The Doll Maker is a love story. A weird, twisted and fascinating love story, shaped in the same way the doll maker shapes his dolls. In it we read the story of Andrew and Bramber, told slowly and with care, not to show to much at first, but to make us thirsty for more. The book was written in a very clever way, we are fed small parcels of the events in Andrew’s descriptions of his travels and on Bramber’s letters to him. Nothing is revealed to early, or given to us in a silver platter.

On another hand, we can find a book within the book, as Andrew is reading the short stories of Ewa Chaplin, another doll maker/writer. Her stories are as mesmerizing as her dolls, and enchant both main characters, and also us while we read them.

We need to pay full attention while reading this book, especially because when we are buried deep in an Andrew or Bramber passage we are suddenly taken away to a chapter of Ewa’s book, and have to adapt to new characters and story flow. But these short stories are also a pearl on itself, wrap the book in a mysterious aura while at the same time setting a background to the main characters thoughts and feelings.
It is a love story, but also a book about embracing the difference, about daring to be yourself despite everyone else’s opinions, and how all of us make each other suffer with our easy judgement and misconceptions. It is also a speculative fiction book, as we are taken to strange ideas like parallel universes, the definition of time, and other light brushes on science.

I recommend it to everyone who likes a story that is different, daring, bold and is not afraid to embrace difference.

As a child I rarely played with dolls. They always scared me; tiny little humanoids with eyes that snap open and stare. This book reminded me of my childhood fear with its creeping tension and ability to worm its way into your consciousness.
Andrew and Bramber are drawn together by their love of dolls and the history of dollmaking. Andrew is 4ft 9in tall and Bramber is in an institution on Bodmin Moor. They strike up a correspondence and Andrew travels to meet her hoping that they might develop a closer relationship. Interspersed with his journey are short stories by Ewa Chaplin, a doll-maker and author who moved from Poland to London at the start of World War II. Her stories are dark, twisted fairytales with evil fae and living dolls. Recurring characters, objects and themes appear in both Andrew's and Ewa's stories blurring the lines between reality and an alternative reality.
The Dollmaker is well-written and constructed and Ewa's stories are particularly masterful with their looming menace. It verges on the side of horror for me which is not my preferred genre and it is overtly sexual in places, but I think fans of noir magical realism will love it.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for my ARC.

Thank You Netgalley & Publishers For Granting My Request To Review This Book.

This Book Was Set Out As Narrative, Letters & Mini Stories. The Stricture Took A While To Get Used To But I Really Enjoyed All Bar One Of The Mornin Stories And How/Where They Were Placed.

The Letters Were Of Correspondence Between Andrew Garvie & Bramber Winters, Friends Who Have Never Met. Through Their Letters And Andrew’s Narrative, We Learn Secrets Of Their Lives That They Feel Comfortable Telling Each Other And Not Their Closet Acquaintances.

After Finishing This Last Night, I Still Dont Know How I Feel About It And If I Actually Liked It. Their Were Aspects I Liked But I’m Still not Sure Overall

Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy. The Dollmaker is the ultimate Marmite book – you will either love it or you’re going to have a bad time with it. I was the latter.

Now, it’s very important to point out that I will most likely be in the minority with this. There are a LOT of people who absolutely love and cannot get enough of this book, but I tried. I tried so hard to love a book with an excellent cover and an opening paragraph about murder.

Let me set the scene first.

Ever since he was a kid, Andrew was obsessed with dolls. Not modern day ones, but instead he developed a fascination with those from the Victorian era. He wanted to Pokemon the shit out them and get them all – not for monetary gain, but rather because he appreciated their looks and craftsmanship. It’s a lonely existence when it comes to niche hobbies which lead him right to Bramber; his new penpal.

This is a tale of his journey to meet Bramber face to face and he did what all humans should do when they get stuck in fart-cans-on-wheels for prolonged periods of time. He brought his favourite book of short stories by an author called Ewa Chaplain.

