After loving ‘Bitter Orange’ by the same author I was lucky to receive an advance reading copy of ‘Unsettled Ground’ thanks to netgalley.
After the fast pace of ‘Tell Me Why’ by Ruth O’Neill, that I finished the day before, this initially felt cripplingly slow. However the sense of place and the characters are so strongly drawn that it wasn’t long before I was fully immersed into Jeanie and Julius’ world. It couldn’t be more different to ‘Bitter Orange’! The twin’s home is simple and basic and their lives far from glamorous.
After their mother’s death the choices the twins make will have you pulling your hair out but it is an important reminder that we are not all born into the same circumstances and that the nature of our birth and upbringing has different consequences.
This is a story that has made me think about my place and privilege and how lucky I am to be able to enjoy stories like these from a place of warmth and safety.

I loved Swimming Lessons, Bitter Orange, and Our Endless Numbered Days, so I was very excited to get my hands on this book. And I have to say that I wasn't disappointed!
Jeanie and Julius are twins. At the ripe old age of 51, they still live with mother Dot. Until that is, the day that Jeanie finds her mother dead. Obviously they have been sheltered all their lives and the loss of their mother is more than the pain of losing a loved one as they are soon to find as they start to try and fend for themselves. Starting with their rented cottage which they have made their own over the many years they have lived there. With the veggie patch and chickens in the garden this might just give them the means to survive but then that too is threatened and they find themselves fighting against everything just to survive.
Oh my days. I so felt for the twins, Jeanie especially, as I got to know them. My heart went out to them as I learned more and more about what was happening to them and about them. Both in the present and the past as Dot's secrets started to come to light. I lost track of the number of times my heart was in my mouth as they were victimised and persecuted. All for just being who they are. Tragic in places and so very emotional. But also with the underlying feeling of hope being just around the corner. But what form it takes...?
But the story isn't everything for this book. The way the story is delivered really brings it and the characters to life. And in this, the author really excels. Her language is powerful, the descriptions really do make you believe you are there as a spectator, witnessing first hand in the now, instead of being a distant observer after the fact.
Oh and there are some funny bits in the book too which prevent it from getting too dark. I was quite thankful for these as it could have got a bit too dark and dismal.
All in all, another winner from an author firmly on my watch list. Really looking forward to seeing what she has in store for next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A Mesmerising, intense tale of siblings who don’t quite fit, who have been shielded and protected all their 51 years by their mother in their primitive cottage with little money to spare. Then Dot dies very suddenly and Jeanie and Julian have to find their way in a confusing world which becomes increasingly threatening. We follow Jeanie as she unearths secrets and lies, is uprooted and humiliated but discovers a strength that was always there but needed help to grow. Fuller weaves a story that is totally believable though extraordinary and will stay in the mind.

Unsettled Ground is a difficult, dark, disturbing read. But it is utterly compelling in its brilliance. The story is shockingly, scarily real. The characters so boldly rounded they assume tangible form. And the prose, ah the prose: so expressive, so lyrical, it is a true feast of words.

Twins Julius and Jeannie are 51 years-old and live in an isolated, ramshackle cottage with their widowed mum, Dot. Neither has ever married, and the three eke out a hand-to-mouth existence from their small market garden. When Dot dies unexpectedly, the twins find themselves cast adrift in a hostile world where long-hidden family truths are waiting to blindside them still further.

This story of Julius and Jeannie’s heartbreaking attempts to fend for themselves — heck, to survive — in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles touched me to my core. Despite their age, the twins are childlike, naïve. They have neither the intellect nor social skills to navigate the new reality thrust upon them. And they are victims; of their mother’s lies, of unscrupulous neighbors, and of society itself.

Fuller’s skill in eliciting empathy for her characters is incomparable. I cared passionately for Julius, whose simple yearning for love and affection, as a distraction from the awful events surrounding him, made him all the more relatable and convincing. And I felt — oh so keenly — all of Jeannies’s grief, disbelief, fear and desperation. But, I also marveled at her warrior spirit and cheered the stubborn kernel of pride that pushed her on.

The hopelessness and helplessness of Unsettled Ground is at times almost suffocating. As disquieting as this is, however, It is ultimately a story of resilience, hope and determination. Yes, the awfulness is truly awful. There are passages so distressing as to make you physically cringe. But — and this is the true genius of the book — Fuller’s ability to conjure light from the darkness is quite simply breathtaking.

