The Little Stranger [Paperback]

To be honest I have always had a bit of a soft spot for ghost stories but even allowing for a certain bias regarding the subject matter this is without doubt a blindingly good novel. On the surface it is all so deceptively simple. A country doctor, approaching a dreary and unloved middle age, finds himself paying regular visits to the local stately pile where he encounters the once grand but now rather moth-eaten Ayres family. Soon afterwards strange and seemingly supernatural events begin to take place: the formerly placid family dog attacks a small child; strange marks appear on the walls; bells ring for no apparent reason; doors occasionally seem to lock themselves and sinister scribbles inexplicably turn up on doors and windowsills. Dr Faraday seeks, and believes he finds, a rational explanation for the strange events but the Ayres are altogether less sure.

What makes this apparently rather simple set-up so compelling is the skill with which Waters applies layer after gentle, rustling layer of doubt, paranoia and unease. Dr Faraday is, for example, a far from perfect narrator. Unimaginative, class-conscious and painfully aware that he doesn't have the 'right accent' to fit in with the grand Ayres he finds himself alternating between cloying resentment towards the family one minute and fawning servility the next. In turn the Ayres have fallen on financially ruinous times and the - from their perspective - frankly unpleasant plebian classes are literally encroaching on Ayres territory in the form of council houses being built on land skirting Hundreds Hall. Working class on the way up collides with landed gentry on the way down. The whole situation is a portrait in minature of post-war England preparing to tear itself apart. Throw in a possible romance and an unhappy event from the Ayres's recent past and you have an explosive mixture - sort of 'Rebecca' meets 'The Turn of the Screw' via Borley Rectory.

I finished reading The Little Stranger a few days ago and it hasn't settled quietly into its grave. It rustles and creaks; it casts shadows where shadows really shouldn't be and it refuses to tie itself up into a neat little bundle of comfortable conclusions. The more I think about it the more wheels within wheels within wheels I begin to see. It's beautifully elegant and it flows in the way only novels written by born story-tellers ever seem to manage; and more than anything else it creeps up on you in subtle, disturbing ways. Sarah Waters is one of our finest novelists and while this may not have the immediate shock impact of, say, Fingersmith, I think in its quiet and deceptively gentle way it is every bit as good. A beautiful novel with dark, haunted depths.

I'll lay out my stall straight away: I think Sarah Waters is one of our best living writers and I've enjoyed every one of her books. 'The Little Stranger's is her first venture into the ghost story, though it's a muted, subtle ghost story with none of the gothic horror of, say, 'The Woman in Black'.

Its subtlety also means there's plenty of scope for character development and, as with Sarah's other novels, it's the characters that make the book as the central theme of social upheaval and change in the post-war years is explored. What impressed me the most was Faraday's voice: it perfectly captures a slightly chip-on-the-shoulder, aging heterosexual male, an amazing achievement given the writer's background. Also perfectly captured is the oppressive, creepy atmosphere of Hundreds Hall.

As for the ending... well, I can see that this has caused a lot of controversy and debate but I thought it worked brilliantly. It is laden with ambiguity and meaning and the fact that it's impossible to come to any definite conclusion is what gives it its strength. I haven't stopped thinking about it since I put the book down.

Overall: in some ways a change of direction for Sarah Waters, nevertheless a creepy, atmospheric ghost story.

The reviews for this book in the media, weren't too favourable, but I bought it having read "Affinity" - my favourite Waters book. Don't get me wrong, it took a while for me to get into the book, but once I did - I was completely hooked. I think it very brave of Waters to explore psychological/mental health of the Ayres family; especially in a 1940s setting - when mental illness was hardly discussed.

There is a real twist at the finale, that really took me by surprise and also left me a little disappointed. I don't think it's one of Waters strongest books, but it is still a good read.

I did not think I would like this book, but I would highly recommend it to anyone!