The Bell at Sealey Head

Patricia McKillip is my favorite living author and I was so surprised and pleased to find a new book by her at my local B&N that I sucked all the oxygen out of the store with my gasp. I had to purchase the book IMMEDIATELY, and had every intention of reading it right away, but a week passed, and then nearly another, before I had the time to dedicate to it. This delay occurred because I know that, once I start it, I generally don't put a McKillip book down until I am done. With The Bell at Sealey Head, however, that rule was broken. I found myself able to pause, and was perhaps not so absorbed into the narrative as with some of her other novels. That is not to say that there was anything wrong with the book -- McKillip's "good" is show more wonderful by anyone else's standards -- and though it did not have the emotional and philosophical intensity of my absolute favorite, In the Forests of Serre, or the entrancing characterization of The Changeling Sea, the novel was charming. It retains the fairy-tale flavor of so many of McKillip's books -- though with this one I could not identify a particular cultural heritage from which the text was drawing, so I may need to do more homework or that touch might have been simply tone this time around -- and genuine, appealing characters whom the reader naturally likes. The adventure -- the challenge which is usually the centerpiece of any good fairy tale and therefore any Patricia McKillip novel -- felt a little thin this time, perhaps because several of the characters one likes best sit out the final action in a closet, but the ending was satisfying anyway. The descriptive language and resulting images are lush and vivid and, much to my deep satisfaction (since the covers were what drew me to read McKillip in the first place years ago), perfectly complemented by the gorgeous cover art of Kinuko Craft.

I would be curious to know if McKillip was inspired by the Pacific shore, because there is a distinct sense of place here that seems more grounded in reality, even with the magical elements, than in previous novels. Overall, though this will not be be my favorite novel from her bibliography, it is a welcome return to many of the tropes and styles of classic McKillip, with just enough new and different to intrigue, if not entrance. show less

I love fantasy, especially fantasy which creeps up on a non-fantasy world. I enjoy mysteries, and stories of deception and hidden identities. I like reading Victorian-esque tales of amusing familial drawing-room discussions, balls and courtship. I love stories about magical doorways and gateways, parallel dimensions and secret friends. I like books about book people; characters who read - or write. I love picturesque, rustic settings. I enjoy reading about inns, and innkeepers, too. And The Bell at Sealey Head manages to combine all of these things successfully! Furthermore, its narrative skips around four main protagonists without bothering me in the slightest.

Sealey Head is a small, rustic town by the ocean, where at sunset an unseen show more bell can be heard ringing - a mystery most take for granted. As his father has become blind, Judd Cauley is the innkeeper of an inn with limited custom and a terrible cook they can't afford to replace, but has no ambition beyond reading all the books he can find. Gwyneth, a merchant's daughter, is (to her aunt's delight) being courted by the wealthy Raven Sproule, but Gwyneth would much rather spend her time writing stories which speculate about the mystery of the bell. Emma is the housemaid at Aislinn House, where she often opens doors not to find the rooms and cupboards she expects but to the other Aislinn House, the castle where Princess Ysabo lives, unable to go outside and with her life dictated by the ritual.
Aislinn House's owner, Lady Eglantyne, is dying, and so her heir is sent for. Suddenly Aislinn House is full with the heir and her entourage, there are guests at the inn and strangers in town. The characters find themselves caught up in a mystery about ancient magic and an old bid for power - and the reason for the ringing bell.

It doesn't have the same epic brilliance as the Riddle-Master trilogy, nor the lyrical fable quality of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, but it is beautifully written, with insight, wit and humour. The plot is complex, but without being confusing, and many of the characters' interactions are delightful. I laughed, I insisted on reading bits aloud to whoever happened to be in the room at the time - and put real life on hold until I had finished it. There's just something immensely satisfying about this book. :) show less

Patricia McKillip is one of my favourite authors; I adore her dreamy, luminous prose, and her real-seeming and likeable characters. She does, however, tend to fall down on plot – or maybe not at plot so much as at plot resolution. There are many threads to 'The Bell at Sealey Head', and at least two worlds, and although all are tied up more-or-less tidily there are many questions left unanswered, and a number of plot points that seem to go nowhere. I loved it nonetheless; her writing really is that good, and her people really that charming.

