“If we lose our stories…we lose ourselves”
― Evie Woods, The Story Collector
Book Details:
- Written by Evie Woods
- Published: August 13, 2024
- Publisher: One More Chapter / Harper Collins
- Genres: Magical Realism/Fairy Tale /Historical Fiction
Back Cover Synopsis (via One More Chapter)
In a quiet village in Ireland, a mysterious local myth is about to change everything…
One hundred years ago, Anna, a young farm girl, volunteers to help an intriguing American visitor translate fairy stories from Irish to English. But all is not as it seems and Anna soon finds herself at the heart of a mystery that threatens her very way of life.
In New York in the present day, Sarah Harper boards a plane bound for the West Coast of Ireland. But once there, she finds she has unearthed dark secrets – secrets that tread the line between the everyday and the otherworldly, the seen and the unseen.
With a taste for the magical in everyday life, Evie Woods’s latest novel is full of ordinary characters with extraordinary tales to tell.
Books I want to read because of this book:
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
My Story Behind the Story:
I first came across this author in q024 when I picked up her book The Lost Bookshop at my local bookstore. It was an enjoyable read and so when I was working as a bookseller and saw this book (The Story Collector) in the advanced reader copy stacks I knew it was one I wanted to snag and I am so glad I did because Evie Woods did not disappoint!
The contents of this story turned out to be a bit unexpected. It deals with death and grief, magic and healing but I think the thing I wasn’t expecting were the slightly scary vibes it carries throughout. The story collector is an American who is working on his academic thesis on the Celtic belief in faeries. So many of the stories that he collects end up being kind of scary. So if you enjoy a little bit of mystery and creepiness this very well could be the book for you.
The book begins on Christmas and takes us through that winter season which makes this book a great winter read but I would also argue it would be a fun fall read too given the slight creepiness that runs throughout.
WARNING:
If you have not read this book and don’t wish to have the story spoiled please turn away now
Successful Storytelling Elements:
• Past Repeats Itself:
This is a dual timeline story. Evie Woods does a wonderful job of showing how the past repeats itself by having her characters from the past and present deal with similar struggles or have many similarities.
Ana (from the past) is a lot like Hazel.
George (past character) has many things in common with Jack, Sarah’s husband.
Sarah is an American just like Harold.
• Faries / Alcohol / Grief:
Something interesting that I found was the connection between the faeries and the Sarah’s alcoholism. Faeries and sprites or spirits are often interchangeable terms. Spirits is also another term for liquor. Throughout the book we see Sarah struggle with her alcoholism. It is her way of coping with the grief of losing her baby (she died in he womb at 7 months).
It seems to me that in a way the story draws a parallel between these things. Just like Sarah uses alcohol to cope with her grief so do many characters use faeries as a way to cope with their grief at losing a love one.
• Dual Timeline:
Evie Woods did great with the dual timeline storytelling. Both storylines are unique but still connected and the characters in each have issues that captivate the reader into wanting to know more.
• Building Mystery and Suspense:
There is quite a bit of suspense and mystery built in throughout the book. There are also many times when Evie Woods makes you think one thing but then ends up revealing something else entirely. For instance the story begins by saying that Sarah and her husband are separating. Sarah often refers to dealing with anxiety issues due to “the big bad thing” which one assumes is the falling apart of her marriage but in reality we later find out it’s actually due to her stillbirth.
Conclusion:
Alright well that is all for now. I hope that if you haven’t read this book that you do one day soon. If you have read I would love to hear your thoughts. Until next time!
xoxo,
Angelica Sophia
Angelica Sophia 
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