The Wind Eye is a Young Adult fantasy novel by Robert Westall, first published in 1976.
On their way to a holiday in Northumberland, the quarrelsome Studdard family stop over at Durham, and take a trip round the Cathedral. Hot-tempered Madeleine falls prey to a legend that proves to be Schmuck Bait — and the family soon find that the attention of Saint Cuthbert is firmly on all of them.
Contains Examples of:
- Achey Scars: One of Sally's hands is a mass of scar tissue, the result of an accident with an electric fire when she was a toddler.
- A-Cup Angst: Beth remembers being mocked at school for her small breasts.
- Agent Scully: Bertrand is a convinced rationalist, and gets angry at the idea that there are such things as saints and miracles.
- Annoyingly Repetitive Child: Having heard the name of Glororum (a local village) Sally spends a couple of days chanting it, with as many extra 'or's as she can get in. The other members of the family put up with it as best they can.
- Blended Family Drama: When Bertrand and Madeleine married, each had children from a previous marriage: Bertrand had two daughters, Beth and Sally, while Madeleine had a son, Mike. By the opening of the book the children get on quite well with each other, which is more than can be said for the adults.
- A Boy, a Girl, and a Baby Family: A slightly aged-up version; Mike and Beth are 16, while little sister Sally is six.
- Control Freak: Bertrand is one, which is the main cause of his marital conflicts with Madeleine.
- Covers Always Lie: The cover blurb describes the children as "half-brothers and -sisters". They're not — Beth and Sally are full sisters, and Mike is their step-brother.
- Classical Tongue: Being a seventh-century monk, St Cuthbert speaks Latin. When she encounters him, Beth knows enough of the language to make herself understood, and to understand him.
- Drives Like Crazy: Madeleine's usual driving style, which is why none of the children want to ride with her. Apparently she goes through several gearboxes a year.
- Foreshadowing: There are several early hints at the boat Resurre's true nature:
- The locals warn Bertrand that Resurre is the Dead Boat, that was used to retrieve the bodies of drowned sailors — a tradition started by the monks of Holy Island. Completely true. What's more, she's the same boat that the monks used.
- On the children's first trip through time in Resurre without Bertrand, they see ripples moving through the water like the wake of a boat, but no boat is visible. The ripples surround Resurre, and she begins following the same course, surrounded by sea creatures that seem to be mourning. Afterwards, Sally says she saw a man "lying down in the middle of the boat with his arms crossed on his chest". Resurre was reenacting one of her earliest journeys, when she brought St Cuthbert's body back to Holy Island, and the ripples are her original course. Much later, Beth catches a glimpse of this voyage herself.
- Fright-Induced Bunkmate: Early in the book, Sally asks to come into Beth's bed, because she's cold. When their father (who doesn't approve of his children sharing a bed) finds them and demands an explanation, Beth lies and says it was because Sally was frightened by a nightmare.
- Good Is Not Nice: Discussed by Mike and Beth, with particular reference to St Cuthbert and the methods he uses.
- Horny Vikings: Bertrand encounters a group of Viking raiders, and is disappointed to see the unglamorous reality of a bunch of scruffy, disease-ridden pirates (though one does have a horned helmet).
- Made of Indestructium: The wood of Resurre is incredibly, supernaturally, hard — metal tools just snap rather than penetrate it.
- Not So Remote: At one point, Mike washes up on a mist-covered beach, not knowing where or when he is (there's time travel in play). After walking for over an hour and not finding anything but sand dunes and birds he almost loses hope. Finally the mist clears to reveal he's in Ross Links nature reserve.
- Poorly Lit Pareidolia: One night Beth sees what she thinks is a man outside the house, waving to them. Mike shines a torch on it, revealing that it's just a capstan with a waving flag. But without the torch, she can still only see it as a man... and when she tries to tell herself it's an illusion, he shakes his head at her.
- Pride: St Cuthbert identifies this as Bertrand's fatal flaw: the need always to be right.
- The Reveal: Fairly early on, the family find an old boat; most of her name is unreadable, but it begins Resurre, so that's what they call her. Close to the end, thanks to time travel, Beth catches a glimpse of her in the past, brand new, revealing just how old she is, what her full name is (Resurrectio Vitaque SumLat. ) and how she came to be called that.
- Rubber-Band History: When Bertrand travels into the past, he finds he can't influence the flow of historical events — at best he saves the life of one person who might otherwise have died.
- Scars Are Forever: Subverted. Sally's burned hand can't be healed by modern medicine, so the family are shocked when she turns up with the injuries miraculously gone.
- Schmuck Bait: Two examples near the beginning: the Dirty Bottles at Alnwick (legend has it that if you touch them you die) and St Cuthbert's tomb in Durham Cathedral (legend has it that if a woman treads on it, the roof will drop on her). Madeleine does tread on the tomb, and while she doesn't bring down the roof she certainly draws the saint's attention to their family.
- Ship Tease: It's plain that step-siblings Beth and Mike are very fond of each other, but there are occasional hints that they might be edging towards Flirty Stepsiblings.
- Shout-Out: When the kids discover that Resurre can travel in time, their first comparison is with the TARDIS. It turns out to be apt; like the TARDIS, Resurre has a will of her own, and is more inclined to take you to when you need to be, rather than want to be.
- Taking the Veil: Early on, Mike jokes that Beth will probably end up as a nun. She replies in earnest that she's seriously considering it. By the end she decides not to go through with it, realising she only saw it as a means of escape from her dysfunctional family.
- Telepathy: Although Beth and St Cuthbert can (just about) communicate in Latin, their main conversation is conducted telepathically, avoiding translation difficulties.
- Title Drop: The locals describe Resurre as "The Wind Eye's Boat". Near the end of the book, Madeleine explains why.
- Underwear Swimsuit: When Bertrand goes missing in Resurre, Beth and Mike try to swim after him; not having brought swimsuits, they strip to their underwear. Unfortunately Beth then has to climb a rocky cliff, and her improvised swimwear comes to pieces, leaving her naked. This means she gets mistaken for a succubus in the seventh century, and then arrested for indecent exposure when she returns to the present day.
- Unexpected Inheritance: The family are going to stay at a house left to Bertrand by his Uncle Henry. They later discover that Henry disappeared (presumed drowned) while sailing in Resurre.
- Uptight Loves Wild: Uptight Bertrand fell for wild Madeleine. Then they got married, and the arguments began...
- Violence Really Is the Answer: According to legend, St Cuthbert destroyed a Viking fleet that was raiding the monastery on Holy Island. Bertrand, wanting to prove he's cleverer than St Cuthbert, travels back in time, boasting that he can find a peaceful solution. He completely fails to, and having seen the Vikings close to, decides the saint was right to kill them.
- The Voice: St Cuthbert is never seen fully - if he appears at all, it's usually as a figure in the distance. The time Sally spends with him is described by her after the fact, not directly related. Beth eventually has a conversation with him on-page, but doesn't meet him face to face.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Beth is always anxious for her father's approval, fearing that she's not as clever as he'd like her to be.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: During their encounter, St Cuthbert tells Beth she's already a better person than her father and she mustn't let him hold her back.
- You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: Madeleine relies on anger as a survival mechanism, ever since her first husband died. When she finds she's suddenly lost the ability to get angry, it terrifies her.