Utterly captivating and numinous. The magic and mystery work beautifully to drive the story. I also love the representation of a woman trying to write amidst domestic life, and of romances in which a couple of people just ... really like each other. This book is a delight, and I wish I could have gulped it down in a couple fascinated sittings as it deserves.

I've long been a fan of the lyrical and lovely Patricia McKillip, and I've been looking forward to her latest book, The Bell at Sealey Head, with high hopes. This anticipation was also fueled by several friends who peer-pressured me into bumping this to the top of my to-read list. I'm glad they did, because I enjoyed it quite a bit. But I'm not sure I can rave quite as unreservedly as those friends might like. I like the book, but do not adore it — at least, not yet. I think I will reread it in a few months.

For as long as they can remember, the people of the small coastal town of Sealey Head have heard a mythical bell tolling out of thin air. At least, most of the people can hear it; there are a few who can't. It tolls at the same show more time every evening, and various legends exist to explain it. When a scholar arrives from the city to research the bell he heard tolling, several young people from the town's three most prominent families — the Sproules, the Blairs, and the Cauleys — become involved in the strange happenings at Aislinn House. The past and present seem to run side by side there, and a strange ritualistic captivity echoes through the sleeping corridors.

Like many of McKillip's stories, this one has a lot of characters, each experiencing the unfolding story in a different way. I found the writer Gwyneth's tale for the bell, scattered in bits and pieces as she wrote it throughout the book, to be quite fun; perhaps it was a half-discarded plot of McKillip's that was picked out of the wastebasket?

The romantic relationships are understated and perfect in their few words. There is nothing explicit in this book; indeed, the charm of her romantic scenes is their brevity. It feels real because there is a lot happening under the surface of a few sentences. In one part two characters steal off for a walk on the beach, and all we hear about it is, "When they returned..." It adds such a lovely touch to the story, and I get the impression that McKillip respects her characters. The romantic tension reminds me of Robin McKinley's style in The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown. Stirring, I think one reviewer called it. In this story McKillip ventures into almost Austenian situations and characters, which is unusual for her. I enjoyed it, but I think I need to reread to fully adjust to it.

McKillip loves to write about the worlds behind the everyday physical world, the fantasy counterparts to our familiar realities. Too often the entry to the other side is bricked up, as happens in Aislinn House in this story. What I love about McKillip is her ability to find a way around those bricked doors, to lead us into the beautiful and perilous places of her imagination. Recommended. show less

I love McKillip's writing and I think this is one of her best. Of course when in the first few pages you read of a book loving inn keeper - Judd had no particular ambitions beyond reading every book in the world and taking care of his father - it probably will influence your thoughts about the book.

This is a wonderful fantasy with an interesting cast of characters some of whom can hear the eponymous bell. An isolated coastal town with an old house that contains mysteries, some gentle romance, a love of books and writing - all these add up to a magical, lyrical read.

Sealey Head is a small fishing village somewhere on a coast, in which every evening just as the sun disappears into the sea, a bell can be heard by everyone living there. Nobody knows where the bell is or who is ringing it or why, and it's been the subject of gossip and theory for years, the most prevalent being that it's the deathknell of ship going down in the harbour a long time ago. But Ridley Dow, a scholar visiting from the large city nearby, thinks there might be something more to it; indeed, that there might be something magical going on.... That is only one thread of the tale McKillip weaves in her wonderful 2008 novel, The Bell At Sealey Head. For some reason, although I've loved her work since The Forgotten Beasts of Eld was show more published in the 1970s, McKillip is one of those authors whose books take me a long time to get to - for example, I bought this novel when it came out, but it sat on my to-be-read shelf until now, almost four years later. I don't know why I do that with her books, except that maybe I just want to be in a quiet space so that I can let her poetic words weave their enchantment about me; for the space of each of her stories, I really am transported to the Otherword she has chosen to unveil. This is no exception - beautifully written, with a number of characters fully fleshed out and interacting realistically, whether in the "real" world or not. Recommended. show less