The Hollow Sea is an enchanting, winding tale, following Scottie and her personal discoveries on the archipelago St Hia. After deciding against another round of IVF, Scottie travels to the North Atlantic Ocean, hoping for a glimpse of where she truly came from. The seamless blend of contemporary fiction and mythology cement Kirby’s work as a must-read for anyone looking to add a touch of fantasy into the modern world.
The Hollow Sea’s particular strength comes in its narrative style, beautifully encapsulating the vivid, if isolated, islands of St Hia. The setting is so intricately mapped, that the reader is unwilling to leave the islands, disappointed, even, when the plot returns them to a more familiar setting. Likewise, the narrative captures the character of Scottie fully, carefully, but honestly handling her trauma. Her mourning for the children she never had, and exhaustion at the fertility treatments she undergoes are heart-wrenching and layered. She grows bitter towards her friends who have children, yet remains kind and considerate towards children themselves. Scottie is never reduced to the stereotype of a childless, cold woman, only following her own self-interest in her rejection of her ‘biological role’. The issues surrounding infertility are complicated and, at times, conflicting, yet this experience is handled with care and consideration and, even among the fantastical elements of this tale, it feels overwhelmingly real.
The structure of this work is, as far as I can tell, quite unique. Chapters following Scottie in the present are interweaved with chapters on her childhood, and chapters on the characters Thordis and Susan. Scottie’s past is gradually revealed, developing her character slowly, unravelling small parts of her at a time, adding to the air of mystery Kirby creates. What makes this work unique, however, is the chapters following Thordis and Susan, which work backwards through Thordis’ life. By learning of what happened to her in this manner, the reader is subject to misconceptions and misunderstandings, grasping at a few known pieces of information in the same manner that Scottie is. Kirby brilliantly maintains the mystery right up until the two plotlines coincide towards the end, successfully keeping her reader in the dark just enough to create the magic of the various reveals.
I believe the conclusion of The Hollow Sea may be a divisive one. By never confirming that the more fantastical, mythological, parts of St Hia are real or imagined, Kirby opens herself to acceptance (or otherwise) of the ending, based on which side the reader fell on. While the conclusion of Scottie’s arc feels fitting if the fantastical aspects are taken as purely metaphorical, this is not the case if they are taken verbatim. In this case, the mythological is lost in the conclusion, which is somewhat underwhelming. The ending of The Hollow Sea is a sudden one, and does feel somewhat rushed which may help explain its underwhelming arc. Spending longer on the final act of the novel may have perfected Scottie’s development and offer better justification of her final choices.
On the whole, this is a fantastic read set in a beautiful and mysterious corner of the world and interwoven with just the right amount of fantasy. This intriguing take on mythology sets it alongside recent works such as When Women Were Dragons, blending the contemporary and magical worlds in order to uncover the realities of the female experience.
I highly recommend The Hollow Sea by Annie Kirby and hope it will receive the praise it deserves.
Abi’s rating: 4.5/5
- Abi
Instagram: @abbie.bessant / Twitter: @abiwritesbadly
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