reason, let it be the prose. Sharma writes with a lyricism and brevity reminiscent of McCarthy’s The Road. She says what must be said, and she does it with remarkable verbal grace. Simple, accessible, and beautiful descriptions lie on every page, and it’s a wonder to behold.
Stories of the Orme and legends of the Belman family give Ormeshadow a distinct mystical bent, as I mentioned above. These, presumably, are the reason for the novella’s “Dark Fantasy� genre-billing. I bring this up because, unless you sensationally interpret the story’s final moments, Ormeshadow is more of a dark realism story. It’s replete with family drama, plenty of lore, and a dash of mystery, but the fantasy elements are minimal. This doesn’t detract from the book’s quality at all. Instead, it’s a fair warning to readers seeking a grim fantasy tale. This novella may not satisfy that particular craving, but it is worth your time.
Priya Sharma’s novella bursts with character and flawless prose. She weaves a tale of family intrigue, dark pasts, and overcoming adversity. For such a quick read, Ormeshadow packs a hell of a punch.
Priya Sharma’s Ormeshadow overflows with dark family secrets, generations of lore, and tragedy. Sharma has a knack for pitting characters against one another with beautifully selected words. Ormeshadow reads like a wood-carving: Sharma removes all the excess material and presents a pristine, sharp product that feels at once succinct and sprawling.
Gideon Belman’s life completely changes when his father, John, ushers the family to Ormeshadow farm on the heels of his failure as a scholar in Bath. The land rests near the Orme–a sleeping dragon, as legend puts it, upon whose back the land has grown. John regales young Gideon with tales of the dragon and his family’s inextricable ties to it. John’s wife, Clare, tolerates the stories. Ormeshadow is tended by John’s brother Thomas, a rugged farmhand supported by his wife Maud, his boys Peter and Samuel, and his daughter Charity. The reunion dredges up years of resentment and hatred, and Gideon is thrust against his wishes into a life that seems intent on dragging him into madness and cruelty.
A true novella, Ormeshadow reads at a brisk pace, following Gideon’s life after the move and skipping years of time. Sharma’s chapters are snapshots in time, and the blanks she leaves can be easily filled in by imaginative readers. It’s almost like a series of vignettes, each serving a simple purpose: to tell us how Gideon has coped with the innumerable tragedies that befall him in Ormeshadow. The short length serves to better the book by quickly leading the reader to new, darker territory with every turn of the page.
The plot itself could be described as predictable (and probably has been described that way by some). However, when a predictable plot point was finally revealed, I felt spurred on by it, rather than hindered. Sharma’s characters are so believable that I became ravenous for more detail. To experience the characters dealing with their struggles is the heart of the story. Moments of realization and heartbreak abound, but they’re overshadowed by the subtler character moments that follow. Peppered throughout the book are the stories of the Orme and how it came to be. These stories lend mystical context to the modern-day goings-on in the tale, and they’re the cherry on top of the Sharma’s prosaic cake.
All that said, if you read Ormeshadow for any reason, let it be the prose. Sharma writes with a lyricism and brevity reminiscent of McCarthy’s The Road. She says what must be said, and she does it with remarkable verbal grace. Simple, accessible, and beautiful descriptions lie on every page, and it’s a wonder to behold.
Stories of the Orme and legends of the Belman family give Ormeshadow a distinct mystical bent, as I mentioned above. These, presumably, are the reason for the novella’s “Dark Fantasy� genre-billing. I bring this up because, unless you sensationally interpret the story’s final moments, Ormeshadow is more of a dark realism story. It’s replete with family drama, plenty of lore, and a dash of mystery, but the fantasy elements are minimal. This doesn’t detract from the book’s quality at all. Instead, it’s a fair warning to readers seeking a grim fantasy tale. This novella may not satisfy that particular craving, but it is worth your time.
Priya Sharma’s novella bursts with character and flawless prose. She weaves a tale of family intrigue, dark pasts, and overcoming adversity. For such a quick read, Ormeshadow packs a hell of a punch.
February 1, 2020
A historical farming family drama with background notes of constructed mythology. A coming of age story in which a young man realises his family are shits and that he really is as naive as his horrible uncle says he is.
This is one of those reads it's hard for me to rate. I didn't enjoy it at all, but there's nothing wrong with it per se - it's just not quite what I expected, and not my cup of tea. It is a cup of tea, though, and some of you may enjoy drinking it.
That said, I specifically didn't like the ending. It feels too easy a resolution and narratively unearned ().
Do not expect: magical realism, fantasy elements, any surprises
Do expect: a historical tale played more or less straight, bullying, god-awful families, and occasional Hardy or Poldark moments such as the brilliant sheep-shearing scene or Gideon's discomfort at his uncle stripping off in the kitchen
On the one hand, I sort of feel that if this might have worked for me as a novel where there'd be more to sink my teeth into (depth of character, nuance, atmosphere). On the other hand, if it were longer I wouldn't have finished it as I didn't enjoy the prose style.
2.5 stars
This is one of those reads it's hard for me to rate. I didn't enjoy it at all, but there's nothing wrong with it per se - it's just not quite what I expected, and not my cup of tea. It is a cup of tea, though, and some of you may enjoy drinking it.
That said, I specifically didn't like the ending. It feels too easy a resolution and narratively unearned ().
Do not expect: magical realism, fantasy elements, any surprises
Do expect: a historical tale played more or less straight, bullying, god-awful families, and occasional Hardy or Poldark moments such as the brilliant sheep-shearing scene or Gideon's discomfort at his uncle stripping off in the kitchen
On the one hand, I sort of feel that if this might have worked for me as a novel where there'd be more to sink my teeth into (depth of character, nuance, atmosphere). On the other hand, if it were longer I wouldn't have finished it as I didn't enjoy the prose style.
2.5 stars
December 16, 2019
I'm so happy I took a chance on this novella. After seeing and finding out it was a coming of age story with dragons, I had to have it.
The dragon elements are light in Ormeshadow, but they are so beautifully done. Ormeshadow is a dark, folklore kind of fantasy story, but also beautiful and heartbreaking. There was the perfect amount of darkness balanced by the perfect amount of imagination.
Priya Sharma is now an autobuy author for me. I must have more of her stories.
The dragon elements are light in Ormeshadow, but they are so beautifully done. Ormeshadow is a dark, folklore kind of fantasy story, but also beautiful and heartbreaking. There was the perfect amount of darkness balanced by the perfect amount of imagination.
Priya Sharma is now an autobuy author for me. I must have more of her stories.
February 19, 2020
Ormeshadow is an atmospheric treat that you can devour in a single sitting. A story of dragons, legends & the shadows in families. This has whispers of fantasy but is grounded in the bleak Victorian England countryside. Gideon's tale isn't necessarily a happy one but Sharma weaves an engrossing tale that's hard to pull yourself away from.
"The Orme slept for hundreds of years. Grass grew along her back. Most people forgot her. A village sprung up in her shadow and still she sleeps on."
