Red Shift

Redshift is an astronomical phenomenon; see redshift.

Red Shift (capitalized) is a complex novel (1973) for teenagers and adults set in three intertwined time periods (Roman Britain, the siege of Barthomley Church, and a caravan site near the M6), spanning over a thousand years but one geographical area: south Cheshire, England. Alan Garner evokes the essence of place, allowing his characters to echo each other through time, as if their destinies may be predefined by the soil on which they walk. These are themes explored more tangibly in his easier, earlier work 'The Owl Service', but brought here to maturity in a weave of rapid, impressionistic dialogue.