Meet Me At The Surface by Jodie Matthews

I would like to thank Fourth Estate for an a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher - Fourth Estate

Published - Out Now

Price - £16.99 hardback £8.99 Kindle ebook

Everything that comes from the ground has to go back down… eventually

Merryn grew up on the wilds of Bodmin moor, raised by her mother and her aunt in an old farmhouse. Here, the locals never leave the village, fear for the future of their farms and cling desperately to the folkloric tales that are woven into their history. Except Merryn, who has escaped to Manchester for university, briefly untethering herself from her past.

When Merryn returns home for the memorial service of her ex-girlfriend Claud, she finds her childhood home stranger and more secretive than ever. She’s sure that her mother is hiding something. The villagers are hunting on the moors at night, but for what? And then there’s a notebook, found in an old chest of drawers, full of long-forgotten folklore that seems to be linked somehow to Claud…

The idea that we can never go home again is one I’ve always read less literally and more that we can never be children who don’t see the world through innocent (and ignorant) eyes. Growing up gives perspective and many stories explore how people get these revelations. In Jodie Matthews’ modern folk tale Meet Me At The Surface we have a tale of lost love, secretive families and grief but not really enough to make me fully invested.

Merryn returns for a memorial surface for her ex girlfriend and finds her home strange and family are hiding things. The date is forever put off and conversations continually avoided. This makes Merryn consider the mysteries of her childhood and she delved into ancient lore that suggests powerful secrets her family have avoided for far too long.

This is a strange piece of storytelling. Tonally Matthews captures a feeling of alienation and dislocation. Merryn very much feels the outsider and she is herself perhaps out of grief not engaged with the world. But this is a story that lacks any pace and tension. It’s lacking much structure and feels more gently edging to a conclusion which itself is ambiguous. It’s more mood piece than actual substance of a story and I never really connected with anyone in it despite it having some interesting ideas. Not enough to be folk horror and the fantastical seems a little undercooked. Ultimately a writer with talent but this feels a rough debut not quite hitting the mark.