Heap Earth Upon It

This book captures the life of four siblings after a traumatic incident which had them flee their hometown. They try to build a new life and heap earth upon everything they left behind, but they can´t all keep a straight story when the new neighbours get noisy and notice that some things don´t seem to add up. The story is set in the 1950s in rual Ireland. The four siblings each have their own struggles, which are perfectly captured in their povs. One brother wants the recognition of the people around him by trying to please everyone and cover their past. The other is scared to get over what has happened and finds himself completely changed by it. The sister is anxious and obsessive and longs for someone to take care of their mess. The youngest is the abandoned one, who tries to fit into all this. When you sympathise with one, you´ll change your mind by the next chapter. This made the story really interesting and kept me reading, especially in the beginning when nothing else is really happening yet. The shadow of what has happened in their past is looming over the story and creates an eery atmosphere. The reader doesn´t get told what it is and you kind of figure it out alongside the people of the town. My favourite part of the book was the beautiful writing style. Every now and then the author hits you with a banger of a line out of nowhere. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book, even though I was hoping for even more dark and gloomy vibes. And unfortunately it took some time until things were starting to happen. But I would definitely recommend it.

Since “Sunburn” was one of my favorite reads the past year, I went into this book with very high expectations. Although “Heap earth upon it” was nothing like her first book, Chloe Michelle Howarth did not disappoint. Her writing is beautiful and makes the reader easily feel connected to the characters. Howarth explores the depths of family dynamics and disfunction. This read was at times confusing and deeply haunting! I simply could not put down the book in need to find out what secrets the O’Leary siblings were hiding.