Such an intriguing book, full of secrets and untold stories. Revealing them unearths a different person in all of the characters but raises more questions than provide answers.

I couldn’t get into this book unfortunately despite giving it a good go. I can see why others would like it, it’s just not for me.

I enjoyed the story of fifty-something twins Jeanie and Julius who are plunged into poverty and uncertainty when their secretive mother Dot dies suddenly. Their predicament and their struggle for survival is very believable. I felt strongly for Jeanie: I wanted to whisk her off to the Citizens Advice Bureau to get the benefits and money issues sorted and was worried and frustrated when their situation worsened during the course of the book.

Jeanie and Julius' story is always gripping, often heartbreaking and had a bittersweet resolution. A recommended read.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

I'm a fan of Claire Fuller - I adored Swimming Lessons - so I jumped at the chance of being able to read this one. I wasn't disappointed. I was completely absorbed. Her books are very character driven, you get a real picture of how each of them look, feel, live, their self-awareness. Their descriptions are so in depth but not in a boring way, in a way that kept me reading for hours on end.

Jeannie and Julius are twins, but at 51 they are both still living with their mother in a rundown cottage, on a plot of land owned by a wealthy farmer living nearby. They grow fruit and veg which they sell to the owner of the local posh deli in the village, and keep chickens, whose eggs they sell to the lady who runs the village B&B. Their father died in a horrific accident when they were small, which you find out more about in the course of the book. The twins never moved out of the cottage as they wanted to stay and look after their mother, and be a source of further income for them. However, at the beginning of the book (first pages so no spoiler), the mother has a stroke and dies, so the twins are now on their own. Unfortunately their mother's death sets off a heartbreaking chain of events which see the twins spiral into a state of destitution and helplessness, as they fight to keep their home and their sanity.

It's not a happy book - we see a side of life that most of us are fortunate enough not to have to personally endure, and while there is help around them, the twins for their own reasons either choose not to accept it, or are wary of accepting it. The only character I found I changed my mind about was Bridget. She was a close friend of the mother, and so you would assume she would be a close friend to the twins also, but she becomes more secretive and suspicious during the story that I grew to dislike her. You start out by thinking she is a middle class lady with a little money to spare to help buy the twins food, but then you read about her house and the way her life is described, and suddenly she is a cliche of a working class person - house a state, unhealthy microwave or oven meals on a tray in front of the telly every night, the son with an iffy job. I was very confused by her character, not sure whether we were supposed to like her or not - I don't think I did.

Apart from that (and a slight confusion at the very start of the book when I didn't know when the story was set - at first I thought early 1900s, because of the state of the cottage and the sharing of beds, but then we hear about the metal tables and chairs outside the local deli!), I really loved this book, and would heartily recommend.

I found this novel incredibly difficult to read, and considered giving up on it multiple times. To be honest, the only reason I kept reading it was because I don't like not knowing how things turn out in books with mysteries - but even the 'reveals' were disappointing and anticlimactic, and they weren't worth hanging around for.

There was nothing much wrong with Claire Fuller's writing, but I found the book really difficult to sink into. It felt cold and distant, and I struggled to connect to any of the characters. On top of this, I was never really hooked by anything that was happening - mostly because, for the majority of the novel, nothing really was happening. The 'twists' were easy to work out, but they weren't even really that interesting.

This book lacks charm and it feels so incredibly bleak. Maybe this is my fault, and I just wasn't in the right headspace at the time, but there was no contrast to the bleakness. There was never really a moment of fun or light-heartedness to balance out the intense feeling of bleakness throughout the novel.

The reason I haven't given this one star is that I thought Claire Fuller's writing was the best thing about the novel - her writing could be beautiful at times, but the story didn't capture me. This one is not for me, but I feel like someone else out there might appreciate it, especially if you are already a fan of her novels.

This book is definitely unsettling! It is set in the modern day, but the way Jeanie and Julius live makes it feel like it is a much earlier time.

The book starts with the death of Jeanie and Julius’, 51 year old twins, mother. The twins have always lived with their mother, living a sheltered life a d being mostly self-sufficient. However, as Jeanie and Julius try to navigate life without their mother, they start to discover that all is not as they thought.

The lies and untruths keep on coming and tragedy follows tragedy. I deeply dark and unsettling book.

