After reading Slivers by Vicki Atkinson, which, by the way, is excellent, I realized it had been decades since I last read a supernatural novel. The last one was The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, which was also her debut novel.

As a debut novel, I think Slivers hits the mark. Of course, since it is a work of fiction, I’m not going to share a lot of details, as I usually do, so as not to spoil Vicki’s novel. But here is my takeaway after reading Slivers:

“This is a great supernatural novel where three characters—Jane, Katie, and Eric—find themselves dealing with inexplicable phenomena that have actually been occurring for generations. The author does an excellent job of connecting the past with the present, developing the mystery of the Slivers and the Hiraeth (a portal of sorts that provides a thin space between worlds where the impossible happens). The story really picks up the pace once you reach the chapter titled ‘The Accident – 1965,’ and I couldn’t put it down after that. Watching Jane, Katie, and Eric unravel the truth behind these encounters, with the help of a character from the past, kept me hooked until the very end.”

I read Surviving Sue, Vicki’s first book, which I highly recommend, and I listened to one of her talks, so I knew there were some connections between the two books. As I read Slivers, I found myself looking for those connections.

When I encountered the word “Hiraeth,” something compelled me to look it up in the dictionary. Vicki beautifully describes it as she develops the scene, but I needed to know more because, even when I’m reading fiction, I’m not just reading for entertainment—I’m trying to figure out what the author is trying to say in the context of real life. By the way, I took about three pages of notes. Yeah, my nerdy side takes over even when I’m reading fiction. 

So, here is the definition of “Hiraeth” according to the Oxford English Dictionary:

“Originally and chiefly in the context of Wales and Welsh culture: deep longing for a person or thing which is absent or lost; yearning; nostalgia; spec. homesickness.”¹

If you have read Surviving Sue, then you know how Hiraeth connects to the story.

I also noticed other connections, such as the mystery surrounding family life and the things that went unsaid even though people knew what was happening, among others.

One thing that fascinated me was how Vicki discovered an ancestor while doing her research and connected him to the story. In the author’s notes at the back of the book, she explains that connection.

I could go on and on, but I don’t want to give away too much.

I want to end this post by saying that I highly recommend this novel to anyone, but in particular I think it is a must-read for those who have read Surviving Sue. There are some wonderfully spooky narratives woven throughout the novel.

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About the Author²

Vicki Atkinson is the author of Surviving Sue and Slivers and is a licensed professional counselor with a doctorate in Adult Education and degrees in Psychology. Vicki is a consultant in private practice and lives near Chicago with her husband Paul and is the proud mother of Delaney and guardian to her disabled sister, Lisa.

You can visit her wonderful blog, Victoria Ponders, to learn more about her writing.

You can read my review of Surviving Sue here.

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1. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/hiraeth_n?tl=true ↩︎
2. https://eckhartzpress.com/author/vicki-atkinson/ ↩︎

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