Moontide by Mary Greenwood

Listen. I have a story to share. Will you hear it howling in my eaves? Feel it gusting down my chimney with a fine mist of rain? See it in the gossamer ghosts flitting over the dust and ashes? Scent it on the salt wind that whispers and wails with the voices of the lost? I can only hope you will. Publisher.

Mary Greenwood won The Hawkeye Prize in 2022 for Moontide which is a beautifully written fantasy featuring three protagonists Fiadh, Brenna and Tuathal, who are searching for answers about their past. Fiadh wears a wolf skin that each night turns her into a savage animal, and when she finds the abandoned lighthouse, is without hope of ever being normal. Brenna is feared and shunned by the townsfolk, because she is the daughter of fire and when a wolf attacks her, she bargains with the Council for her life. Tuathal is a son of the sea, desperate to discover why his mother disappeared. The trio are all influenced by the past and must overcome their traumas to find peace.

Greenwood’s writing is evocative. It is very easy to imagine Fiadh, alone and afraid, stained with blood and wondering how to be rid of the wolf pelt that is gradually taking over her life. The scenes of Brenna trying to face down the ugly superstitions of the townspeople make the reader ache in sympathy for her plight, while the scenes of Tuathal and the sea are beautifully described. The trio become entwined as they search for answers about the past.

Moontide is a story for fantasy lovers who are interested in mythology including selkies, young people coming of age, all written in lovely prose. Mary Greenwood talks about her novel here, and there is a book trailer here.

Themes: Mythical animals, Shapeshifters, Selkies, Lighthouses, Social discrimination.

Pat Pledger