- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Abacus (29 May 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0349120307
- ISBN-13: 978-0349120300
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 592,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
From the accomplished Canadian novelist and short-story writer, an all-consuming tale of child abduction . . . An assured, perceptive, deftly delivered story (KIRKUS starred review )
Gowdy cleverly makes us wait for the kidnapping we know is coming, forcing us to watch as Ron moves closer and closer, like a shark circling its prey . . . A page-turner that finds tension not in the obvious question (Will Rachel be rescued?), but in mo (NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF BOOKS )
Immensely well-observed . . . the acute psychological line demanded by material of this sort gets trodden with an unobtrusive delicacy (INDEPENDENT )
A thoughtful and elegantly written novel (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
Gowdy cleverly makes us wait for the kidnapping we know is coming, forcing us to watch as Ron moves closer and closer, like a shark circling its prey . . . A page-turner that finds tension not in the obvious question (Will Rachel be rescued?), but in mo (NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF BOOKS )
Immensely well-observed . . . the acute psychological line demanded by material of this sort gets trodden with an unobtrusive delicacy (INDEPENDENT )
A thoughtful and elegantly written novel (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
INDEPENDENT
'Immensely well-observed . . . the acute psychological line
demanded by material of this sort gets trodden with an unobtrusive
delicacy' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
demanded by material of this sort gets trodden with an unobtrusive
delicacy' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The complexities of love...,
By
This review is from: Helpless (Paperback)
Wow. Gowdy sure knows how to tell a gripping story.
The book tells the story of Celia, a single mother, whose daughter Rachel is 9 years old and exceptionally beautiful. When Rachel goes missing during a blackout, Celia desperately clings to her intuition that Rachel is still alive... meanwhile, the kidnapper watches the media coverage with interest, whilst keeping Rachel in his recently-renovated basement. The book had me hooked from page one. The story is told from many different perspectives - Rachel, Celia, the kidnapper, his girlfriend and the family friend. Each perspective gives us more of an insight into the devastation caused by the kidnapper's actions. The book addresses the issues of mental instability - the kidnapper's reasons for his actions are not all they seem, the kidnapper's girlfriend disagrees with what he's done, but goes along with it for reasons of her own. The characters are well built, especially the kidnapper and his girlfriend. I also liked the characterisation of Rachel - I felt quite attached to her throughout the book and I thought that her emotions were very well written. The bond between Celia and Rachel is also well explored and whilst Celia held it together quite well, it was easy to interpret the desperation she was feeling. There are many moral issues raised in the book and they have been handled with care and compassion. It wasn't an easy read because of the subject matter and at times it felt quite uncomfortable, yet I'm glad I read it. I felt compelled to keep reading and read the second half of the book in one sitting. I liked the ending, however I wanted to know more and felt that it could have done with an extra couple of chapters. That said, it doesn't take away from how well written this book is and I would definitely recommend it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Plucks at the heartstrings,
By
This review is from: Helpless (Paperback)
A child-abduction story must pluck at the heart strings - and this one does it with both hands. Celia is a single mother in Toronto and she does her best to ensure her little daughter Rachel doesn't miss out on not having a father (he was a one-night fling who went blithely back to his New York base and life as a struggling architect and thereafter they lost contact). But Celia is a gutsy individual and a talented pianist who finds work at a friendly bar. She has a wonderful landlord not averse to looking after her daughter, but to anyone viewing the ménage from outside things might not look quite so innocent. One such outsider (a man with decidedly mixed motives) decides that Rachel is at risk and the tension and agony begins.
I was glued to this edgy, uncomfortable scenario from the start and read it through without stopping. It is addictive, frightening and altogether unputdownable.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A disturbingly beautiful book.,
This review is from: Helpless (Paperback)
Barbara Gowdy in her latest novel somehow manages to create a sympathetic and rounded portrait of a man who does an unforgivable thing - he abducts a child, lying to himself all the time as to his motives. The writing has pace, the structure is faultless and the whole affect is breathtaking and engrossing. There is an element of fairytale as though the temperaments of the characters leave them almost no free will. The resourceful child's triumph is also the triumph of the book. Highly recommended.
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