The Owl Service

by Alan Garner

This is a strange story. It’s based on a Welsh legend of Blodeuwedd, about a woman magically made from flowers to be one man’s wife, while falling in love with another- murder results, and a curse, and she gets turned into an owl. In The Owl Service, this legend is perpetually re-enacted (in a way) by further generations. Three children get involved when one of them discovers some plates hidden in the rafters- a “dinner service” patterned with flowers. The girl sees owls in the pattern, and when she traces them, paper owls flit about, later mysteriously disappearing. She gets obsessed with obtaining more plates to trace from, while the housekeeper is just as adamant about keeping the children from getting ahold of the plates, or finding out more about them. There’s a lot more going on- mysterious lights in the woods, odd noises, people acting strangely. It’s all rather creepy, really.

But hard to follow. In the first place, it’s nearly all told in dialogue, without any explanation of who’s who, so it took a while for me to figure out how the children were related to each other- two are step-siblings, the third is the housekeeper’s son, and why certain ones felt superior to, or resentful towards, the others. The same kind of interactions occur among the adults, with just as little explanation. The dialog is crafty, feels very real, but at the same time has gaps. For instance, some characters speak Welsh, others English, but there’s never any indication of that until you realize one person didn’t understand what someone else said- halfway through the conversation! Aside from that, even once I’d figured out the myth that was being re-lived by these kids, it still didn’t make much sense, and the ending was a muddle. It does have a very vivid feel, though- I at once thought of Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series, and of National Velvet (not sure why) and overall it leaves the reader with a very unsettling feeling. I enjoyed reading the book while I was still trying to figure out what was going on, but then it got tiresome. I’m wondering now if Alan Garner’s other books are just as eerie, and inexplicable? Anyone read more?

I got this book at a library sale, it caught my eye because I remembered seeing a review at Things Mean a Lot. The second image is what my book looks like without its dust jacket- silver pattern on the cover (of the plate). I can see the owl’s face, but not how the rest of the image would fit together…

Rating: 3/5
201 pages, 1967

6 Responses

  1. I tried this one because I'd heard such great things about Alan Garner, and it got tedious for me too. I've never tried another of his books, though maybe I should, just to see if he's always this confusing.

  2. The idea sounds fascinating, but the dialogue seems confusing. I'm not sure whether I'd enjoy it or not.

  3. This IS a strange book, and almost everyone I know who's read it diddn0t get on with the writing. But someone it all really clicked for me. Go figure 😛

  4. I've just found your blog and was browsing through it when this post caught my eye, because I'm one of those odd people who love The Owl Service. I read it when it was first published, and I must have been 14 or 15 and I thought it was one of the most exciting books I'd ever read, because it brought legends into everyday life. Since then, of course, lots of other authors like Diana Wynne Jones have done similar things, which makes me very happy. I think there are two earlier Garner books you might like: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath. They are most like The Dark is Rising and not at all opaque. You might like Elidor too, though that's grittier although it has a similar feel to Fire and Hemlock in places. I don't think you'd like anything later than The Owl Service – his next book, Red Shift, is really opaque, and quite depressing.

  5. Thanks, Geraniumcat, for the recommendations! I think it didn't help that I wasn't familiar with the legend at all. If I'd heard of it before, it probably would have made this easier and more exciting reading for me.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

DISCLAIMER:

All books reviewed on this site are owned by me, or borrowed from the public library. Exceptions are a very occasional review copy sent to me by a publisher or author, as noted. Receiving a book does not influence my opinion or evaluation of it

SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL:

Subscribe to my blog:

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

VIEW MY PERSONAL COLLECTION:

TRADE BOOKS WITH ME ON:

ARCHIVES: 

