290 – Liam Higginson & Awful Things in Lonely Farmhouses

Finally, we dare venture to the darkest land of all. Wales!

After years of avoiding the terror of the Valleys, Liam Higginson takes us to The Hill in the Dark Grove – his debut novel of isolation, folk-memory, and things unearthed from the soil of a mountain farm.

We talk about the link between folklore and nationalism, about marriage and madness (not linked) and why it’s always men who go barmy in these situations.

This is up there with my favourite books of the year.

Enjoy!

 

Other books mentioned:

The Shining (1977), by Stephen King

Incidents Around the House (2024), by Josh Malerman

The Salt King (2026), by Natasha Pulley

Small Gods (1992), by Terry Pratchett

Meet Me at the Surface (2024), by Jodie Matthews