Helm
By Sarah Hall
Ever since the first paragraph of her first novel, Hawes-water, Sarah Hall has been concerned with landscape, weather, nature in all its forms, and the ways in which we affect each other. In this novel, weather and climate are not just potent settings but the main event. The central character in Helm is the Helm, Britain’s only named wind.
This wind, which is local to Cumbria, occurs when air sweeping down Cross Fell, above the Eden valley, creates both a crest and a low bar of cloud. “Tricky to explain/visualise”, admits Helm. As the book begins, Helm witnesses its own arrival. An ice age, sun flares, ash cloud; and, relatively insignificant in the context of such deep time, the evolution of humanity. Because there are many…
