Lead Review (The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn)

• Book: The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn
• Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland
• Author: Sue Reed

Review Author: tripfiction

Molly has been dropped off with her hippie grandparents whilst her mother works at a hospital during the 2020 pandemic. It is a a shock because they live virtually in the middle of rural Northumberland, where the single, local shop closes at 15.00, such a contrast to the bright lights and busy streets of Newcastle and the suburb of Heaton, where she and her mother are based.

The Wi-Fi is erratic, the grandparents clearly haven’t heard of Spotify (preferring their CDs to listen to their ‘dum diddley music’) and mugwort tea is a thing. Her grandparents lead the ‘good life‘, in tune with nature, working with their sheep during lambing season, and sourcing food from the land. Humanity may be in crisis, battered by a pandemic but the seasons march on regardless.

Molly’s Nan is adept at blending herbs for all kinds of things, sourcing ingredients from the locality. She is also a member of the Silver Spoon Collective, a project to bring women together to honour the women murdered on charges of witchcraft.  Burned / hanged, as many were in the 17th Century, she is exploring the memory of a particular victim, to wit Ann Watson, who was hanged on the Town Moor in Newcastle in 1650. Molly’s modern context for the setting is where The Hoppings (an annual funfair rolls in every Summer), an open moor right in the centre of the city where cows graze.

Then, whilst taking her grandparents’ dog for a walk, she espies a young woman of perhaps similar age, who is withdrawn and frightened, dirty, too; yet somehow she can’t forget her and tries to seek her out once again….

A delightfully told story, a magical interweaving of past and present. This is the story of a teenage girl grappling with the rhythms of life in the country, which contrast strongly with her life in the city. Sausages don’t come from the supermarket but from local farmers, yogurt is home made and there is a distinct lack of plastic around her grandparents’ house. Molly learns that the wilds of the countryside have a lot to offer to a modern day young woman. The story is also specific on the daily routines, fears and conditions of the Covid months, whilst Molly explores the resonances of times past with her new acquaintance.

If you are familiar with the North East, you will love the mention of settings, both across the city and wider Northumberland.

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