September 26, 2019
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The nitty-gritty: A short but powerful tale of the dark emotional lives of a family, Ormeshadow is an exceptional novella with the promise of magic just around the corner.
I had no idea what to expect when I started Ormeshadow , but I have to say this was a surprise of the best kind. Priya Sharma has written a dark and dangerous family drama with just a touch of fantasy. The story is set in an unidentified time period (think Wuthering Heights ) that feels like the early 1800s, perhaps, and takes place in a small English village called Ormeshadow.
Young Gideon Belman and his family have left their comfortable life in Bath and are headed to Ormesleep Farm to live with Gideon’s uncle Thomas and his family. Gideon isn’t told the reason for the move, but it has something to do with his father’s job at the university. John Belman is eager to help Thomas on his sheep farm, but Gideon and his mother Clare are bitter about having to leave their home to live with strangers. When they arrive, they are greeted warmly by Thomas� wife Maud, but Thomas turns out to be a hard and unfriendly man whose violent nature seethes just below the surface.
Gideon and his parents slowly adapt to the harsh farm life, and Gideon’s only joyful moments are the times when his father takes him out to the Orme, the large outcropping of rocks that overlooks the bay, and tells him stories about the sleeping dragon who lives in the earth. According to John, the Orme is actually a dragon who, hundreds of years ago, flew down into the waters of the bay to cool off and fell asleep. She turned to rock, and trees and brush grew around her. John tells Gideon that it’s their responsibility to watch over the Orme until she awakens. Gideon doesn’t necessarily believe the stories, but he loves spending time with his father, away from the grim realities of the farm.
But one day, tragedy strikes, and Gideon’s life will never be the same again. His only hope for happiness is to search for the truth in his father's stories, and to discover once and for all if the Orme is real.
If you are intrigued by stories that excel in character development and “slice of life� vignettes, then you’ll love Ormeshadow . The format is a bit unusual. It’s divided up into short, titled chapters that are almost individual stories themselves, yet each is seamlessly woven together to form a whole. Sharma focuses on big and small moments that happen on the farm between family members, and even though some of these moments seemed insignificant at the time, I found each to be profoundly important by the end of the book.
Sharma’s tale is a claustrophobic one, full of darkness punctuated only by candlelight at night and a cold sun during the day. Ormeshadow sits near the cliffs, and harsh winds, muddy fields and uneven, rocky ground lie in wait to make the characters� lives miserable. Even worse is the anger and jealousy that simmers between the characters, ready to explode at any moment. These emotions were palpable, and I loved reading a story where the thing that made me keep turning pages wasn’t exciting action, but the terror of seeing just what these characters were capable of. There’s an unsettling feeling of isolation and being trapped, and I felt for Gideon and his mother, who have no way out of their situation.
As for the characters, I loved the relationship between John and Gideon the most. John hasn’t been dealt the best hand in life, but he loves his family and he’ll do anything to make the best of a bad situation. He’s a born storyteller, and I adored the moments where he weaves his magical tales, passing down stories that his father told him. But his kindness is almost negated by his brother Thomas, a horrible man who demands obedience from both his farm dogs and his family. He encourages fist fighting between his own sons and Gideon, and all the boys end up bloody at one time or another. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to kill a character more than I wanted to kill Thomas!
The fantasy element I mentioned is subtle, and honestly, I’m still not sure I understand what happened at the end of the story. But Sharma’s gorgeous writing seduced me and made me desperate to believe that the implied magic was real. In any case, I loved the way everything comes full circle at the end—and when you read Ormeshadow you’ll understand what I mean. This is a powerful story told by a master storyteller, and I cannot wait to see what Priya Sharma writes next.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Trigger warning for animal violence.
I had no idea what to expect when I started Ormeshadow , but I have to say this was a surprise of the best kind. Priya Sharma has written a dark and dangerous family drama with just a touch of fantasy. The story is set in an unidentified time period (think Wuthering Heights ) that feels like the early 1800s, perhaps, and takes place in a small English village called Ormeshadow.
Young Gideon Belman and his family have left their comfortable life in Bath and are headed to Ormesleep Farm to live with Gideon’s uncle Thomas and his family. Gideon isn’t told the reason for the move, but it has something to do with his father’s job at the university. John Belman is eager to help Thomas on his sheep farm, but Gideon and his mother Clare are bitter about having to leave their home to live with strangers. When they arrive, they are greeted warmly by Thomas� wife Maud, but Thomas turns out to be a hard and unfriendly man whose violent nature seethes just below the surface.
Gideon and his parents slowly adapt to the harsh farm life, and Gideon’s only joyful moments are the times when his father takes him out to the Orme, the large outcropping of rocks that overlooks the bay, and tells him stories about the sleeping dragon who lives in the earth. According to John, the Orme is actually a dragon who, hundreds of years ago, flew down into the waters of the bay to cool off and fell asleep. She turned to rock, and trees and brush grew around her. John tells Gideon that it’s their responsibility to watch over the Orme until she awakens. Gideon doesn’t necessarily believe the stories, but he loves spending time with his father, away from the grim realities of the farm.
But one day, tragedy strikes, and Gideon’s life will never be the same again. His only hope for happiness is to search for the truth in his father's stories, and to discover once and for all if the Orme is real.
If you are intrigued by stories that excel in character development and “slice of life� vignettes, then you’ll love Ormeshadow . The format is a bit unusual. It’s divided up into short, titled chapters that are almost individual stories themselves, yet each is seamlessly woven together to form a whole. Sharma focuses on big and small moments that happen on the farm between family members, and even though some of these moments seemed insignificant at the time, I found each to be profoundly important by the end of the book.
Sharma’s tale is a claustrophobic one, full of darkness punctuated only by candlelight at night and a cold sun during the day. Ormeshadow sits near the cliffs, and harsh winds, muddy fields and uneven, rocky ground lie in wait to make the characters� lives miserable. Even worse is the anger and jealousy that simmers between the characters, ready to explode at any moment. These emotions were palpable, and I loved reading a story where the thing that made me keep turning pages wasn’t exciting action, but the terror of seeing just what these characters were capable of. There’s an unsettling feeling of isolation and being trapped, and I felt for Gideon and his mother, who have no way out of their situation.
As for the characters, I loved the relationship between John and Gideon the most. John hasn’t been dealt the best hand in life, but he loves his family and he’ll do anything to make the best of a bad situation. He’s a born storyteller, and I adored the moments where he weaves his magical tales, passing down stories that his father told him. But his kindness is almost negated by his brother Thomas, a horrible man who demands obedience from both his farm dogs and his family. He encourages fist fighting between his own sons and Gideon, and all the boys end up bloody at one time or another. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to kill a character more than I wanted to kill Thomas!
The fantasy element I mentioned is subtle, and honestly, I’m still not sure I understand what happened at the end of the story. But Sharma’s gorgeous writing seduced me and made me desperate to believe that the implied magic was real. In any case, I loved the way everything comes full circle at the end—and when you read Ormeshadow you’ll understand what I mean. This is a powerful story told by a master storyteller, and I cannot wait to see what Priya Sharma writes next.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
Trigger warning for animal violence.