Jeanie and Julius are 51 years old, twins. They live on a farm with their elderly mother who dies suddenly, leaving them in a pickle. Financially unstable, both twins are very fragile and vulnerable in their own ways, both so dependent on their mother and each other. What follows is chaos. They get chucked out of their house, and are made homeless. With the help of family friends though, they managed, just, about. That is, until tragedy strikes again. A real page turner. Emotionally charged, it is a fantastic book.

I have enjoyed Claire Fuller’s work, especially Our Endless Numbered Days, which I thought was excellent. Unsettled Ground didn’t quite do it for me, I’m afraid.

Fuller paints her usual penetrating and humane portraits of her main characters, in this case a pair of twins living on the margins of rural society whose world is shaken when their mother dies. It is in many ways a very fine portrait of hardship, resilience, loss and grief and also a very good picture of what life is like for those who are well out of society’s mainstream. Although this was very well done (of course it is – Fuller is brilliant at it) as a whole I found the book rather a slog to get through. It’s quite bleak and oppressive much of the time and I could have done with a little more leaven of engaging events, or even a bit of humour.

I suspect that that the problem may be at least partly to do with me, in that a somewhat oppressive story based around two people having a tough time isn’t really what I need as we start our third, prolonged, lockdown. Others got on much better with it and there’s no doubt that Claire Fuller is a fine writer so don’t be put off by me, but I can only give this a qualified recommendation.

(My thanks to Penguin Books for an ARC via NetGalley.)

This book features a Bitchy Literary Caroline™ – is there a conspiracy amongst authors to have every single character named Caroline be an icy monster? Please advise.

This specific Bitchy Literary Caroline™ is the wife of the landlord of the cottage where Jeanie and Julius, 51-year-old twins live with their mother, Dot, who dies suddenly. Jeanie and Julius rely heavily on each other and do not have other friends or relations in their social circle, so they do not have a support network to help them through their grief. In addition, the twins find that Dot has lied to them over the years, so their grief and isolation is compounded by a reevaluation of their lives and themselves.

The entire tone of this book is bleak. The twins cannot seem to catch a break and their life essentially falls apart in the wake of their mother's passing. Jeanie and Julius' relationship becomes strained because of their reduced circumstances and need to become a more cohesive team to both survive and come to terms with the lies about themselves and each other they had come to believe.

Because the story was so bleak, I found it difficult to "like" this book, but I would still recommend it because it was powerful. Jeanie's character arc, especially, was memorable and impactful, as she makes strides to become more independent and to know herself better. Three solid stars.

How does a 51 year old cope when they begin to gradually discover that all the truths they had held for a lifetime are not what they seemed? Twins Jeanie and Julius are left to discover the answer to that when their Mother dies suddenly and everything they have known is turned upside down. This story is eloquently written, and keeps the reader absolutely involved from beginning to end with a plot involving love, deception, inadequacy, totally abhorrent violence and a heartrending understanding of how the modern world can be a terrifying place for those who who have never had an opportunity to learn to understand it. This is such a beautiful book that it will stay in my mind for a long time.

A remarkable story of rural 21st century marginalisation; repercussions of life changing events; resilience to trauma; and recalibration of identity and relationships.

This is the first book I have read by Claire Fuller, despite it being her fourth novel, but I was aware of her work given that her first book won the prestigious Desmond Elliott Prize for debut fiction in 2015, defeating the phenomenon that was “Elizabeth is Missing” (to give an example of the ability of the prize to identify brilliant talent – the other recent winners are Eimear McBride, Lisa McInerney, Francis Spufford, Preti Taneja, Claire Adam and Derek Owusu – if you are looking for a list of authors whose careers you should follow that I would suggest would make a very good start); her second novel shortlisted for the Encore prize for second novels (winners of that prize run by the Royal Society of Literature include Anne Enright, Ali Smith, Sally Rooney and a host of other Booker listed authors).

I am not sure I have read a book which had such unsettling and unfortunate resonances for me - a story of two 51 year old twins whose mother suffers a stroke, and with much of the opening plot of the book about discovering the costs of funerals – which uncannily sums up the start and end of the difficult last twelve months of my own life.

The book is set in a rural part of present day Wiltshire - Jeanie and Julius Seeder (no one is sure if the name was an elaborate joke by their father) despite their age, live with their mother Dot in a small cottage which still has an outside toilet.

