James Clarke‘s Hollow in the Land has been reviewed by M John Harrison for The Guardian.

“This is a novel about belonging. The pressure to leave the valley, to find something – anything – somewhere else, is held in tension with the urge to return to its struggling hair salons and gloomy rains, its hillside ruins that resemble “the beginnings of a misspelled word”, where you face the inevitable penalties for your disloyalty. The hollow in the land is a zone of wrong decisions and deaths by misadventure. It’s only 10 miles long but it stretches to fit your life, binding the generations together even as it pulls them apart. You must take these characters as you find them. Without pulling punches or closing his eyes to anything, Clarke makes it possible to do that, in a novel full of insight, empathy and wry laughter.” Read the full review here.

Congratulations to James.

Hollow in the Land is out now with Serpent’s Tail. You can buy your copy here, or via Waterstones here. Many independent bookshops are also still delivering in the UK – find them all here.

Follow James on Twitter @jamesrgclarke.