I frequently had to pause my reading of Silver in the Wood to just let the sheer joy of a tiny moment or big feeling wash over me. This is a story that does not shy away from the darkness, though it also refuses to linger there, and I am grateful for both of those choices. I’ve focused a lot on how beautiful this book is, and how much joy it brought me. By that metric, Tobias Finch has been lost for a long time when this story begins. They are where people go to lose themselves, and also to be found. The sensory details that turn the general concept of a wood into something specific are all aptly chosen.įorests exist outside the boundaries of human civilization. I love the setting of this story, which is both symbol – the wood is always a symbol, in every fairy tale – and also a real, growing presence. Those may be grand themes, but the story itself never forgets the wood that holds them together. As the scene progresses, we also learn that Tobias has a wonderful, wry sense of humor, a generous spirit (he lets the young man – Henry Silver – stay the night in his bed as it appears that the rain will never let up), and a great depth of personality.Īt it’s core, this is a simple story, of love, of time, and of the slow-kindling of hope from despair. And in the very first paragraph, he invites a young man into his home to get out of the pouring rain. Fortunately, we can tell from the very start that he is much more well-rounded than that description might suggest. He lives alone in the woods, completely isolated from the townsfolk, who fear and avoid him. Tobias is the sort of terse, taciturn, anti-social character who could very easily turn into a caricature of mountain masculinity. Fortunately, Emily Tesh is not nearly as reticent as her narrator, Tobias Finch. I almost felt like the plot was flirting with me, letting me make the connections and revealing itself in its own time. Sure, you can infer a lot from the blurb on the back of the book (which is just enough to let you know what sort of a book this is), but the full depth comes through one small detail at a time, often revealed with little to no explanation, but arriving with enough frequency that I never felt the truth was being hidden. Silver in the Wood reveals its mysteries slowly. I loved every page of this little gem, and if you enjoy British folklore, queer romance, and sly humor, then I suspect you will love it, too.

How could anything live up to that hype? But I am thrilled to say that this novella did not disappoint me. When Silver in the Wood first came out, I heard so much praise for Emily Tesh’s fairy story that I was almost afraid to read it.

Silver in the wood review