January 20, 2020
Dark and atmospheric, Ormeshadow is an gothic family drama simmering with emotions.
Set in the early 1800s, the story revolves around Gideon Belman as he moves with his parents to live in his uncle's house in Ormeshadow, a village named after a sleeping dragon.
Priya Sharma's writing is beautiful, and excels at creating the bleak atmosphere that permeates this novella. The chapters are titled rather than numbered, and each functions almost as a short story; impactful and seemingly unimportant moments in Gideon's life are woven together to form a tapestry of misery, anger, envy, resentment and loneliness. These emotions color the entire novella, prompting us to see the land, described as lush and fertile, through Gideon's eyes: desolate, hostile, devoid of love - a place that feels more like a prison than a home.
The fantasy elements are very light, relegated to myth and folklore. And yet, I was holding my breath the entire novella, fascinated by the promise of magic and violence hiding just below the surface, ready to reveal itself and explode at any moment.
The only underwhelming aspect of this short book was its characters; other than Gideon and Thomas, they felt hollow and one-dimensional. The treatment of the female characters in particular made me uncomfortable. It may have been a social commentary on the inequalities of the time, but it only succeeded in delivering the dubious moral that a woman being honest and shameless about her desires should be punished.
All in all, Ormeshadow is an elegantly written, delightfully dark and morose tale that falls just a little short in its characterization. I will definitely read more of Priya Sharma's works in the future, starting with her collection of short stories.
Set in the early 1800s, the story revolves around Gideon Belman as he moves with his parents to live in his uncle's house in Ormeshadow, a village named after a sleeping dragon.
Priya Sharma's writing is beautiful, and excels at creating the bleak atmosphere that permeates this novella. The chapters are titled rather than numbered, and each functions almost as a short story; impactful and seemingly unimportant moments in Gideon's life are woven together to form a tapestry of misery, anger, envy, resentment and loneliness. These emotions color the entire novella, prompting us to see the land, described as lush and fertile, through Gideon's eyes: desolate, hostile, devoid of love - a place that feels more like a prison than a home.
The fantasy elements are very light, relegated to myth and folklore. And yet, I was holding my breath the entire novella, fascinated by the promise of magic and violence hiding just below the surface, ready to reveal itself and explode at any moment.
The only underwhelming aspect of this short book was its characters; other than Gideon and Thomas, they felt hollow and one-dimensional. The treatment of the female characters in particular made me uncomfortable. It may have been a social commentary on the inequalities of the time, but it only succeeded in delivering the dubious moral that a woman being honest and shameless about her desires should be punished.
All in all, Ormeshadow is an elegantly written, delightfully dark and morose tale that falls just a little short in its characterization. I will definitely read more of Priya Sharma's works in the future, starting with her collection of short stories.
October 19, 2019
Oh nooo.
I thought we were past this, as a literary nation. I thought that we had (mostly) put the old sexist tropes to bed and moved on to better things. Apparently not.
Ormeshadow is about a nice and long-suffering boy who must put up with his mother, who is a slut who enjoys sex and wears pretty dresses even though she knows it attracts the attention of other men.
Yes, really. That’s the plot of this garbage book.
I read a lot of books. Some are good, some are bad. I’m not usually offended by the bad books, though. Bad writing happens. But Ormeshadow offended the hell out of me, because this book is full of sexist and harmful tropes.
This is an unpleasant and dangerous book. Fuck that shit.
I thought we were past this, as a literary nation. I thought that we had (mostly) put the old sexist tropes to bed and moved on to better things. Apparently not.
Ormeshadow is about a nice and long-suffering boy who must put up with his mother, who is a slut who enjoys sex and wears pretty dresses even though she knows it attracts the attention of other men.
Yes, really. That’s the plot of this garbage book.
I read a lot of books. Some are good, some are bad. I’m not usually offended by the bad books, though. Bad writing happens. But Ormeshadow offended the hell out of me, because this book is full of sexist and harmful tropes.
This is an unpleasant and dangerous book. Fuck that shit.
April 9, 2021
Ormeshadow est une novella très touchante qui nous parle de la force de l’imaginaire comme refuge à la dureté de la réalité. Bouleversant, ce récit plein de subtilité résonne comme un cri, trop longtemps étouffé dans la gorge du personnage principal. Magnifique première découverte de Priya Sharma entre drame de vie et légende de dragons�
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October 15, 2019
What a lovely, sad, wonderful book.
April 4, 2021
2,5/5
The writing is lovely but it was too sad and depressing for me I guess :(
The writing is lovely but it was too sad and depressing for me I guess :(
July 3, 2021
I don't feel good about giving one-star reviews, but man, did this book make me mad. Like, physically angry. I want to stress that the prose is good. I had no problem with the writing. But the story itself? It's hard to express, without spoiling everything, how much I hated it, because I really didn't start to hate it until maybe halfway. It started out as a three star read, steadily dropped to a two, and then the 'climax' happened, at which point I figuratively threw up in my mouth a little bit.
For the anti-spoiler section, let's just say nothing gets resolved in any 'meaningful' way. The protagonist, to my mind, doesn't have an arc. In fact, all of the characters in this novella are pretty one-dimensional. If you strain your brain, you can apply maybe two defining traits to each one. The main kid is naïve and passive. His older cousin is resentful and surly. His uncle is resentful and surly. His mother is horny and horny and did I mention horny. She's horny cubed. So at least she's three-dimensional, you might say.
Some awful stuff happens, and then some more awful stuff happens. The kid never stops being naïve and passive, even when he's no longer a kid. The uncle never stops being resentful and surly. Don't expect a satisfying payoff or confrontation. Everything is solved by means of the most ridiculous deus ex machina. I don't care that it's been alluded to, I don't care that it was foreshadowed, that's not an excuse- it doesn't make it any less stupid!
Alright, I'm putting on my scuba gear and diving into spoilers now.
'Ormeshadow' succeeded on one front, and that was wringing an emotion out of me. It left me feeling hollow, affronted, angry, and drained.
TLDR: I did not like it one bit.
-Stu
For the anti-spoiler section, let's just say nothing gets resolved in any 'meaningful' way. The protagonist, to my mind, doesn't have an arc. In fact, all of the characters in this novella are pretty one-dimensional. If you strain your brain, you can apply maybe two defining traits to each one. The main kid is naïve and passive. His older cousin is resentful and surly. His uncle is resentful and surly. His mother is horny and horny and did I mention horny. She's horny cubed. So at least she's three-dimensional, you might say.
Some awful stuff happens, and then some more awful stuff happens. The kid never stops being naïve and passive, even when he's no longer a kid. The uncle never stops being resentful and surly. Don't expect a satisfying payoff or confrontation. Everything is solved by means of the most ridiculous deus ex machina. I don't care that it's been alluded to, I don't care that it was foreshadowed, that's not an excuse- it doesn't make it any less stupid!
