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Hill of Darkness

Some rather weird things happened to me as a child growing up in the Seychelles (where I was very happy), and I turned them into a story. In the important scene that opens the book, Julie and her brother climb a forbidden hill where the gris gris man lives, and they climb it at night. In reality, my brother and I did climb the hill but we would never have dared climb it at night, and we were terrified.

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‘This atmospheric, unusual novel, with its shades of Jean Rhys, subtly evokes the primitive logic of childhood.’
The Guardian

 

‘The landscape of the Seychelles is powerfully evoked by Jan Michael… and Julia’s fear as it slides uneasily between the real and the unknown is subtly portrayed.’
Sunday Telegraph

 

‘A story about childish, primitive fears, about guilt and sacrifice… Julia finds herself between not just two cultures, but four. This is what makes the book so interesting.’
NRC Handelsblad, Netherlands

 

‘The story’s power lies in its steady build-up of tension. Breathtaking apotheosis.’ Trouw, Netherlands

 

‘A leisurely, evocative and beautifully written book… ‘
Childrren’s Books in Ireland

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