The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia McKillip

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A sweet little slip of a book about a house in a tiny seaside town, and pantry doors that open to the house in another world under a spell, and an innkeeper who loves books, and country romances, and a bell ringing every day at sunset that only the people who listen can hear.



Pretty. This book is partly about rituals – lighting candles, getting married to the proper person, a bell that rings at the same time every day – and how important it is to be aware of the rules you’re following. I read most of this book on a quiet Sunday, alone, doing laundry. The book would step into one of its recitations of quotidian magic, “light that lantern. Close the door, and lock it. Leave the key. Turn one page of the book at the top of the tower.” I would think, “sort the whites. Pour detergent. Normal, easy care, delicates.” McKillip always has a different take on magic, and this one is domestic, busy-handed, frightening if followed blindly but very powerful if done mindfully. It was a good day.





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