There's much to enjoy about this book. I relished the descriptions of countryside: whether the litter-strewn countryside of the demi-countryside at the edges of towns and motorways, or the fully rural landscape. Melissa Harrison's observations of plant and bird life - minutely different with each passing day - are satisfying. Village life, for good and not-so-good, is described with clear-eyed realism.

Characters too ring true. The vagrant Jack is decribed with sympathy and warmth, and while other characters may be less sympathetic - Howard for instance - all are described with compassion and are believable.

Each vignette in the book feels real. I believed in Kitty and her attempts to embrace a life in which she is to some extent still a tourist. I warmed to young Jamie as he tries to make sense of a less than satisfactory personal and working life. Even Howard's prevarications over the new life he struggles to feel at one with interested and involved me.

Only the plot as a whole failed to convince me. It takes until the very last chapter for the main characters to come together, in a totally unexpected way. The book - intentionally -doesn't answer several of the questions it poses. But I was left with the impression of a plot that was as unsatisfactory and unresolved as life itself. And perhaps this was the point. I'll read other books by Melissa Harrison that come my way. But it's her talent as a nature writer, and as a describer of character that interests me, rather then her skills as a story teller.

Written a month later, as an addendum to my original review. I've changed my mind about the unsatisfying nature of the plot. It's a 'slice of life', and as such has stayed with me, and had me wondering about the characters in the weeks since I originally read the book.
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https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2021/05/2021057-at-hawthorn-time-melissa.html ( )

It starts with a bang. In a lane outside the village of Lodeshill there has been a car crash. As the violence of this act is fading, and the wheels are still spinning, the debris from a glove-box is scattered on the tarmac and there is the faint sound of sirens in the distance.

Lodeshill is a busy rural village populated by those still working on the land, and those who have sought out its peace. There is Jamie, a teenager whose future is in a dead end job in a huge distribution centre, Howard and Kitty, who have left the bright lights of London for tranquillity. Jack is also recently from London, wandering the lanes picking up casual work on farms, as and when he can.

These characters are seeking different things. As well as work, Jack is looking for shelter, the fields and copses are his bed for the night. He treads lightly on the countryside, as this is his home. Howard and Kitty are still married, just, and are now sleeping in separate bedrooms. They have secrets kept long from each other, Howard has returned to a drinking habit and Kitty has a diagnosis that only her fellow artist knows about. Jamie loves where he lives, but he cannot see much beyond his job, so he busies himself customising his car. These four people who are all living very different lives, slowly start to overlap as the story builds to the tragic accident.

This is a hauntingly and beautifully written book. It is rooted deep in the natural world and the slow movement of the seasons. The detail is magnificent too; you sense the breaking of the buds, the heady aroma of the mayflowers on the verges, the aeronautics of bats at dusk and wheeling of birds seeking sustenance. The way that Harrison has intermingled these four lives as they orbit the village is quite something. But it is infused with a melancholy too, a farm is sold after a tragedy , an old man goes missing, but all these events are the precursor to the accident that happens in the prologue. There is rarely a word out of place here as well, making it effortless to read. I liked too the detail of natural events happening at that moment at the beginning of each chapter, it adds a nice sense of time to the story, and that whatever happens in her characters lives, there is that constant metronome of nature ticking away... ( )

With her trademark elegant, lyrical prose Melissa Harrison has written a moving, thought-provoking story, using superbly drawn characters to explore many aspects of change. Change in the relationships and personal development of her multi-dimensional characters, changes brought about in agricultural practices by modern technology and changes to old traditions and folklore in small rural villages, brought about by an influx of "incomers" who have no ties to the countryside, no understanding of the interdependence of man and the natural world, and therefore no idea of the unintended consequences of certain interventions. Her evocative descriptions of the flora and fauna were a delight to anyone who enjoys observing the seasonal changes in the countryside. The story is poignantly moving, often sad in its reflections but it also carries a message of optimism ... I found it a delightful read. ( )

Unconvinced. Who was Jack? Real or Puck? ( )