Alright, I'm putting on my scuba gear and diving into spoilers now.
'Ormeshadow' succeeded on one front, and that was wringing an emotion out of me. It left me feeling hollow, affronted, angry, and drained.
TLDR: I did not like it one bit.
-Stu
May 12, 2021
Overall, probably a 3.5/5 for me. The writing was beautiful, and it's the sort of book that would probably stick around in your mind for a long time. Recommended for fans of gothic bleakness a la Bronte sisters, where everything is horrible but in a weirdly lyrical and beautiful way.
Ten-year-old Gideon Belman is uprooted from Bath by his parents to live with his uncle and family in their hometown of Ormeshadow. His father, John Belman, tries to make the transition easier for him by telling him the family mythos of the Orme, a nearly immortal dragon upon which the entire village of Ormeshadow, and their farm of Ormesleep, rests upon. Through the fantastical lens of this mythos, Gideon navigates through a lot of farming family drama and tragedy while coming of age himself.
I'm not sure why the most popular genre allocated for this book was Fantasy because it was certainly more historical fiction to me. The fantasy elements were just occasional, almost rare, sparks in the background of the story and doesn't really play a solid role in the events of the plot. The time period of this book is never quite pinned down, and honestly could span any time between the early 1800s to a very rural 1950s even. This caused me a bit of confusion because I was never quite sure what I should be expecting in terms of gender roles and social mores.
A lot of characters in this book were just downright awful, and made more awful in the fact that they are so real. A lot of times, villains or annoying characters are at least a little caricature-ish, and it's easier to appreciate how evil they are from a distant because they're also so un-lifelike. Not so for the ones in Ormeshadow however. One character in particular () was just so vile that I I was getting visceral reactions whenever the action involved him. It is interesting, however, that even for this character, they were getting some points of redemption ().
I'm on the fence when it came to the portrayal of female characters in this book. We have two main ones: Gideon's mother, Clare, who is icily beautiful and holds herself above everyone but who is emotionally unavailable to both Gideon and the reader - we never really quite understand what she's thinking, how she's feeling, or really get to know her as a person because we only see her through Gideon's perspective. Also, his aunt Maud, a plain, long-suffering wife to his uncle Thomas, who can only find her place in the family by being a subservient mother, wife, and housekeeper. Of these, my heart went out the most to Maud, likely because Gideon did too, and we are experiencing this from his perspective. He is never close to anyone in this very dysfunctional family setting (except perhaps his dad John), but he clearly had a lot of pity for his aunt, even more so than his mom.
My favourite part of the book was really the whole family mythos with the dragons. I kinda wish that was explored and interwoven more with the unfolding of the plot. It did sort of come through in the ending, but I'm not really sure if it worked that well for me. We never really got a clear insight as to why a major event happened in the ending, and perhaps that was a deliberate choice from the author. I just wish things were just a little bit clearer though, just so the ending would be a bit more satisfactory.
Ten-year-old Gideon Belman is uprooted from Bath by his parents to live with his uncle and family in their hometown of Ormeshadow. His father, John Belman, tries to make the transition easier for him by telling him the family mythos of the Orme, a nearly immortal dragon upon which the entire village of Ormeshadow, and their farm of Ormesleep, rests upon. Through the fantastical lens of this mythos, Gideon navigates through a lot of farming family drama and tragedy while coming of age himself.
I'm not sure why the most popular genre allocated for this book was Fantasy because it was certainly more historical fiction to me. The fantasy elements were just occasional, almost rare, sparks in the background of the story and doesn't really play a solid role in the events of the plot. The time period of this book is never quite pinned down, and honestly could span any time between the early 1800s to a very rural 1950s even. This caused me a bit of confusion because I was never quite sure what I should be expecting in terms of gender roles and social mores.
A lot of characters in this book were just downright awful, and made more awful in the fact that they are so real. A lot of times, villains or annoying characters are at least a little caricature-ish, and it's easier to appreciate how evil they are from a distant because they're also so un-lifelike. Not so for the ones in Ormeshadow however. One character in particular () was just so vile that I I was getting visceral reactions whenever the action involved him. It is interesting, however, that even for this character, they were getting some points of redemption ().
I'm on the fence when it came to the portrayal of female characters in this book. We have two main ones: Gideon's mother, Clare, who is icily beautiful and holds herself above everyone but who is emotionally unavailable to both Gideon and the reader - we never really quite understand what she's thinking, how she's feeling, or really get to know her as a person because we only see her through Gideon's perspective. Also, his aunt Maud, a plain, long-suffering wife to his uncle Thomas, who can only find her place in the family by being a subservient mother, wife, and housekeeper. Of these, my heart went out the most to Maud, likely because Gideon did too, and we are experiencing this from his perspective. He is never close to anyone in this very dysfunctional family setting (except perhaps his dad John), but he clearly had a lot of pity for his aunt, even more so than his mom.
My favourite part of the book was really the whole family mythos with the dragons. I kinda wish that was explored and interwoven more with the unfolding of the plot. It did sort of come through in the ending, but I'm not really sure if it worked that well for me. We never really got a clear insight as to why a major event happened in the ending, and perhaps that was a deliberate choice from the author. I just wish things were just a little bit clearer though, just so the ending would be a bit more satisfactory.
August 16, 2024
FR review, sans spoilers.
� � Il n’avait jamais vu sourire se faire le si fidèle reflet d’un cœur brisé.� (p.108)
Tu te demande si tu devrais lire ou relire Ormeshadow ? J’espère t’aider à faire ton choix.
La première fois que j’ai fais le miens, je cherchais un livre court, avec le plus petit nombre de pages possible. Celui ci en fait 170. En fiction, en fantasy, on trouve rarement une histoire aussi courte, entière et détachée de tout autre univers ou saga. Mais Ormeshadow est une nouvelle et se satisfait de ses un peu moins de 200 pages.
Je m’y suis lancée comme je l’aurai fais pour les tomes de mes sagas habituelles. J’ai découvert Gidéon, le personnage principal ainsi que ses parents. Famille anglaise vivant durant l’ère victorienne, on est entrainé dans leur déménagement. De la ville à la ferme familiale, où se révèlent beaucoup de secrets.
J’ai été touchée par la présentation des personnages, par le quotidien qu’on y dépeint. Les paysages de verdure à perte de vue, les reliefs au bord d’une mer déchaînée. Ces mêmes reliefs que Gidéon retrouve au centre des légendes que lui raconte son père. Des histoires de dragons endormis, des histoires d’affrontements et de séparations. Et je me suis moi aussi retrouvée emportée dans ces contes.
À peine sortie de scènes au naturel émouvant, de moments de vie à la ferme aux différentes relations familiales, l’auteure m’a rappelée mon choix. Je cherchais une histoire brève. Me voilà séparée des tableaux où vivaient en paix moutons, chiens de bergers et leurs maîtres. J’ai voulu entrer dans ce livre aussi vite que j’en sortirais, l’intrigue s’est accélérée.