This is where things get jarring. Those short stories get woven into the book and it feels like a printing error. I was someone who'd struggled to get into the plot in the first place and then I get presented with short stories mid-chapter so, naturally, my brain did a little cry. Basically, I spent more time re-reading sections to make sure I understood what had just happened than I'd like to admit…

The other thing – I actually found those short stories really interesting and wanted to know more only to be thrown back into the main story just when I was getting right into it. There were times when I probably looked like a right huffy little brat with a face like thunder on my commutes. Anyone would think I was trying to solve a work conundrum rather than trying to follow along with the book’s plot.

What’s annoying me the most is that I loved Andrew and Bramber’s story and I was also intrigued by the short stories. I just really, really needed them to be separate so my tiny brain could keep up.

This is by no means a bad book. The writing is fluid and the stories are interesting; it just wasn’t my thing 🤷

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What a strange and elusive tale! The atmosphere is gothic but we're in a modern world where people have mobiles. Ultimately, I think, this is an inclusive story of two people who would have been regarded as grotesques in Victorian fiction (I was thinking Dickensian, especially) instead being normalised, empathised with and, eventually rescuing each other (almost). There are tantalizing layers created through inserted fairy tales which reflect and retract the main story, and the writing is fluent throughout. An unusual novel, and vision.

I can hardly wait for this to be published so I can tell my customers all about it. A really original gem that worked on two levels. I adored the characters of Andrew and Bramber and thought the unfolding of their respective stories was skilfully done. The fairytales throughout were amazing - atmospheric fables providing a whole other level to the novel. Most wonderful!

This book was frankly quite strange. I originally DNF but went back to it as the premise had continued to draw me in. Unfortunately I didn’t have much luck the second time. There was a certain strange naïveté to the characters and the weird obsession with dwarfs throughout was baffling. I also didn’t like the way it switched perspective into the stories in between as they were incredibly long.

This is the type of book that splits opinion. Either you consider it a work of art, filled with prose within prose, or a slow burner that never really gets going.

Cleverly planned, this starts as a tale about doll collections and the meeting of minds. It plods through timelessly, you are never entirely sure of ages or times. Then the book starts to form another book within itself. It is almost unnerving!

You will the book to come together, which it does in the end, just not how I wanted or foresaw.

So I would say I belong in the former rather than the latter. This is a real literary experience, it challenges and confuses, but ultimately rewards you. Now that I've finished it, I want to dive back in at the beginning!

Clever, elusive and at times terrifying, The Dollmaker is a wonderfully rich and vivid piece of fiction. Great for fans of Angela Carter or Erin Morgenstern.

A modern gothic inspired by, amongst other things, a poem, ‘The Dwarf’, written by Matthaus von Collin and set to music by Schubert in Vienna in the early 1800s, the main character of The Dollmaker, Andrew is of short stature and his love of dolls not only provides him with a career but puts him in the way of another doll collector, Bramber, who is particularly interested in the dolls made by Ewa Chaplin, a woman who also wrote short stories that explore an uncanny fascination with dolls and dwarfs.

His correspondence with Bramber, begun through a collector’s magazine, develops and Andrew falls in love with her and decides to travel across England to meet her. On the way, alongside Andrew, we read their letters and the eerie tales of Ewa Chaplin that twist their way into a narrative already rife with myth and alternative reality. Andrew has not told Bramber he is a dwarf and Bramber hasn’t fully explained why she is living in what seems to be a mental institution. The clever way in which fairytale interweaves with the mundane, using the romanticism of poetry and myth (I couldn’t help but be reminded of Tristan and Isolde when reading ‘The Dwarf’) brings a heightened sense of melodrama and chivalry with uncanny notes of the surreal – what is more uncanny than a doll made in the likeness of a real human being? – to a homely coach and train journey across England in which Andrew mainly stays in bed and breakfasts.

As the novel progresses the surreal aspects of the story increase but the ending remains grounded in the real, taking a turn both unsuspected and empowering without fitting into any of the tropes a reader might have expected. This is very pleasing.

So too is the novel’s ability to translate into the unconscious imaginings of the reader. If you’re aiming for uncanny, you want to unsettle the reader enough to get ripples of suggestion working through their dreams and Nina Allan does just this with The Dollmaker. It’s an odd, quixotic tale; a modern playful gothic whose images linger in the mind. Out in April of this year, it’s for anyone who likes to have their dreams invaded.

