The Fell by Sarah Moss - Review

Happy New Year! I'm a little bit behind on book reviews as I did very little writing for the entire month of December and I now have about five books to write about, plus I want to share the books I got for Christmas (a record breaking eighteen!). My blogs are probably feeling a little bit abandoned, but now it's a new year so I'm ready to get back in the saddle! I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year. 

I bought this book in an independent book shop in Thirsk when I was there in November. It is signed by the author which is really nice, I like to collect signed books. I've read a couple of Sarah Moss books this year and I'll definitely be keeping a look out for more as I really like her simple and uncomplicated prose. 

This book is set in Derbyshire, in the Peak District, in November 2020. It is the first book I've read set in the pandemic and it's interesting, isn't it, to see how it will be depicted in books and films in years to come. Kate lives with her son Matt, and they are currently having to isolate as they've had contact with someone with Covid. They have to isolate for two weeks and they're in the middle of that when Kate can't take it anymore and leaves the house to walk up the fell. 

Alice, their next door neighbour, sees her go. Alice has breast cancer and must shield during the pandemic. Kate and Matt have been bringing her shopping. Kate is furloughed from her job as a waitress and is going slightly mad stuck in the house. It's not exactly a surprise that she breaks the rules and goes for a walk, but Alice doesn't feel able to go to and stop her.

Matt is in the house by himself. Kate is a somewhat chaotic mother but the two get on okay. It takes a while for Matt to realise that Kate has gone out and not returned for several hours. He asks Alice for help, but of course they have to communicate through a closed door. Alice is worried about him but can't do much to help. 

Kate falls and injures herself and when she comes round she's pretty sure something is broken. She tries to help herself, but can't. Matt, realising she is missing, phones the police, even though he knows she's broken the law and is concerned that she will get a fine that they caqn't afford to pay. The police arrive and also have to speak to Matt through a closed door. They send mountain rescue to find Kate and that's the fourth point of view in the book - volunteer rescuer Paul. He must leave his daughter Ellie, for whom it's his custody weekend, to go out in the dark to try to find Kate. 

The book swaps between points of view. It's short but so well done. I felt sympathy for all the characters and understood how Kate felt. Four out of five!