Lorsque les évènements s’enchaînaient, jamais je n’ai été dépassée. Les mots suivaient, le réalisme et la beauté de ce que je lisais restaient constants. La conclusion de cette histoire ne m’a pas déçue, bien qu’elle ne soit pas ce que je retiendrais en premier de cette nouvelle.
En somme, Ormeshadow a été pour moi une surprise. J’y ai découvert des choses que des milliers d’autres pages lues ne m’auraient peut-être pas apportées. C’est une œuvre que j’ai trouvé touchante, où l’on retrouve les thèmes de l’entrée dans l’âge adulte, la famille, la colère, la cruauté des épreuves que l’on traverse tous.
Alors, est-ce que sous ma montagne de mots se cache à tes yeux un dragon endormi ? Lorsqu’il se réveillera, j’espère que tu liras Ormeshadow. Et quand ce moment viendra, je serai là pour en discuter avec toi.
﹌﹌﹌﹌�
� � Il n’avait jamais vu sourire se faire le si fidèle reflet d’un cœur brisé.� (p.108)
Tu te demande si tu devrais lire ou relire Ormeshadow ? J’espère t’aider à faire ton choix.
La première fois que j’ai fais le miens, je cherchais un livre court, avec le plus petit nombre de pages possible. Celui ci en fait 170. En fiction, en fantasy, on trouve rarement une histoire aussi courte, entière et détachée de tout autre univers ou saga. Mais Ormeshadow est une nouvelle et se satisfait de ses un peu moins de 200 pages.
Je m’y suis lancée comme je l’aurai fais pour les tomes de mes sagas habituelles. J’ai découvert Gidéon, le personnage principal ainsi que ses parents. Famille anglaise vivant durant l’ère victorienne, on est entrainé dans leur déménagement. De la ville à la ferme familiale, où se révèlent beaucoup de secrets.
J’ai été touchée par la présentation des personnages, par le quotidien qu’on y dépeint. Les paysages de verdure à perte de vue, les reliefs au bord d’une mer déchaînée. Ces mêmes reliefs que Gidéon retrouve au centre des légendes que lui raconte son père. Des histoires de dragons endormis, des histoires d’affrontements et de séparations. Et je me suis moi aussi retrouvée emportée dans ces contes.
À peine sortie de scènes au naturel émouvant, de moments de vie à la ferme aux différentes relations familiales, l’auteure m’a rappelée mon choix. Je cherchais une histoire brève. Me voilà séparée des tableaux où vivaient en paix moutons, chiens de bergers et leurs maîtres. J’ai voulu entrer dans ce livre aussi vite que j’en sortirais, l’intrigue s’est accélérée.
Lorsque les évènements s’enchaînaient, jamais je n’ai été dépassée. Les mots suivaient, le réalisme et la beauté de ce que je lisais restaient constants. La conclusion de cette histoire ne m’a pas déçue, bien qu’elle ne soit pas ce que je retiendrais en premier de cette nouvelle.
En somme, Ormeshadow a été pour moi une surprise. J’y ai découvert des choses que des milliers d’autres pages lues ne m’auraient peut-être pas apportées. C’est une œuvre que j’ai trouvé touchante, où l’on retrouve les thèmes de l’entrée dans l’âge adulte, la famille, la colère, la cruauté des épreuves que l’on traverse tous.
Alors, est-ce que sous ma montagne de mots se cache à tes yeux un dragon endormi ? Lorsqu’il se réveillera, j’espère que tu liras Ormeshadow. Et quand ce moment viendra, je serai là pour en discuter avec toi.
﹌﹌﹌﹌�
December 27, 2020
Uprooted from Bath by his father's failures, Gideon Belman finds himself stranded on Ormeshadow farm, an ancient place of chalk and ash and shadow. The land crests the Orme, a buried, sleeping dragon that dreams resentment, jealousy, estrangement, death. Or so the folklore says (Orme is the Old English for worm or dragon). Growing up in a house that hates him, Gideon finds his only comforts in the land, where he will live or die in the shadow of the Orme, as all his family has.
This is a beautifully observed, utterly absorbing tale that grabs hold of you from the off and doesn’t let go even after you’ve read the last word. Strong and bold, this is a dark coming-of-age tale, full of familial deceit, recriminations and abuse, but also has some lyrical touches of brightness to it. The characterisation is vivid and understated, the use of locations is masterful and the pacing is pitch-perfect, with just enough told. Even better is the elegant writing, a turn-of-phrase here, an small mention there, burying the complexity of the tale in apparently simple language that must be read to be believed. I would absolutely recommend this book, a masterpiece in the making - I loved it.
This is a beautifully observed, utterly absorbing tale that grabs hold of you from the off and doesn’t let go even after you’ve read the last word. Strong and bold, this is a dark coming-of-age tale, full of familial deceit, recriminations and abuse, but also has some lyrical touches of brightness to it. The characterisation is vivid and understated, the use of locations is masterful and the pacing is pitch-perfect, with just enough told. Even better is the elegant writing, a turn-of-phrase here, an small mention there, burying the complexity of the tale in apparently simple language that must be read to be believed. I would absolutely recommend this book, a masterpiece in the making - I loved it.
May 13, 2024
nasty, nasty domestic horror. well done but just not for me. there were a few punctuation errors in the edition that i read too (missing oxford commas, unclear dialogue tags). i don’t like when something is made clear to the reader, but it takes nearly half the novella for the character to catch up.
October 15, 2019
Well, here at STORGY we’ve been following the career of Priya Sharma with great attention and her collection All The Fabulous Beasts was a highlight of our recent reading � which let us just add went on to win the Shirley Jackson Award for singled-authored collection in 2018. So, when we heard that she’d upped the ante and gone and written a novella, we had to get ourselves a copy to review for you fine folks here.
Ormeshadow is quite different from All The Fabulous Beasts, and I mention this because it is different in the best of ways, Sharma appears to flourish with the shackles off and writing free from what is required from a genre book per se. Unshackling her creative juices seems to have had a freeing quality, enabling Sharma to concoct a broiling coming of age tale which loosely but integrally incorporates the myths and legends of dragons � but with a masters touch she subtly lays the lore into the foundations of Ormeshadow which create a beast of a book.
So, if you’re a fan of all things dark and mysterious please take note, this is a writer who is doing something a little different, incorporating a dark undertow to the story which is as deadly as anything that lurks in the dark; and boy does she hit the nail on the head, so much so, that she actually drives that nail and the hammer through the wood until she leaves a splintered wreckage on the floor.
Ormeshadow follows the life of Gideon Belman, a boy who finds himself uprooted from his life in Bath and relocated to Ormeshadow Farm with his mother and father � to join his uncle and auntie and their dysfunctional and overbearing family unit. Gideon doesn’t know what’s happened or why they’ve had to flee, and his learned father keeps hidden the secrets of their escape by regaling his son of the legend of the Orme � of a buried dragon that lays beneath the Orme, encased rock and moss, sleeping or waiting for its time to rise. The dragon waits and dreams of resentment, of revenge and of death. Gideon finds himself in a strange place, a place he doesn’t quite fit, growing up in a house that hates him. So, Gideon finds his comforts and a way to survive, in the Orme and the folklore that enraptures his very heart.
