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ThursbitchThursbitch is a novel by English writer Alan Garner, named after the valley in the Pennines of England where the action occurs (also listed in the 1841 OS map as "Thursbatch" - the name means "valley of the demon"). It was published in 2003. Set both in the 18th century and the present day and centred on the mystery of an inscription on a rock about a murder, the novel seeks to explain time and history in terms of setting and interaction. It is a complex novel that can be read on many different levels. Structurally it can be regarded as a moebius strip, since the last chapter describes the same events as the first. One is then induced to read the book again, which becomes a different experience as a result of the first reading. The book embodies the concept of "sentient landscape", which describes an empathic and dynamic relationship between a person and their surroundings. The book is seen by critics of Garner's work as a continuation of styles and structures first used in Red Shift (1973) and Strandloper (1996). In all three time is fragmented, since it is approached through the characters' inner lives in terms of both memory and experience, and it is their idea of their identity that shapes the experience.
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