Book 2: "Thursbitch" by Alan Garner

[kittiwake]

Hic, hoc, the carrion crow,
The carrion crow I see.
As I walk by mysen
And I talk to mysen,
Mysen says unto me:
Look to thysen,
Take care of thysen,
For nobody cares for thee.

Hic, hoc, the carrion crow,
The carrion crow I see.
I talk to mysen
And I say to mysen,
In the self-same nominy:
Look to thysen,
Or not to thysen,
The sen-same thing shall be.
Hic, hoc, the carrion crow,
The carrion crow's for me.

Thursbitch is a valley on the Cheshire side of the Pennines. In the mid-18th century, a local man Jack Turner, is found dead after a snow storm, sitting against Osbaldestone. The story of Jack and the ancient bull cult whose savage rituals are still practiced by the locals, resonate down the ages and are linked to the presen-day story of the dying Sal and her friend Ian, who walk the moors and wonder about the ancient stones that that litter the hillsides.

An adult novel, that is as full of local atmosphere, folk beliefs and magic as are his children's books.