This was a really atmospheric and gripping read. I liked the dark, fable-like quality of the writing. The two main characters were both equally fascinating, and I enjoyed the way their stories came together.

I've read pretty mixed reviews on this, and I must admit that it certainly wasn't the kind of book I'd normally read. It had a very strange atmosphere to it, almost creepy at times.

Andrew recalls some of his childhood and youth, and his instant love for a doll he saw in a window. I actually felt that there was no sense of time even from the start - it took me a while to figure out how old Andrew was in particular parts of his story, let alone how old he is now. This was probably the root of my main issues with this book; I just couldn't make sense of the timescale.

The introduction of Bramber's letters was an interesting aspect, though I soon found similar troubles here: I did not feel the passing of time. I also had trouble keeping up with the characters. Still, the story being outlined was intriguing and quite exciting where Bramber's past was concerned.

Bramber's letters are included in-between Andrew's own story, where he narrates his journey to surprise Bramber with a visit. They had never seen pictures of each other, or even spoken on the phone. It was a risk, but one Andrew felt was worth taking. Throughout this journey, Andrew tells more stories from his youth - several of which are quite - almost disturbingly - sexual.

It is also interspersed with Ewa Chaplin's Nine Modern Fairytales, which all include a dwarf in some way. These stories were all rather creepy on their own, and Allan regularly refers to aspects from them in her writing.

I do not want to go into detail recapping the plot. My three main points to convey in this review are: it had a very distinct, strange aura; there seemed to be a distinct lack of time passing; I personally felt no real connection to or interest in any character. I felt very detached from this book when I read it. There were no faults with the writing that I could identify, I just simply didn't click with it. That being said, I do appreciate the writing itself, and so am giving this book 3 stars.

This is such a beautiful book embracing those who are different and because of these difficulties have the challenge of finding their place in society. It's beautifully written and draws us into the fears and secrets of Andrew and Bramber who begin communicating through letter writing. Their connection is based on their knowledge and love of dolls but grows into a caring, relationship beyond that bond. The story culminates in Andrew pushing himself into taking an uncharacteristically brave journey and their rescuing of each other, both literally and metaphorically, It's an enchanting and engrossing story with many layers.

This book is completely out of my comfort zone and usually I would not have chosen it but I’m so glad I did.
It is strange and very unusual novel yet intriguing all rolled into one.
It is really based around a simple love story. There is an element of creepiness within it which I think adds to the books makeup.
There are short stories within it which adds substance and depth to it.
Discovering a different genre and getting out of your usual reading choices is a must an highly recommended as you don’t know what gems are out there.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Quercus Books for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

I hear the words ‘dark fairytale’ shared around quite a bit, for everything from re-imaginings of princess stories to books from the evil queens point of view. And that’s fine. But if you want a real dark fairytale, this is it. This book is complicated and you need to sit down and give it your real focus to get the best from it. It’s stories within stories and subtle pivotal details that you could easily miss. I found this book incredible and it has lingered in my mind days after I’m finished. Gorgeous.

#The Dollmaker #Netgalley
It’s a beautiful taltented read, with a touch of scary ness in parts, with a twist of a love story,. This book seems to have a bit of everything in it for everyone, it’s a very very cleverly written book. The dolls that are made sound absolutely exquisite. Actually like the writing itself is captivating. What a brilliant writer. It’s quite often the writing can either make or break a book, This was most definitely a excellent written book with a story full of twists and turns, pretty awesome book definitely worth reading and highly recommend.

This is an early review - full review will follow closer to publication, in accordance with the publisher's wishes.

I really enjoyed Allan's last two books, The Rift and The Race, and I was eager to read The Dollmaker. Those books were twisty, substantial ostensible science fiction/ fantasy which invited the reader to wonder if what were - on the surface - fantastical stories should simply be taken as such, or whether the weird turns, contradictions and coincidences were (or also were) indicative of ruptured relationships and individuals' breakdowns. The answer wasn't clear, and that, perhaps, was one of the most satisfying things about them.

The Dollmaker presents, I think, a similar choice. No spoilers though - the magic WILL unfold, I promise!

Here are fairy stories entwined with real lives. (But which is which?) A quest to free a 'princess' - but is she?

I saw echoes of The Remains of the Day, fused with tales of obsession and strangeness.