‘There were butterflies skewered in cases, beautiful things the size of a man’s hand, their iridescent wings marked with blind eyes for protection. Gideon had wanted to know why they were so dangerous that, even in death, they had to be contained. His father had laughed.�
Sharma’s prose in Ormeshadow is deep and rich, and at times, all consuming. It’s as if Sharma has created a storm on the page, contained it with words, sentences and paragraphs � you want to pull yourself away but it’s intoxicatingly, you are at her mercy and she doesn’t relent. Her prose is so strong and enrapturing that it’s like being tossed by an angry sea; it will consume you, bury you in a world that there is no escape from � detailing expertly of a time, place and lives that are so delicately examined and nurtured that it is beguiling. Sharma’s writing in Ormeshadow is so precious that you can’t look away for fear of missing the majesty of her work.
‘The fishermen were accustomed to death, it being one of their many bounties from the sea. Death was even in their swollen jumpers, each knitted to their own designs so their widows could identify their remains after a pounding by the waves.�
What makes this book so brilliant is Sharma’s characterisations, every person in this story serves a purpose, there is no room for driftwood. Each character, no matter how small their part, adds to the broiling drama that unfolds on the page, pulling the reader in, forcing us to discover, and dredge up the secrets of the Belman family. Secrets that Sharma delicately weaves throughout Ormeshadow � as if she were a seamstress working on a precious garment, each thread meticulously planned and executed, to give the story beats when it needs them and to stay silent when their is need for reflection, making it the most enchanting of reads. But as we all know� some secrets should remain secrets.
‘He seemed at great pains to be still, but his eyes were churning pools. Gideon expected him to spring up at any second.�
Sharma has created what I can only imagine will be one of the books of the year, it’s a tale that delves into folklore but is grounded in drama, of family circumstance, of loss and love and hope. It is in essence a coming of age tale, masterfully told with a beguiling style and execution that is is priceless. It will bring Sharma to a whole new audience, whilst still enrapturing her existing followers � but Ormeshadow in my opinion showcases a writer at their very best, and I firmly believe that it is Sharma’s magnum opus.
An enchanting magic lives in the pages of Ormeshadow and I urge you to discover this treasure of a book for yourselves � a resonant novella that is unforgettably brilliant and deeply moving.
Ormeshadow is quite different from All The Fabulous Beasts, and I mention this because it is different in the best of ways, Sharma appears to flourish with the shackles off and writing free from what is required from a genre book per se. Unshackling her creative juices seems to have had a freeing quality, enabling Sharma to concoct a broiling coming of age tale which loosely but integrally incorporates the myths and legends of dragons � but with a masters touch she subtly lays the lore into the foundations of Ormeshadow which create a beast of a book.
So, if you’re a fan of all things dark and mysterious please take note, this is a writer who is doing something a little different, incorporating a dark undertow to the story which is as deadly as anything that lurks in the dark; and boy does she hit the nail on the head, so much so, that she actually drives that nail and the hammer through the wood until she leaves a splintered wreckage on the floor.
Ormeshadow follows the life of Gideon Belman, a boy who finds himself uprooted from his life in Bath and relocated to Ormeshadow Farm with his mother and father � to join his uncle and auntie and their dysfunctional and overbearing family unit. Gideon doesn’t know what’s happened or why they’ve had to flee, and his learned father keeps hidden the secrets of their escape by regaling his son of the legend of the Orme � of a buried dragon that lays beneath the Orme, encased rock and moss, sleeping or waiting for its time to rise. The dragon waits and dreams of resentment, of revenge and of death. Gideon finds himself in a strange place, a place he doesn’t quite fit, growing up in a house that hates him. So, Gideon finds his comforts and a way to survive, in the Orme and the folklore that enraptures his very heart.
‘There were butterflies skewered in cases, beautiful things the size of a man’s hand, their iridescent wings marked with blind eyes for protection. Gideon had wanted to know why they were so dangerous that, even in death, they had to be contained. His father had laughed.�
Sharma’s prose in Ormeshadow is deep and rich, and at times, all consuming. It’s as if Sharma has created a storm on the page, contained it with words, sentences and paragraphs � you want to pull yourself away but it’s intoxicatingly, you are at her mercy and she doesn’t relent. Her prose is so strong and enrapturing that it’s like being tossed by an angry sea; it will consume you, bury you in a world that there is no escape from � detailing expertly of a time, place and lives that are so delicately examined and nurtured that it is beguiling. Sharma’s writing in Ormeshadow is so precious that you can’t look away for fear of missing the majesty of her work.
‘The fishermen were accustomed to death, it being one of their many bounties from the sea. Death was even in their swollen jumpers, each knitted to their own designs so their widows could identify their remains after a pounding by the waves.�
What makes this book so brilliant is Sharma’s characterisations, every person in this story serves a purpose, there is no room for driftwood. Each character, no matter how small their part, adds to the broiling drama that unfolds on the page, pulling the reader in, forcing us to discover, and dredge up the secrets of the Belman family. Secrets that Sharma delicately weaves throughout Ormeshadow � as if she were a seamstress working on a precious garment, each thread meticulously planned and executed, to give the story beats when it needs them and to stay silent when their is need for reflection, making it the most enchanting of reads. But as we all know� some secrets should remain secrets.
‘He seemed at great pains to be still, but his eyes were churning pools. Gideon expected him to spring up at any second.�
Sharma has created what I can only imagine will be one of the books of the year, it’s a tale that delves into folklore but is grounded in drama, of family circumstance, of loss and love and hope. It is in essence a coming of age tale, masterfully told with a beguiling style and execution that is is priceless. It will bring Sharma to a whole new audience, whilst still enrapturing her existing followers � but Ormeshadow in my opinion showcases a writer at their very best, and I firmly believe that it is Sharma’s magnum opus.
An enchanting magic lives in the pages of Ormeshadow and I urge you to discover this treasure of a book for yourselves � a resonant novella that is unforgettably brilliant and deeply moving.
March 23, 2020
It is often stated that “The meek will inherit the earth.� While that is a nice sentiment, it is not affirmed by history. More often than not, those who hold their tongues and think before speaking, as well as those who avoid confrontation and violence to resolve conflict are the ones overrun by their more vocal, physical, and aggressive counterparts. However, every now and again a story is told about someone who, while meek, succeeds against those who would threaten them. That is the person who holds to their ideals, and ultimately benefits. If there are dragons involved, could it get any better? If this sounds intriguing, then Ormeshadow is the novella for you.
