- Paperback
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd (15 Mar 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340836318
- ISBN-13: 978-0340830451
- ASIN: 034083045X
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 15.4 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,037,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'McGowan’s debut packs a vicious punch, turning his characters inside out en route to a finely crafted finale.' - Good Book Guide on Stag Hunt
'A cleverly constructed tingler that will make readers want to keep the light on when they go to bed.' Scotsman
'McGowan's book is simultaneously original and traditional, with stylistic borrowings from writers as diverse as Simon Raven and Martin Amis, and enough energy and enthusiasm to keep a busy, often quite nasty plot on the boil. Once you've stepped on board you're there till the end of the ride.' - Literary Review
'Articulate on the friction of class, the bonds of friendship and the power of hatred. The suspense is tantalising and the situation marries the gothic quality of a haunted house story with revenge tragedy and the peculiar ambience of British boarding-schooled males at play. An accomplished and thoughtful debut.' - Manchester Evening News --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
'A cleverly constructed tingler that will make readers want to keep the light on when they go to bed.' Scotsman
'McGowan's book is simultaneously original and traditional, with stylistic borrowings from writers as diverse as Simon Raven and Martin Amis, and enough energy and enthusiasm to keep a busy, often quite nasty plot on the boil. Once you've stepped on board you're there till the end of the ride.' - Literary Review
'Articulate on the friction of class, the bonds of friendship and the power of hatred. The suspense is tantalising and the situation marries the gothic quality of a haunted house story with revenge tragedy and the peculiar ambience of British boarding-schooled males at play. An accomplished and thoughtful debut.' - Manchester Evening News --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Hampstead & Highgate Express
‘McGowan is a talent well worth following and STAG HUNT is a perfect place to begin.’
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Picked this up at the airport because of the cover. Read it in two sittings. Gets off to a slow start, but then the pace kicks in. Scared the bejeesus out of me towards the end. Takes place during a stag weekend in a creepy country house. There's a mad killer on the loose, one of the guests. All quite Agatha Christi, but seen through a warped lens. The language is unusually fancy for this sort of book, and the characters are fully developed. Maybe that's why it sometimes seems a bit slow, because Mcgowan takes time to get into their heads. He certainly got into mine. All in all my best read this year.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Advantages: Interesting premise, easy read
Disadvantages: Somewhat boring, many digressions
The book is nicely bound in red with a cream paper jacket. It is divided into 32 chapters but it's not as long as it seems, because the font is large and clear.
The main idea is very powerful and I expected a tough revenge story full of action and twists and turns, an emotional roller-coaster, and, given the author's academic credentials, some opportunities for a deeper analysis on bullying, kid psychology and on why those kids would commit such an awful act. I am afraid that the author misses these excellent opportunities and this is very disappointing for the reader.
Instead, he puts a lot of weight on the narrator/main character, who is presented as a messed-up loser: he is not happy with his life or his job, and we find out that the reason he ended up like this is because of something wrong he felt he had done when he was young in Tunisia, many years before. So, the main problem of the book for me is that instead of sticking to and expanding his main story, the author tries to create a "multi-layer" thriller, but all he succeeds is to digress too much.
Although, on the plus side, he lets us guessing about the killer's ID until the end, and his other characters are quite lively - albeit snobbish upper class, superficial and annoying - his main character is dull and boring. There is also some romance in the book, which has absolutely no reason to be. It feels very detached from the main plot and just another of the author's digressions. The same applies to a narrated ghost story which serves no real purpose in the plot.
In brief, the author has some interesting ideas on rape and child abuse, but he does not manage to link them. It feels like he constantly tries to make a point, say something, but never manages to finish his thoughts and bring them all together to a satisfying conclusion.
Disadvantages: Somewhat boring, many digressions
The book is nicely bound in red with a cream paper jacket. It is divided into 32 chapters but it's not as long as it seems, because the font is large and clear.
The main idea is very powerful and I expected a tough revenge story full of action and twists and turns, an emotional roller-coaster, and, given the author's academic credentials, some opportunities for a deeper analysis on bullying, kid psychology and on why those kids would commit such an awful act. I am afraid that the author misses these excellent opportunities and this is very disappointing for the reader.
Instead, he puts a lot of weight on the narrator/main character, who is presented as a messed-up loser: he is not happy with his life or his job, and we find out that the reason he ended up like this is because of something wrong he felt he had done when he was young in Tunisia, many years before. So, the main problem of the book for me is that instead of sticking to and expanding his main story, the author tries to create a "multi-layer" thriller, but all he succeeds is to digress too much.
Although, on the plus side, he lets us guessing about the killer's ID until the end, and his other characters are quite lively - albeit snobbish upper class, superficial and annoying - his main character is dull and boring. There is also some romance in the book, which has absolutely no reason to be. It feels very detached from the main plot and just another of the author's digressions. The same applies to a narrated ghost story which serves no real purpose in the plot.
In brief, the author has some interesting ideas on rape and child abuse, but he does not manage to link them. It feels like he constantly tries to make a point, say something, but never manages to finish his thoughts and bring them all together to a satisfying conclusion.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An absolutely exceptional debut novel, as good as any debut I've read this decade.
Stag Hunt weaves an intricate story, working on many different levels, with very well developed characters. And, unusually for a debut, the author makes excellent use of location and setting, with the old mansion house, the grounds and even the weather becoming characters in their own right, adding to the atmosphere of this thriller.
In addition, the book has a number of comments to make concerning divisions brought about by class, the desire for revenge and the demons that so many of us have, and this is the situation the main, extremely likeable character in the book is thrust into; a main character who has his own unresolved issues. What is also impressive is that there is no a convenient, happy ending, but even this is realistic and composed in it's execution. Throughout the book, the language is beautifully constructed, especially in the depiction of setting, yet this does not affect the pace of the story
All in all, an extremly worthwhile read - it echoes of a more focussed alternative to Donna Tarrt's "The Secret History" and I await the author's second novel with interest.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dark, brooding, brilliant
A macho stag do, made up of southern ex-public schoolboys plus one token northerner who went to state school, takes place at a private house in the wilds of Cornwall. Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2007 by NB
Boring, full of plot cliches
THE BOY who was bullied and abused at school organises a gathering of his tormentors later in life and takes his revenge. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2007 by ZedBooks
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