Book club 'Dark Matter' Michelle Paver

We were all pretty excited  to read a 'new' genre for us- a ghost story! A and Alysun got completely  lost in the dark on the way to Drew and Caroline's with every right turning not looking quite right in the darkness and drizzle. It felt like a bit of a portent ...

However we did get there and we all agreed that the description of place - the enormity of the ice and arctic sea, the sounds of the birds and the drama of weather and wind - was evocative and very real. We were in disagreement about how spooky or scary it was. Some of us who are already scared of darkness and the possibility of the supernatural did find this aspect of the book worked,  but for others although we could see the fear it was not one we actually experienced. In general we thought the psychological depiction of fears as fantastic - the heightening of senses and the tricks that we can play to try and make what we feel rational and safe. None of us actually believe in ghosts (Ithink) and we thought that the portrayal of the actual ghost wasn't necessary, and weakened  the story. We also were in agreement that the ending was disappointing - although we couldn't actually think of a book which we'd decided had a fantastic finale!