Diving Belles by Lucy Wood - reviewed

Lucy Wood- Of Mothers and Little People review

This short story written by local author Lucy Wood is intriguing, to say the least. She has cleverly devised an original novel with a different almost haunting twist. Of Mothers and Little People is written in the third person, creating an almost supernatural feel of watching over and participating in the events.

Although interesting in structure, this story is in many ways confusing. At times this story is so complex, to the stage that you struggle to understand the full meaning of many of the vital parts. Its many elements fuse together, therefore creating a difficult read requiring you to concentrate at all times, which is not ideal. It lacks an apparent story line, with no obvious beginning or end, making the story drag. Once finished, in reflection, you realise you have no understanding of what has happened or what you have been reading about.

However, Lucy Wood uses many creative techniques. For example, she uses strong adjectives to help the reader understand and picture the scenarios more. She describes the events in depth including the minor details, bulking out the story. The explanation of the woods (in which we have no idea why or how she got there!), caught our attention: “The trees are in the last glorious stages of autumn colour. The ground is wet and there is moss everywhere, pushing up in thick cushions.” The vivid description makes the story a better read and shows the true talent of Wood’s articulate skills. Wood also uses a variety of punctuation, breaking up the story and adding to the drama.

Even though Wood uses impressive vocabulary and an interesting structure, this story doesn’t really appeal to our taste in literature. Nevertheless, anyone can appreciate the hard work and different, more modern approach to short stories that she uses. We believe that she is an inspiration to us, as the younger generation, coming from a similar background, proving that determination and perseverance can reach high goals.

Keep an eye on Lucy Wood as she progresses into a well renowned author. 

By Charlotte Whitfield and Ellie Townsend

Of Mothers and Little People

Review By Ryan Grigg

How does this story make me feel? Mystified? Engaged? Somewhat confused? In fact Of Mothers and Little People by Lucy Wood brings out its own world of thoughts, feelings and emotions. Whether this is through her vivid discussion of a seemingly usual family home, but with an air of mystery; through the creation of a wonderfully unusual and sometimes mystical group of characters; and through a tale that only the most imaginative mind could have thought of; whatever your tastes, there is always something exiting and unexpected around the corner when you send your mind into a rollercoaster of a story; this is like nothing you’ve ever read before.

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->The story tells the tale of young lady who returns to what she thinks is her mother’s ordinary home. However, with the help of some magical cleansing product, she enters herself into an adventure with hallucinations and a walk on the wild side. Lucy Wood has the upmost ability to enter a style of writing that can only be compared with Cornish myths and legends of old.

As I am not a huge fan of this particular genre, I was quietly pessimistic about this story. I didn’t expect to be enthralled in the way that I was. At every stage of the tale I was expecting something magical to happen. But these events did not occur in a way that you would have expected. At some points of the story a may have become slightly confused with the way that the tale would twist and turn, but then I thought that that might be the whole point of the story: to take you on a rollercoaster ride in just a collection of intriguing paragraphs. This story has obviously not been made just to please one’s mind, but to challenge it with its mystical plot twists and the beautifully captivating setting.

In summary, this mythical tale of fantasy and wonder is something that I was pessimistic about to begin with, but having read it, I now feel as if I have just left an exciting rollercoaster of a tale that really challenges the mind with its high level of mystery and imagination.   

Review on Lucy Wood’s

“Of Mothers and Little People”

I am intrigued by Lucy Wood’s tale “Of Mothers and Little People”. It differs from anything I have read before. The story to me has no beginning or end; it simply fades in and out of existence. Whether this is fitting for a short story such as this I do not know, however, the story we are left with is clearly kept there for a reason.

Lucy Wood writes in a descriptive and creative style that has the ability to explain something in a very short space of time. This ability is cherished by authors of short stories such as this.  Her description pays attention to every single detail, giving us a clear image of what happens within this tale. The author uses expressive adjectives and definitive language techniques to survey her point across to us.

Lucy Wood’s creativity is also displayed predominantly in this story. The tale tells us of a mother and daughter’s relationship and the problems they face when the daughter’s father finds a new partner. However, the mother of this story has a secret weapon of her own. She has a magical cleansing product of some kind that when rubbed over the eyes causes you to see much more than you could with the naked eye. For this magical item gives you the ability to see a man, wearing a green waistcoat. This man and the mother clearly have some sort of love interest. This imagination displayed by Lucy Wood in her story shows she is clearly very thoughtful and talented individual.

To conclude, Lucy Wood’s tale contains everything a good and thrilling read should but personally I prefer a solid beginning and end to a story, but perhaps that is just me being picky!

By Joseph Ward