REVIEW: The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains, by Neil Gaiman

The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains

Neil Gaiman, 2014 (illustrated edition)

Gaiman is a writer of many skills. One of those skills is to say something without saying it. He suggests, alludes, and approaches, and by doing so evokes an idea in the reader's mind of what might be happening. Still, the overarching narrative ideas are rarely explicitly confirmed.

This skill is particularly evident in The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains. It is a story about a man who has lost his daughter, and about his journey to find the gold in the cave of a mountain on an island. To find his way, he hires another man, and the two travel together. As the story unfolds, their relationship becomes clearer defined and continues to circle back to the daughter.

As someone who is used to analysing literature, Gaiman's works baffle and haunt me. They elude me. They force me back to square one in literary analysis. The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains is no different. Is it about loss? Is it about family? Is it about revenge? Maybe it is all three? Maybe it is something else? Or is it simply a good story set in a medieval fairytale world? But then again, don't all stories have a greater theme or concern?

Whatever it may be, it still eludes me, but that only makes the story more enjoyable — more haunting. I sit with it like I would with a nut I have yet to figure out how to crack — assuming it is a nut and that it should be cracked, but maybe I should just leave it on the windowsill to look decorative? maybe the shell will fall off in its own time? Regardless, it is there now, at the edge of my awareness, and every once in a while I glance at it and wonder.

The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains is a short, engaging, and vivid read, and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

5 stars

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Written by: Katrine Hjulstad

Instagram: @katrinehjulstad

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Publisher's note: All reviews published with Eudaemonia Records have been viewed and commented on by our editors. Ultimately, however, we believe that it is the writer's decision to accept or reject any suggestions made by the editors, and therefore take no responsibility for the final product.