The hundred and ninety-nine steps in the title of this creepily delightful book by Michel Faber are the steps leading up to Whitby Abbey, the gothic ruins that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Sian, our heroine, is working as an archaeologist at the dig on the site. Previously a conservationist working with documents, she was in need of a change of pace. Ever since she lost her leg in an accident in Bosnia, she has been plagued by night
mares featuring her grisly demise. Most recently, the nightmares revolve around a man with large hands who slits her throat.
The nightmares aren’t the only thing keeping her from sleep; she is experiencing pain in her hip above the amputation. Convinced that it is cancer or worse, she doesn’t seek treatment, thinking she will welcome the peace of death. Then along comes Magnus, a handsome man and his dog Hadrian and you start thinking this gothic romance is going one way, but happily ends up going another.
Mack, as Magnus likes to be called, brings Sian a bottle that his father had rescued from the remains of a demolished building back in the fifties. It contains a scroll of some kind and soon Sian is offering her expertise to retrieve and preserve the papers. Soon, the confession that is written out on those pages mirror the nightmares that she has been having.
Faber is a master at atmosphere and pacing. Even while I am sweltering in 100 degree heat, I could feel the chill and fog, hear sounds echoing off the slick cobblestones. The frisson of the ghost story is just that strong.
