Fire and Hemlock

By: Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by: Gemma Dawson

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Polly has two sets of memories....

One is normal: school, home, friends. The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was 10 and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother's house. Polly's just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed.

But what did she do? Why can't she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love - and perhaps Polly herself - will be lost.

©1985 Diana Wynne Jones (P)2021 Tantor

I had to work at this one

I didn’t grow up hearing the story of Tam Lin, and so was lost on which myth was being played out in the story. When O figured it out (she gave plenty of hints) I got it at last.

perfection

this book was perfection to me :) I loved everything about it. I read both the story of Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer in advance as advised by a prior reviewer.

At Last!

I adore Diana Wynne Joned, and I have been eagerly waiting for this particular book. It is fantastic, and I hope they do her Dalemark Quartet next. Wonderfully done!

Best of DWJ

Story was fascinating. Narrator was excellent. I’m a big fan of Diana Wynne Jones and have listened to several. I think this is her best (so far).

Engrossing

At age nineteen, Polly suddenly discovers that she has two sets of memories, one false imposed on the true, and begins to puzzle it out, realizing that it has to do with her adult friend, Tom Lynn. Polly first met him when she accidentally gate-crashed a funeral at the age of ten. They stayed in touch through the years by letters and the books that Mr. Lynn sent. As Polly remembers, the reader is given the story of the ten years between the initial meeting and the present.

This complex fantasy, taking place in 1980s England, brings in elements of the traditional "Thomas the Rhymer" and "Tam Lin" tales to tell the story of Polly and Tom Lynn. Unfortunately, if the reader is unfamiliar with those old stories, much of the nuances, and even some of the salient points, are missed. Despite that, it's an engrossing novel, twisty and layered, and well-written with Jones' typical intelligence and imagination. My only reason for not giving it a full five stars is that I felt Polly's younger self displayed an unbelievable perspicacity. None the less, I recommend it unhesitating, but advise the reader to become familiar with the aforementioned British legends before starting.

A note on the narrator: Gemma Dawson has a pleasant voice, but tends to run sentences together or pause in mid-sentence, both of which interrupt the flow of the story and detract from the book as a whole.

Touching story but for adults

This is a story about a girl whose parents are immature and selfish. Jones writes about her as if she really knows what it is like to be forgotten and neglected. The girl is not helpless but needs help and rescue which she finds in the persons of her grandmother and an adult male friend who needs rescuing himself.

The story has several situations which are only appropriate for and understood by older readers. The story is not explicit, but the implications are solidly there making this book less suitable for children than Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle trilogy.

The girls’ mother takes several men in as boarders which she becomes romantically involved with. The girls’ father is a philanderer as are most of the men in this book.

Most of the males in the book are enslaved by their desires, and some are addicts. Some of the men sell their lives to a beautiful woman who promises them all a male wants and more.

The heroine becomes infatuated with an adult male. There is nothing improper in their relationship, but the the male knows she is infatuated with him and still encourages her friendship for his own ends (which are not sexual).

This relationship is still enough to make the reader uncomfortable. Jones deals with this moral conflict by breaking the relationship until the girl grows old enough for a proper handling of her infatuation with the male and his growing feelings for her. There is a lot implied here but never elaborated on.

I am a Christian mother of seven so in light of the things I have said, one might think I did not like the book as I have described it above. I actually loved the book because it was not explicit nor was it preachy. Jones does a good job of letting the reader know what is going on without making that the most important part of the story. She lets us feel the effect of the problems people have without detailing the experience to make it gratuitous. And Jones writes so beautifully of how the little girl feels that I was moved to tears many times. I especially appreciate that Jones doesn’t let the reader feel that there is no hope.

If there is something I am uncomfortable with, it is the overly precocious way the girl acts in general as well as towards the older male protagonist. Jones does deal with this properly, I think, but it was a bit of a stretch to see the good in the relationship without feeling uncomfortable. The girl also uses magic which seems more like what I hear real occult practices are. This also made me more uncomfortable.

I think the book is worth the listen or read. It is performed extremely well by the reader here. This is one of Jones’s most poignant works, but readers should know it is more for adults than children.

An old favorite

Great narration for a story I always love to go back to. I love the author and it's great to start getting her stories as audiobooks. The cover is a huge improvement from my old paperback copy too.

You’ll read it over and over

One of the best novels by DWJ! The twist and turns, and seemingly normal events would eventually make you want to read/re-listen again and again to get the clues! Enchanting story!

Great characters

Great story, characters and narration. Couldn’t quite follow the ending in its details but was happy with the gist.