Published: 2014, unbound Genre: Fiction Themes: historical, norman invasion, fens, fighting My rating (out of 5): ❤❤❤❤❤ I have finished reading The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth and it was worth the effort. This is a book written in a made up language based on old English. At first glance it seemed to read like Chaucer's Prologue from the Canterbury Tales, and I almost abandoned it without getting further than the first page. Luckily, Mark Rylance's recommendation stopped me. I kept thinking that Mark Rylance wouldn't encourage me to read something that I wouldn't get something out of so, with my thumb in the glossary, I pressed on. The first few pages were slow going as I got my head round the rhythm of the language, but its surprising how quickly you become used to it and start to read at a normal pace. The tale is set in England just after the Norman invasion of 1066, and the main character, Buccmaster of Holland, sees a 'haeric star' [hairy star or comet] th...