Gideon was seven years old when his parents abruptly moved from the town of Bath to Ormesleep and the farm his father John, co-owns with his uncle Thomas. Even though John co-owns the land, Thomas, his wife Maude, and their sons resent his returning to the farm with his family. Gideon does not like the farm, and misses life in town, as does his mother, Clare. Of the three of them, only John seems to acclimate to rural life. While he is returning to a life he once knew, and left behind when he became a scholar in town, neither Gideon, nor his mother, has lived this way before, and the transition for them is difficult. Time passes. Gideon goes to school, does his chores, and spends as much time as he can walking the land with his father, who tells him stories about the area and the dragon who sleeps beneath their region. The dragon has been doing so for generations, and many people no longer believe that there is a one. They just go about their daily lives, dealing with the challenges and tragedies, taking enjoyment and comfort wherever and whenever they can. As Gideon grows older, he begins to understand the realities that formed the circumstances of his existence, long before he was old enough to be fully aware or make choices for himself. Despite his difficult life, Gideon develops a strong love and connection with the land where he has found himself. It is the only thing that doesn’t judge, look down upon, or belittle him. It is his only source of comfort. And still the dragon sleeps. . .
In Ormeshadow, Priya Sharma tells the story of a gentle young man’s journey to adulthood in a brutal world not of his choosing. Sharma follows Gideon for approximately 10 years, when his parents move him to the family farm, and prior to his reaching legal adulthood. She chronicles his growing awareness of his surroundings and the people with whom he shares the family residence. While Gideon and his parents all work and contribute as much as they can to the homestead, the resentment from Thomas and his family never relents and, over the years, it takes a toll on Gideon. He longs to go to school, but is ultimately removed because of the increasing responsibilities placed upon him as he ages. His own interests and desires always take second place to his responsibilities to the rest of his family. His male cousins, who are a mere year older and younger than Gideon, are, from the beginning, hateful and difficult. They seem to actively take pleasure in causing Gideon discomfort. His only escape from the relentless grind is the open land away from the residence, where Gideon feels free to express his frustrations, even though he believes no one is listening.
Sharma describes Gideon’s life in a series of chapters, chronicling daily life on the farm, and the major events that occur as he grows older. The events are separated by as little as days, and as much as several years, and yet the story is complete. In each chapter, readers are allowed to witness Gideon making the choices that will result in his becoming the kind and thoughtful person who will ultimately survive this brutal upbringing.
Ormeshadow brings to mind another book about a gentle soul thrust into a world for whom it has not been prepared, and yet they not only survive, but thrive: Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor, which won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2014 and was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. Here’s hoping that Ormeshadow will also be acknowledged when it comes time for award nominations.
Reviewed by Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library
Gideon was seven years old when his parents abruptly moved from the town of Bath to Ormesleep and the farm his father John, co-owns with his uncle Thomas. Even though John co-owns the land, Thomas, his wife Maude, and their sons resent his returning to the farm with his family. Gideon does not like the farm, and misses life in town, as does his mother, Clare. Of the three of them, only John seems to acclimate to rural life. While he is returning to a life he once knew, and left behind when he became a scholar in town, neither Gideon, nor his mother, has lived this way before, and the transition for them is difficult. Time passes. Gideon goes to school, does his chores, and spends as much time as he can walking the land with his father, who tells him stories about the area and the dragon who sleeps beneath their region. The dragon has been doing so for generations, and many people no longer believe that there is a one. They just go about their daily lives, dealing with the challenges and tragedies, taking enjoyment and comfort wherever and whenever they can. As Gideon grows older, he begins to understand the realities that formed the circumstances of his existence, long before he was old enough to be fully aware or make choices for himself. Despite his difficult life, Gideon develops a strong love and connection with the land where he has found himself. It is the only thing that doesn’t judge, look down upon, or belittle him. It is his only source of comfort. And still the dragon sleeps. . .
In Ormeshadow, Priya Sharma tells the story of a gentle young man’s journey to adulthood in a brutal world not of his choosing. Sharma follows Gideon for approximately 10 years, when his parents move him to the family farm, and prior to his reaching legal adulthood. She chronicles his growing awareness of his surroundings and the people with whom he shares the family residence. While Gideon and his parents all work and contribute as much as they can to the homestead, the resentment from Thomas and his family never relents and, over the years, it takes a toll on Gideon. He longs to go to school, but is ultimately removed because of the increasing responsibilities placed upon him as he ages. His own interests and desires always take second place to his responsibilities to the rest of his family. His male cousins, who are a mere year older and younger than Gideon, are, from the beginning, hateful and difficult. They seem to actively take pleasure in causing Gideon discomfort. His only escape from the relentless grind is the open land away from the residence, where Gideon feels free to express his frustrations, even though he believes no one is listening.
Sharma describes Gideon’s life in a series of chapters, chronicling daily life on the farm, and the major events that occur as he grows older. The events are separated by as little as days, and as much as several years, and yet the story is complete. In each chapter, readers are allowed to witness Gideon making the choices that will result in his becoming the kind and thoughtful person who will ultimately survive this brutal upbringing.
Ormeshadow brings to mind another book about a gentle soul thrust into a world for whom it has not been prepared, and yet they not only survive, but thrive: Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor, which won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2014 and was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. Here’s hoping that Ormeshadow will also be acknowledged when it comes time for award nominations.
Reviewed by Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library
October 5, 2022
“You must be sad to be here alone.� Gideon was about to say, But I’m not alone, but then he understood.A headland jutting out into the Irish Sea. A tramway for tourists leading up and back down to Llandudno. Kashmiri goats roaming the headland and invading the town. Bronze Age copper mines worked for nigh on four millennia.
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This is the Great Orme, named by the Vikings for the worm or sea serpent they imagined the promontory resembling. For a visitor such as myself the essence of of natural beauty, its breath the stuff of history, mystery and legend.
Then, not to be confused with Great Orme, there’s Priya Sharma’s Orme, a sea-girt headland with the feel of being a part of northwest England; no goats, just sheep; a farm called Ormesleep; and a close-knit community of dispersed settlements set in a landscape saturated with legends of dragons and a hidden hoard of treasure. All is set for a tale of Gothic sensibilities and self-imposed solitude, set in what feels like the Regency period (though we’re never explicitly told so).
Young Gideon Belman, a sheltered lad from Bath, is suddenly pitched into the hard sheep farming life. His father has resigned as secretary to a scholar and returned to the ancestral home where his resentful brother and family still work. The reason for the sudden change isn’t immediately spelled out to him, but it seems to involve a disagreement between his parents.
At Ormesleep Gideon is consistently bullied despite trying his best to fit in with the demands of farming. The background of continuous family tensions is brightened only by the tales his father relates to him of the last dragon of Orme, of how Gideon is named after an ancestor who befriended the dragon, and of how it is lying sleeping under the Orme. Then suddenly there is a bombshell moment and Gideon is left alone, estranged even from his mother.
Ormeshadow is a beautifully written novella in the Gothic tradition while still largely steering clear of common fantasy tropes, principally by the author’s commitment to a form of realistic historical fiction. We can well understand how a sensitive bookish lad would struggle to be accepted in a society that didn’t prize learning, making a virtue only of agrarian work and basic pleasures. So although Gideon works hard to be accepted for actually fulfilling his allocated tasks well he is only despised.
