Supernatural elements

I've finished reading Ice by Louis Nowra and The Lacemakers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri. The former is a blend of literary fiction and literary non-fiction. The latter would be found in the popular fiction section of a bookshop. Both have a strong sense of place.

Louis Nowra's novel (now out of print) conjures up vivid images of Scotland, Ireland, Melbourne at the end of the nineteenth century and Sydney in more modern times. The multiple strands of the plot are only revealed pixel by pixel. Heather Barbieri's novel is set in Ireland as seen through the eyes of the American stranger who just happens to be a designer and seamstress. As a reader I had a good idea about where the plot was going, but I was still happy to take the journey. I'm not convinced that the portrait of Ireland in the novel is authentic, however, hopefully Wolf Creek is not seen as an authentic portrayal of Australia either.

It took me a long time to read Ice, but I knew that I would come back to it and I think I was more satisfied by reading it over a period of months. I read The Lacemakers in one day, just because I was in the mood to read something with a straightforward plot.

What struck me about both novels is the way that supernatural elements and hauntings were interwoven into the story line - more so in the literary novel in fact - but also how easy both writers made it for the reader to take that leap.

Readers seem to have developed a sharpened appetite for paranormal elements in the past few years. I wonder why that is.