It's a dense novel (in a good way!) which had me flicking backwards and forwards in my Kindle checking for repetitions, echoes, foreshadowings, for loose strands suddenly appearing in a different context and resolutions to things that seemed to stop midway.

An excellent book, one I enjoyed a lot and would strongly recommend.

There are no two ways about it. This is a real marmite book. Readers are either going to love it or hate but I doubt there will be many in between.

Andrew and Bramber are penpals. Neither are children but adults who share a love of dolls. I don’t mean dolls for children such as Barbie but collectable, antique and handmade dolls. Andrew lives in London and is a dollmaker. Bramber lives on Bodmin Moor in an unusual surrounding. Andrew sets off on a journey to visit Bramber. Whilst on his journey he reads from a collection of short stories by Ewa Chaplin who was also a dollmaker.

I love quirky books & this is definitely a quirky book. There is the main story of Bramber and Andrew’s penpal relationship. As the book progresses we learn about them and their relationship. A lot of this is in the form of letters. There are also insights into their pasts and their day to day lives. Then there are the short stories which are slotted into the book. These are unusual and quite creepy stories. I will leave you to discover how they fit in with Bramber and Andrew’s story. Although the book is complex with several time scales I had no problem at all in keeping everything in its place.

This is a very well written book with beautifully descriptive vocabulary. The style of the main story is very different from the style of the Ewa Chaplin short stories so there was no confusion. The book is full of fascinating characters – not just Andrew and Bramber who are interesting in themselves but also Bramber’s friends where she lives and Andrew’s friend Clarence. The supporting cast in the flashbacks are also interesting and complete characters even though they exist for only a few pages.

I really enjoyed this book. Its quirkiness reminded me of “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern or “The Toymakers” by Robert Dinsdale though the subject matter is quite different. I think this would make an ideal bookgroup read as there are going to be some very strong views about it!

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

This book was different from anything else I have read. It includes mini stories within it, at first I thought the book had a printing error!! The storey is a love storey over distance. I would love to have read more about the actual doll making. I think this will be a book that is either loved or hated. For me it was ok.

Thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with an Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a wonderfully strange and unusual novel.

Ostensibly this novel is about a dollmaker called Andrew and his pen pal Bamber. Andrew is on a cross country journey to meet with her after many years of correspondence. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong. So very wrong.

This is really a series of stories within a story. Bamber, a woman of indeterminate age is researching a Polish Writer and Dollmaker named Ewa Chaplin. Some of Ewa’s short stories are interspersed in the narrative as well as Bamber’s letters to Andrew.

It’s really difficult to talk too much about the plot of this novel without spoiling its myriad twists and turns. Its mysteries unfold slowly, and there were times I was reading that I found myself wondering if I had missed something e.g. Andrew will mention someone by their first name, as if we were supposed to know them, and I wouldn’t remember if the character had been introduced yet (they hadn’t). This is absolutely a deliberate choice by the author but more than once I felt completely confused and with that in mind, it’s perhaps not a book for people who dislike ambiguity or red herrings. I was over halfway through before I really started to ‘get’ it.

The real strength of the novel for me was Ewa’s short stories, a series of unnerving, dark and downright bizarre stories. ‘The Elephant Girl’ in particular made for really twisted and disturbing reading. Even now I'm trying to remember which were excerpts from Ewa’s writings and which were accounts of Bamber or Andrew’s pasts. I also enjoyed Andrew’s accounts of his quest to find Bramber and the descriptions of the humdrum towns he visits along the way. I also quite like dolls even though I know they are quite creepy to some, an uncanniness the author uses to great effect in the novel.

I didn’t dislike anything in the novel as such, but I did find it a frustrating read at times. It’s a clever and tricksy book and quite unlike anything I've read before. It’s the kind of book that if someone asked you describe it, you’d probably struggle to make much, if any, sense.

If you like novels different from the norm, I'd highly recommend this book. I feel like I want to read it again now that I've read the whole thing to pick up on some of the parallels and little clues from the beginning. I don’t usually read books more than once unless I absolutely adore them (Wuthering Heights and M.R. James’ Ghost Stories are really the only ones that fall into this camp) so that’s saying a lot.