I’ve seen commentaries that compare Priya Sharma’s writing in Ormeshadow to Thomas Hardy’s, or even to the Brontës�, but the most apt parallel is to Ursula Le Guin: the author brings to the novella Le Guin’s exquisite balance of a very human story with an understated fantasy element which transcends banal expectations of wizardry familiar from so much genre fiction.
To all that Sharma adds evocative descriptions of nature, of farm work, of extremes of human emotions. There’s violence, there’s vindictiveness, there’s infidelity and suicide, there’s rejection and sudden death. Above all, Sharma knows of the power of showing over telling, whether through extended dialogue, straight reportage, or her limited but carefully curated use of adjectives and adverbs.
Then there are the echoes. The passages mentioning dragons are left hovering in the air � for example, to Gideon’s “Dragons aren’t real,� his father replies, “Are you sure?� � so at the end we are left to believe what we fancy. There are also subtle but unspoken hints of Hamlet, of folktales involving shepherds stumbling on sleeping warriors or underground treasures, and even of the Ragnarök of Norse myth. Meanwhile, I was drawn into the characters quite quickly, from the innocent Gideon to his parents with their unspoken secrets and his wolfishly cruel uncle and his bullying cousins.
This then is a powerful debut novella, which seems to have emerged after the author honed her craft with a successful run of short stories; and the narrative skipping several years at a time increases tensions more effectively than any padding out in a longer novel. Sexual secrets, an unhealthy greed, and an ancestral destiny all give Ormeshadow an unsettled � even treacherous � atmosphere, rather like shadows thrown on a landscape lit by a waxing moon.
Such an atmosphere can only serve to accentuate Gideon’s loneliness: can the promise of a fabled treasure in the belly of a dragon really dispel the sense of abandonment that Gideon feels?
December 9, 2019
Gideon and his parents are returning to his father's hometown of Ormeshadow to live with his uncle's family. Gideon's father, a scholar, doesn't seem to fit in at Ormeshadow anymore, but he tells Gideon tales of the Orme (an ancient dragon) which fell asleep and how the hills grew over where the dragon lies. When Gideon's father dies suddenly, Gideon begins to wonder if the tales of the Orme are just tales or if they might be real.
I first heard of this book on a , but I had already added almost every other book on the list so by the time I got to this last one I figured I didn't need to add it. Then the book came across the desk at the library and I was like... weeeellll, okay. It's short (a novella) and it did sound interesting!
This read almost like a fairy tale, taking place in an unknown time. I love when endings are a little bit open: the dragon could have been real, or it might have been something else entirely. What was really interesting to me was the discussion of the Old English word "orme" because in my genealogy there is a man named "Orme of Spoffshire" which now has an entirely new meaning to me!
I first heard of this book on a , but I had already added almost every other book on the list so by the time I got to this last one I figured I didn't need to add it. Then the book came across the desk at the library and I was like... weeeellll, okay. It's short (a novella) and it did sound interesting!
This read almost like a fairy tale, taking place in an unknown time. I love when endings are a little bit open: the dragon could have been real, or it might have been something else entirely. What was really interesting to me was the discussion of the Old English word "orme" because in my genealogy there is a man named "Orme of Spoffshire" which now has an entirely new meaning to me!
June 27, 2020
Any book by Priya Sharma is going to be a great book. And, I'm not saying that because she's my best-bestest-best friend (although she is). I'm not saying that because her alter-ego is Priya Poppins even though it is, or because she has a new nickname, one not as kind, Cruella.
This is a gentle (and yet brutal) journey from the richness of Bath to relative poverty in the shadow of the Great Orme, the hill above the welsh town of Llandudno. It is a story of grief, or hardship, of a brutal man and deceitful woman, it is of a boy learning to become a man. This is a fable of discovery, not just of dragons and riches, but that there are more important things in life than wealth, that once those things are gone they cannot be brought back.
Read it.
This is a gentle (and yet brutal) journey from the richness of Bath to relative poverty in the shadow of the Great Orme, the hill above the welsh town of Llandudno. It is a story of grief, or hardship, of a brutal man and deceitful woman, it is of a boy learning to become a man. This is a fable of discovery, not just of dragons and riches, but that there are more important things in life than wealth, that once those things are gone they cannot be brought back.
Read it.
October 29, 2019
I loved this novella so much and devoured it in one sitting. Ormeshadow is a fragile beautiful novel about magic and loss.
I went into Ormeshadow with no idea what this novel was about I hadn't even read the blurb I just loved the front cover. And I loved it!
Although this novel is classed as fantasy it is set in a bleak Victorian England, where life was turmoil and claustrophobic, where magic struggled to survive. The fantasy element of this novella are subtle and weaved into the tale bringing light to the bleak surroundings, but Sharma's writing seduced me and made me desperate to believe that the implied magic was real all along and all tales are true.
I have had a wonderful year with characters called Gideon from the Ninth to Gideon Bedlem they have captured my heart and I am excited to see what else is in store with Sharma.
I went into Ormeshadow with no idea what this novel was about I hadn't even read the blurb I just loved the front cover. And I loved it!
Although this novel is classed as fantasy it is set in a bleak Victorian England, where life was turmoil and claustrophobic, where magic struggled to survive. The fantasy element of this novella are subtle and weaved into the tale bringing light to the bleak surroundings, but Sharma's writing seduced me and made me desperate to believe that the implied magic was real all along and all tales are true.
I have had a wonderful year with characters called Gideon from the Ninth to Gideon Bedlem they have captured my heart and I am excited to see what else is in store with Sharma.
November 8, 2019
This novella was beautifully written and lyrical. For such a short piece the world it built was rich, morose, and complicated. The reason I'm not giving it more stars is because, for a piece that focused so much on feelings and the emotional fallout of things, the end left me a bit wanting. In fact, though the vast majority of the book relied on a single POV narrator (that of the protagonist), after the climax we never went back into his head, and had a series of scenes seen from multiple tertiary characters. I with I could have gone through the falling action with Gideon, because the consequences of it were so huge. Instead I still don't really know how he feels. Does he feel guilt, resentment, catharsis, gratitude, a complicated muddle of all these? tldr: beautifully written, leaves one a bit wanting at the end.
April 16, 2020
A grim gothic novella that didn't quite work for me. There's far too much boring toxic masculinity and insecure pissing contests and staking their claim over their women, and not enough dragons. I have very little patience for bitter cruel english men in the 1800s straight from Wuthering Heights. The writing is sparse, maybe if it was a full length book I'd care more for the characters, but as it is they're all pretty unlikable, even Gideon the poor sad Oliver Twist-esque underdog. Thomas and Claire and Maud and their tedious affairs makes me despair for straight people - I'm thankful every day for being gay. They are all such archetypes, they're almost caricatures of themselves. Was this meant to be Bronte fanfic? After all that buildup the ending fell flat. How do you write a story about a dragon and bury it so deep that it's barely a blip in the tale?
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