Dot and Jeanie grow vegetables which they sell both at the bottom of their garden in an honest box and more recently to an upmarket deli in the local village. Julius does a variety of casual labouring jobs for cash.

Their ability to survive is helped by a long arrangement with the local farmer and landowner Rawson that they can rent the cottage for free in perpetuity – something which dates back to their father’s death 40 year’s previously, decapitated while driving Rawson’s new tractor (after an accident the twins believe was due to faulty bolts fitted by Rawson).

The family’s life is circumscribed: Jeanie by a childhood heart condition and by a lac of desire for things other women seem to her to seek for – fashion, sex, money; Julius by the after effects of the accident which mean he suffers severe travel sickness and the unspoken requirement to care for his sister; the whole family by a fierce independence, self-sufficiency, and bond over folk music and their shared beliefs about who they are and their family story.

When at the book’s start the twins find their mother dead from what later turns out to be a stroke they are forced to: engage with the other people (including Rawson and Dot’s best friend Bridget); engage with the outside world (for example the need to register the death and incur the costs of a funeral); confront their lack of any money; deal with those who quickly move to exploit their vulnerability; come to terms with discrepancies between what they have always believed about themselves and their history and what seems to be the emerging reality of their situation; and to reset their own relationship.

To say much more would be to spoil the story – a relatively simple but powerful tale of rural poverty, of those marginalized from 21st Century English society (both exploited by the establishment and ignored by progressives) and at heart a tale of resilience when everything you know about yourself changes and of a recalibration of beliefs, lifestyle and relationships in the face of the repercussions of a life changing traumatic event.

A sumptuous story of grown twins and their life after their mother passes away. Rich in description and detail, its not a story to be rushed.

Unsettled Ground is a beautiful story about family, and how we choose to deceive those closest to us. Set against a backdrop of rural isolation, Jeanie & Julius Seeder, 51 year old twins, struggle to cope with life emotionally and financially following the death of their mother, Dot, a woman who had secrets. Jeanie and Julius have lived a sheltered life in a small cottage totally at one with nature. They survive on selling produce from their vegetable garden and Julius’ occasional work with local farmers. Jeanie cannot read or write and struggles in a digital society where she has neither a mobile phone or a bank account. Through the unpicking of Dots secrets, Jeanie and Julius eventually make peace with their mothers decision to change the narrative of their past. ⁣
⁣
I really enjoyed this book, especially the connection between Jeanie and the natural world. At times, Jeanie’s pride and refusal to accept help made me want to shake her but I couldn’t help but like her character . Lovers of Sarah Moss’ novels will appreciate this read. 4 stars from me!⁣
⁣
Many thanks to the author @clairefuller, @netgalley and @PenguinUKBook for this ARC in return for my honest review.

As with other Fuller books this one is full of atmosphere and tension.
As hard as it is to imagine teaching 51yrs old and still living at home, this is the reality for twins Jeanie and Julius. When their mother becomes ill they could not have envisaged how their lives would change.
The story is moving even in unpleasant circumstances and the characters engaging.
A heart warming read.
Thank you Penguin and Netgalley for this copy to read and review

The book was beautifully written and very moving, however I found the plot lacked punch and didn't hold my attention as much as it could have.

This book was so different to what I expected. The characters are lovely and so different in the way they live. Jeanie and her twin Julius have been brought up by their mother Dot so different to the way others around them have been. Jeanie has a Heart condition from having Rheumatic Fever when she was a child and her mother Dot is very careful over what she can and can’t, or should and shouldn’t do. They are 51 years old now and still live at home with Dot, Jeanie still has no job, never had a boyfriend, and doesn’t do things like heavy lifting because of her heart, but instead helps Dot in the garden with vegetables they sell in the village. Julius works and bring the money in for the household. Their father passed away when they were kids.

But Dot suddenly dies and life is so difficult for the twins, especially Jeanie who really has no clue how the world works properly. I liked the innocence of Jeanie, but the bravery she has about it. She knows she will struggle but gets on with it. Julius seemed lost, and I think he needed to understand why their mother kept them at home them the way she did, before he could let any of it fade away.

It was a good book, slightly strange in places, but had a strong undertone of basic love between a brother and sister.

thank you again to Fig Tree, Netgalley, and always, the author Clare Fuller.