Bookseller Reviews
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As Long as There's Helm
This is a book about wind. It's a book about a wind. And yet, it's not, it's a book about humans, hundreds of years of humans interacting with one wind. Fl... READ MORE
Glorious!
Helm is a brave novel that relies on trust from its reader from the outset. That trust is rewarded with one of the truly great tales of recent times.
The... READ MORE
Beautiful
I really adored this. It has been a while since I read any Sarah Hall, and I remember why I love their work. The magical melding of the natural and human w... READ MORE
Long live Helm
This was a bit of a slow burn for me but by the end I loved it! I was so invested in all the stories and I thought the writing was so funny and distinctive... READ MORE
Superbly written
This is one of the most interesting and surprising books that I’ve read all year. After hearing its premise - the main character is the Helm wind, the only... READ MORE
Synopsis
Helm is a ferocious, mischievous wind - a subject of folklore and awe, who has blasted the sublime landscape of the Eden Valley since the very dawn of time.
Through the stories of those who've obsessed over this phenomenon, Helm's extraordinary history is formed: the Neolithic tribe who tried to placate Helm, the Dark Age wizard priest who wanted to banish Helm, the Victorian steam engineer who attempted to capture Helm - and the farmer's daughter who loved Helm. But now Dr Selima Sutar, surrounded by infinite clouds and measuring instruments in her observation hut, fears human pollution is killing Helm.
Rich, wild and vital, Helm is the story of a unique life force, and of a relationship: between nature and people, neither of whom can weather life without the other.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Faber & Faber
- ISBN: 9780571398294
- Number of pages: 368
- Dimensions: 234 x 153 mm
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allA poetic and riveting novel with an important message
Helm is the only named wind in Britain and it resides in a part of Cumbria with a rich and long history, almost from the beginning of time. Helm has its ow... READ MORE
Legendary and strange
A wild epic of folklore exploring the mythic figure of Helm, manifesting in human life and experience as a wind that can drive a person mad. This ranges ov... READ MORE
Stunning
Helm is the UK’s only named wind, localised to the Cross Fell area of Cumbria. Notable for its distinctive rolling, turbulent cloud formations and its dest... READ MORE
Superb multi character novel
The Overstory meets Cuddy (with shades of David Mitchell) in an epic multi-era tale of Britain’s only named wind.
Sarah Hall is an extremely accomplishe... READ MORE
Ruby readers
A wonderful written book about a wind called Helm. The story of its birth and growth. Of the folklore surround it and its part in people's life. Thank yo... READ MORE
Unique and brilliant
Sarah Hall's latest novel, Helm, is a work about Britain's only names wind and the impact it has over centuries on people and the places it howls. Readin... READ MORE
Astonishing
The only book I have ever given a 10 out of 10 to at our book club. The words fizz and explode off every page.
It's kind of quirky and weird in places ... READ MORE
Capricious, cyclical and emotional
About one thing and all things at once, this book defies categorisation: at turns humorous, ribald, threatening, hopeful, elegiac, it’s as capricious as th... READ MORE
An Interesting Read
Tales of ancient beliefs through to the Industrial Revolution and onto climate change with so so much more in between.
Sometimes funny sometimes shocking ... READ MORE
Loved it
I'll admit I had trepidation about a book where wind was an actual character.. That caution didn't last long, as I was thrown into comedy, history, romance... READ MORE
Exquisite storytelling
Wow, what a book. As Britain’s only named wind, Helm is well overdue an eponymous work and this is an absolute wonder. A group of stories each telling a di... READ MORE