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A review by saareman
The Wine of Angels by Phil Rickman
3.0
Caveat Emptor: This is Merrily in Pre-Exorcist Days
Review of the Corvus paperback edition (April 1, 2011) of the MacMillan hardcover original (July 10, 1998).
I'm not going to bury the lede. This is the first of the Merrily Watkins series (1998-2021 and presumably ongoing) which is promoted as featuring, even in the GR synopsis for this book, the "female exorcist Reverend Merrily Watkins." BUT THERE IS NO EXORCISM IN THIS BOOK. This first book was written as a standalone crime & mystery thriller and Merrily was only later developed as the series character. Apparently the exorcism angle doesn't come into it until Book #2 [b:Midwinter of the Spirit|317372|Midwinter of the Spirit (Merrily Watkins, #2)|Phil Rickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391314794l/317372._SY75_.jpg|1779108] (1999).
So this still represents the introduction to the characters of Merrily Watkins and her teenage daughter Jane Watkins, and possibly several continuing characters in the vicarage and town of Ledwardine in Welsh & English border country. There are suspected hauntings, some bizarre deaths, some disappearances, perilous situations and ties to historical crimes and executions, i.e. there are lots of mystery angles to this. Just don't expect or hope for the drama of any exorcisms.
Once I got over my initial disappointment and some of the tiresome talk about cider and apple orchards and the teenage angst etc. I did finally settle in and enjoy the book. There was a historical mystery about an early vicar in the parish which was also solved. The finale section was especially gripping with Merrily on the one hand explaining the solutions to the various mysteries in the standard "gather all the suspects in a room" setting, with cut scenes toggling with daughter Jane who is confronted by the finally revealed culprit.
There was much to enjoy with the various historical references and background. For instance, there were excerpts from the writings of [a:Thomas Traherne|354767|Thomas Traherne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397731753p2/354767.jpg] (c. 1636-1674). I especially enjoyed the constant references to singer/songwriter Nick Drake (1948-1974), whether it was to specific songs or even in the naming of chapter titles.
So this is good to read as background, but don't be fooled by the false advertising. Marked down to 3 stars for that. I do hope to continue with the series.
Soundtrack
I've enjoyed the music of Nick Drake for a long time, so this was a great opportunity to get reacquainted with his music. The musician apparently sold only 4,000 records in his lifetime and was only rediscovered gradually in the 1990s. The breakthrough came with an inventive 1999 Volkswagen commercial which excerpted Drake's song Pink Moon. This song is regularly referred to in the book. Although it has a foreboding quality in the book, for me it has always had a joyous quality.
Bonus Tracks
I'm adding some of my favourite cover versions of the Pink Moon song here. There is a baroque arrangement by the Ensemble Phoenix Munich which you can see in the front half of the video here. There is a mass amateur choir version by Toronto's own Choir! Choir! Choir! which you can see here.
Review of the Corvus paperback edition (April 1, 2011) of the MacMillan hardcover original (July 10, 1998).
I'm not going to bury the lede. This is the first of the Merrily Watkins series (1998-2021 and presumably ongoing) which is promoted as featuring, even in the GR synopsis for this book, the "female exorcist Reverend Merrily Watkins." BUT THERE IS NO EXORCISM IN THIS BOOK. This first book was written as a standalone crime & mystery thriller and Merrily was only later developed as the series character. Apparently the exorcism angle doesn't come into it until Book #2 [b:Midwinter of the Spirit|317372|Midwinter of the Spirit (Merrily Watkins, #2)|Phil Rickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391314794l/317372._SY75_.jpg|1779108] (1999).
So this still represents the introduction to the characters of Merrily Watkins and her teenage daughter Jane Watkins, and possibly several continuing characters in the vicarage and town of Ledwardine in Welsh & English border country. There are suspected hauntings, some bizarre deaths, some disappearances, perilous situations and ties to historical crimes and executions, i.e. there are lots of mystery angles to this. Just don't expect or hope for the drama of any exorcisms.
Once I got over my initial disappointment and some of the tiresome talk about cider and apple orchards and the teenage angst etc. I did finally settle in and enjoy the book. There was a historical mystery about an early vicar in the parish which was also solved. The finale section was especially gripping with Merrily on the one hand explaining the solutions to the various mysteries in the standard "gather all the suspects in a room" setting, with cut scenes toggling with daughter Jane who is confronted by the finally revealed culprit.
There was much to enjoy with the various historical references and background. For instance, there were excerpts from the writings of [a:Thomas Traherne|354767|Thomas Traherne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397731753p2/354767.jpg] (c. 1636-1674). I especially enjoyed the constant references to singer/songwriter Nick Drake (1948-1974), whether it was to specific songs or even in the naming of chapter titles.
So this is good to read as background, but don't be fooled by the false advertising. Marked down to 3 stars for that. I do hope to continue with the series.
Soundtrack
I've enjoyed the music of Nick Drake for a long time, so this was a great opportunity to get reacquainted with his music. The musician apparently sold only 4,000 records in his lifetime and was only rediscovered gradually in the 1990s. The breakthrough came with an inventive 1999 Volkswagen commercial which excerpted Drake's song Pink Moon. This song is regularly referred to in the book. Although it has a foreboding quality in the book, for me it has always had a joyous quality.
Bonus Tracks
I'm adding some of my favourite cover versions of the Pink Moon song here. There is a baroque arrangement by the Ensemble Phoenix Munich which you can see in the front half of the video here. There is a mass amateur choir version by Toronto's own Choir! Choir! Choir! which you can see here.