Metro
`Haig has hit upon a good idea structuring this as an open letter'
Book Description
A dark, disturbing novel about a man who loves his child too much.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I must admit that I struggled to decide on how many stars to give this book. As usual for Matt Haig's books it is brilliantly written and the story is unsual, clever and keeps you hooked until the end, BUT, I found this a very uncomfortable read.
It is the story of a mild mannered antique shop owner and his journey into madness. It makes King Lear look like a harmless train spotter. His wife is murdered in a bungled robbery and years later his son dies in an accident trying to impress the group of lads he hung out with. This just left Mr Cave with the boys twin sister. And that is where the nightmare begins. It is a horror story but not in the Stephen King/Mark Morris squashed eyeball or exploding head type. This is a "there but by the grace of God go I" type of story.
The possession comes in 2 forms, he wants to possess his daughter, controlling her life to such an extent that he destroys what he loves the most and the other possession is the root of his madness as he thinks he is possessed by the spirit of his dead son.
The story cleverly builds up the tension so that by the end you are drawn into Mr Cave's mad mind and you see how far he has really gone to exact revenge on a seemingly evil world and protect his daughter.
Very dark and perhaps even gothic, if you beleive the dust jacket, but like all of Matt Haig's books well worth the read.
It is the story of a mild mannered antique shop owner and his journey into madness. It makes King Lear look like a harmless train spotter. His wife is murdered in a bungled robbery and years later his son dies in an accident trying to impress the group of lads he hung out with. This just left Mr Cave with the boys twin sister. And that is where the nightmare begins. It is a horror story but not in the Stephen King/Mark Morris squashed eyeball or exploding head type. This is a "there but by the grace of God go I" type of story.
The possession comes in 2 forms, he wants to possess his daughter, controlling her life to such an extent that he destroys what he loves the most and the other possession is the root of his madness as he thinks he is possessed by the spirit of his dead son.
The story cleverly builds up the tension so that by the end you are drawn into Mr Cave's mad mind and you see how far he has really gone to exact revenge on a seemingly evil world and protect his daughter.
Very dark and perhaps even gothic, if you beleive the dust jacket, but like all of Matt Haig's books well worth the read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I can completely understand the other reviewer when he mentions this being an uncomfortable read and not sure what rating to give it, but I have decided to go for a five.
It can be uncomfortable at times, but it should be. A subject like this shouldn't be easy. However, although it is very dark, Matt Haig has made parts witty, although, the story being so dark, there were probably times that I missed some of the wit.
It is amazingly addictive and I just found myself wanted to continue reading just a bit more before I turned the lights out. I felt for Mr Cave and his daughter and can understand the fears he had for her. As must every father of a young daughter. Matt Haig, even in his young age seems to have captured the mind of a middle-aged father (that is losing his mind) and that of a teenage girl brilliantly. The characters really came alive for me and I was only disappointed that the book had to come to an end.
I have read Matt Haig's first novel Last Family in England and loved that too, so I can't wait to read his other books now. I can't believe I didn't see this book in all the bookshop windows. This is not a book to be missed.
It can be uncomfortable at times, but it should be. A subject like this shouldn't be easy. However, although it is very dark, Matt Haig has made parts witty, although, the story being so dark, there were probably times that I missed some of the wit.
It is amazingly addictive and I just found myself wanted to continue reading just a bit more before I turned the lights out. I felt for Mr Cave and his daughter and can understand the fears he had for her. As must every father of a young daughter. Matt Haig, even in his young age seems to have captured the mind of a middle-aged father (that is losing his mind) and that of a teenage girl brilliantly. The characters really came alive for me and I was only disappointed that the book had to come to an end.
I have read Matt Haig's first novel Last Family in England and loved that too, so I can't wait to read his other books now. I can't believe I didn't see this book in all the bookshop windows. This is not a book to be missed.
Format:Paperback
Mr Cave is a dealer in antiques. He lives above the shop with his daughter Bryony, whose twin brother Reuben recently died after an incident for which Mr Cave, quite wrongly, blames one of the boy's friends, Denny. Bryony is around 15 and since the death of her brother Mr Cave has introduced a long list of rules designed to protect her. Bryony has an ally in Cynthia, sister of the children's mother who died when the twins were small. Mr Cave has ideas which do not countenance any ordinary future for his daughter. He narrates throughout and we are in no doubt as to his opinions. His daughter has always been special, a serene and beautiful girl who plays the cello like an angel. It is obvious to Mr Cave that she is destined for a prestigious future.
We learn that Reuben has always taken second place in their father's thinking. Where Bryony got a horse, Reuben, who had a birthmark on his face, was lucky to get a bicycle. But things aren't going as Mr Cave feels they should. The ordinary pressure points of a teenager's life - sex, status, friendships and clothes - are beyond his fathoming. Sometimes he feels as if Reuben has come back and is haunting him, directing him towards certain activities which threaten to erupt in violence.
This is all oddly enjoyable, even though Mr Cave is not a likeable person and his attempts to manage (though he would say "protect") his daughter are catastrophically ill-advised. Inevitably there is a climactic night of disaster. We necessarily see everything from Mr Cave's point of view and as a result we don't get much chance to develop much feeling for the other characters. This is Mr Cave's disaster, and one feels he will never really recover. It's a very good read, particularly valuable for over-protective fathers.
We learn that Reuben has always taken second place in their father's thinking. Where Bryony got a horse, Reuben, who had a birthmark on his face, was lucky to get a bicycle. But things aren't going as Mr Cave feels they should. The ordinary pressure points of a teenager's life - sex, status, friendships and clothes - are beyond his fathoming. Sometimes he feels as if Reuben has come back and is haunting him, directing him towards certain activities which threaten to erupt in violence.
This is all oddly enjoyable, even though Mr Cave is not a likeable person and his attempts to manage (though he would say "protect") his daughter are catastrophically ill-advised. Inevitably there is a climactic night of disaster. We necessarily see everything from Mr Cave's point of view and as a result we don't get much chance to develop much feeling for the other characters. This is Mr Cave's disaster, and one feels he will never really recover. It's a very good read, particularly valuable for over-protective fathers.
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