I’m thrilled to be able to bring you my review of The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer. I originally read this book last year before I started my blog so I am very excited to be able to share my thoughts on it now as part of the blog tour as I so enjoyed reading it. I am still recommending it to people nearly a year after reading it as it has stuck with me because I enjoyed it so much. Another 5 star read from me! If you liked The Lovely Bones, I think you will enjoy this book as I felt it was similar.
The Doll Funeral is available in ebook and paperback here.
Book Blurb:
My name is Ruby. I live with Barbara and Mick. They’re not my real parents, but they tell me what to do, and what to say.
But there are things I won’t say. I won’t tell them I’m going to hunt for my real parents. I don’t say a word about Shadow, who sits on the stairs, or the Wasp Lady I saw. Or that I’m a hunter for lost souls.
I’m going to be with my real family. And I won’t let anyone stop me.
My Review:
I thought this was a fantastic book. Part coming of age, part adventure but completely beautiful, I was immediately drawn into Ruby’s story. When Ruby finds out, on her thirteenth birthday, that her parents aren’t her real parents she is thrilled and run out into the garden singing. Having endured a hard, lonely childhood suffering beatings from her dad she is relieved that there is a chance for a happier life. Ruby soon embarks on a journey of discovery to try and find her parents, but also herself, a place to belong and most importantly to find love!
Firstly a lot of people seem to have found this a dark tale and while there are some dark parts to it I thought this was a story, above all, about love and hope. I haven’t read a book that has effected me like this for a while. It has really got under my skin and made me think. The emotion it evokes is so real and raw that you feel everything that Ruby is going through and live the events in the book alongside her. I felt truly involved in her journey and really wanted her to succeed and find the love she desperately wanted.
I really liked Ruby! I thought she was incredibly brave and stuck up for what she believed in despite the consequences, I wanted her to find her happy ending so was immediately intrigued by the story and wanted to read more to find out what happens. The telling of Ruby’s mother’s story alongside Ruby’s helps provide tension and adds a lot of emotion to the story as the truth is gradually revealed. The stark contrast between then and now is very poignant and made me tear up in places, especially being a mum. At one point I went upstairs to give my sleeping kids a huge cuddle! Sometimes you discovered something in one timeline which hadn’t been revealed in the other and this made you keep keep reading to discover when they find out.
There is a magical/ otherworldly side to this book which really makes it stand out. I loved his the author describes the forest as a living thing that often seems to reflect a characters mood and sometimes seems to help them. The use of ghost that help or hinder Ruby adds more emotion to the book and helps give it an usual edge.
I would recommend this book to everyone as I thought it was a fantastic read that everyone should try. This isn’t the first book by the author I have read but in my opinion this one is her best.
Huge thanks to Sophia Portas and Faber & Faber for the advanced proof and Joanna Lee for inviting me onto the blog tour. If you liked The Lovely Bones I think you’ll like this book!
About The Author:
Kate Hamer’s first novel ‘The Girl in the Red Coat’ (Faber & Faber, 2015) was shortlisted for The Costa First Novel Prize, the British Book Industry Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year, the John Creasy (New Blood) Dagger and the Wales Book of the Year. It was a Sunday Times bestseller and has been translated into 18 different languages. Kate won the Rhys Davies Short Story Prize and she has had short stories published in anthologies such ‘A Fiction Map of Wales’, ‘New Welsh Short Stories’ and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. She’s written articles and reviews for The Independent, The Mail on Sunday and The New York Times. Kate grew up in the West country and rural Pembrokeshire and now lives with her husband in Cardiff. Her second novel ‘The Doll Funeral’ was a Bookseller book of the month and an editor’s pick for Radio 4’s Open Book.
Follow The Blog Tour:
If you liked the sound of this book from my review, do follow the blog tour and see what these other fantastic reviewers are saying!
Over The Rainbow Blog 