The Owl Service Alan Garner 9780007127894

From the author of the Booker Prize-shortlisted Treacle Walker

Winner of both the Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal, this is an all-time classic, combining mystery, adventure, history and a complex set of human relationships. Featuring a new introduction by Philip Pullman.

It all begins with the scratching in the ceiling. From the moment Alison discovers the dinner service in the attic, with its curious pattern of floral owls, a chain of events is set in progress that is to effect everybody's lives.

Relentlessly, Alison, her step-brother Roger and Welsh boy Gwyn are drawn into the replay of a tragic Welsh legend - a modern drama played out against a background of ancient jealousies. As the tension mounts, it becomes apparent that only by accepting and facing the situation can it be resolved.

Alan Garner was born in Cheshire on 17th October 1934, and his childhood was spent in Alderley Edge, where his family has lived for more than four hundred years. He was awarded the OBE in 2001, for his services to literature.

"...A rare imaginative feat and the taste that it leaves is haunting." The Observer

"One of the first and best [novels] for and about teenagers; it remains one of the most original and gripping ghost stories... timeless." Amanda Craig, The Times

"Alan Garner's The Owl Service is not meant only for children or anyone else; it's a novel; and not many better novels will be published this year...The power grows, throbs nearer, builds to unbearable tension, and comes to wild release in the last few pages." The Guardian

"A fascinating book... The Owl Service is a fabulous, multi-layered book of mystery and suspense." The Book Bag

"This book is a superb piece of architecture in which every detail plays its proper part." Growing Point