2024
January 2024 (21)February 2024 (22)March 2024 (45)April 2024 (38)May 2024 (34)June 2024 (33)July 2024 (34)August 2024 (44)September 2024 (21)October 2024 (26)November 2024 (34)December 2024 (12)
2023
January 2023 (27)February 2023 (23)March 2023 (25)April 2023 (11)May 2023 (17)June 2023 (11)July 2023 (23)August 2023 (23)September 2023 (14)October 2023 (14)November 2023 (26)December 2023 (14)
2022
January 2022 (12)February 2022 (7)March 2022 (13)April 2022 (16)May 2022 (13)June 2022 (21)July 2022 (15)August 2022 (27)September 2022 (10)October 2022 (17)November 2022 (16)December 2022 (23)
2021
January 2021 (14)February 2021 (13)March 2021 (14)April 2021 (7)May 2021 (10)June 2021 (5)July 2021 (10)August 2021 (27)September 2021 (16)October 2021 (11)November 2021 (14)December 2021 (12)
2020
January 2020 (14)February 2020 (6)March 2020 (10)April 2020 (1)May 2020 (10)June 2020 (15)July 2020 (13)August 2020 (26)September 2020 (10)October 2020 (9)November 2020 (16)December 2020 (22)
2019
January 2019 (12)February 2019 (9)March 2019 (5)April 2019 (10)May 2019 (9)June 2019 (6)July 2019 (18)August 2019 (13)September 2019 (13)October 2019 (7)November 2019 (5)December 2019 (18)
2018
January 2018 (17)February 2018 (18)March 2018 (9)April 2018 (9)May 2018 (6)June 2018 (21)July 2018 (12)August 2018 (7)September 2018 (13)October 2018 (15)November 2018 (10)December 2018 (13)
2017
January 2017 (19)February 2017 (12)March 2017 (7)April 2017 (4)May 2017 (5)June 2017 (8)July 2017 (13)August 2017 (17)September 2017 (12)October 2017 (15)November 2017 (14)December 2017 (11)
2016
January 2016 (5)February 2016 (14)March 2016 (5)April 2016 (6)May 2016 (14)June 2016 (12)July 2016 (11)August 2016 (11)September 2016 (11)October 2016 (9)November 2016 (1)December 2016 (3)
2015
January 2015 (9)February 2015 (9)March 2015 (11)April 2015 (10)May 2015 (10)June 2015 (2)July 2015 (12)August 2015 (13)September 2015 (16)October 2015 (13)November 2015 (10)December 2015 (14)
2014
January 2014 (14)February 2014 (11)March 2014 (5)April 2014 (15)May 2014 (12)June 2014 (17)July 2014 (22)August 2014 (19)September 2014 (10)October 2014 (19)November 2014 (14)December 2014 (14)
2013
January 2013 (25)February 2013 (28)March 2013 (18)April 2013 (21)May 2013 (12)June 2013 (7)July 2013 (13)August 2013 (25)September 2013 (24)October 2013 (17)November 2013 (18)December 2013 (20)
2012
January 2012 (21)February 2012 (19)March 2012 (9)April 2012 (23)May 2012 (31)June 2012 (21)July 2012 (19)August 2012 (16)September 2012 (4)October 2012 (2)November 2012 (7)December 2012 (19)
2011
January 2011 (26)February 2011 (22)March 2011 (18)April 2011 (11)May 2011 (6)June 2011 (7)July 2011 (10)August 2011 (9)September 2011 (14)October 2011 (13)November 2011 (15)December 2011 (22)
2010
January 2010 (27)February 2010 (19)March 2010 (20)April 2010 (24)May 2010 (22)June 2010 (24)July 2010 (31)August 2010 (17)September 2010 (18)October 2010 (11)November 2010 (13)December 2010 (19)
2009
January 2009 (23)February 2009 (26)March 2009 (32)April 2009 (22)May 2009 (18)June 2009 (26)July 2009 (34)August 2009 (31)September 2009 (30)October 2009 (23)November 2009 (26)December 2009 (18)
2008
January 2008 (35)February 2008 (26)March 2008 (33)April 2008 (15)May 2008 (29)June 2008 (29)July 2008 (29)August 2008 (34)September 2008 (29)October 2008 (27)November 2008 (27)December 2008 (24)
2007
August 2007 (12)September 2007 (28)October 2007 (27)November 2007 (28)December 2007 (14)
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
1979
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
1973
1972
1971
1970
1969
1968
1967
1966
1965
1964
1963
1962
1961
1960
1959
1958
1957
1956
1955
1954
1953
1952
1951
1950