Seven-year-old Sam Southall loses a tooth, and that night he's visited by a sinister, rank, foul-mouthed, mercurial Tooth Fairy, a demonic being that apparently only he can see, but whose malignant influence spills over onto his family and friends. The Tooth Fairy Sam throughout his growing years, teaching him to make mischief at school, influencing his actions. One day she insists that Sam have his friend Terry sleep over. That same night, Terry's father shoots his wife, his other children, and himself . . .
The Tooth Fairy
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Product Description
Book Description
A Terror Eight title: dark fiction for hot summer nights!
About the Author
Graham Joyce was born into a Coventry mining family and now lives in Leicester. In addition to writing he teaches a Creative Writing course at Nottingham University.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Colin Leslie
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
You know the Tooth fairy right, cute little pixie type with wacky hat. Loveable creature much admired by young children as it sneaks about taking discarded teeth and swapping them for vast sums of money. Turns out they are not quite that nice after all.
Sam accidentally sees the Tooth Fairy one night and things take a downward turn from then on. You see, this tooth fairy, is an evil manipulative spirit and the fact that he/she is seen binds it to Sam, neither is particularly happy with this situation.
This book is not really about fairies though, good or bad. It's about growing up; it's about dealing with all life's problems through a difficult adolescence. It is, in fact, a coming of age story.
Set in the late sixties the book also plays out in tandem with the sexual and cultural revolutions taking place in that period. Sam and his friends are faced with increasingly complicated and often tragic family histories. Trying to make sense of this whilst being confronted with an often malevolent spirit makes Sam's life particularly difficult and for the reader, particularly interesting.
Graham Joyce's use of a normally happy childhood symbol in an altogether more malevolent form is genius. It allows him to exaggerate and emphasise the difficulties Sam experiences growing up. That difficult period of puberty as new feelings and experiences begin to come to prominence is given added mystique.
Needless to say sex plays a prominent role throughout the book as Sam's urges awaken against the background of a general rise in promiscuity in the late 60's. The offsetting of Sam's innocence with the Tooth Fairies experience provides a rich vein of confusion in Sam's mind which Joyce exploits to the full.
So the tooth fairy becomes a metaphor for life's difficulties. The characters are engaging, the plot compelling and original and the balance between humour and pathos is beautifully realised. Anyone expecting a fantasy or fairy story should steer clear but anyone who enjoys a gritty psychological drama with plenty of horrific overtones will really enjoy this book.
Sam accidentally sees the Tooth Fairy one night and things take a downward turn from then on. You see, this tooth fairy, is an evil manipulative spirit and the fact that he/she is seen binds it to Sam, neither is particularly happy with this situation.
This book is not really about fairies though, good or bad. It's about growing up; it's about dealing with all life's problems through a difficult adolescence. It is, in fact, a coming of age story.
Set in the late sixties the book also plays out in tandem with the sexual and cultural revolutions taking place in that period. Sam and his friends are faced with increasingly complicated and often tragic family histories. Trying to make sense of this whilst being confronted with an often malevolent spirit makes Sam's life particularly difficult and for the reader, particularly interesting.
Graham Joyce's use of a normally happy childhood symbol in an altogether more malevolent form is genius. It allows him to exaggerate and emphasise the difficulties Sam experiences growing up. That difficult period of puberty as new feelings and experiences begin to come to prominence is given added mystique.
Needless to say sex plays a prominent role throughout the book as Sam's urges awaken against the background of a general rise in promiscuity in the late 60's. The offsetting of Sam's innocence with the Tooth Fairies experience provides a rich vein of confusion in Sam's mind which Joyce exploits to the full.
So the tooth fairy becomes a metaphor for life's difficulties. The characters are engaging, the plot compelling and original and the balance between humour and pathos is beautifully realised. Anyone expecting a fantasy or fairy story should steer clear but anyone who enjoys a gritty psychological drama with plenty of horrific overtones will really enjoy this book.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I'm reading the Tooth Fairy for the second time now, having looked it out for a friend. Once I'd found it I couldn't put it down (both times!) and my friend is going to have to wait!!! It's an absolutely FABULOUS book. The action starts right on the first page and the whole book is fast moving, exciting, imaginative and very gripping. I'd encourage anyone to read it - it's certainly one of the best books I've ever read and parts of it have stayed with me for years. Also, like one of the other reviewers, I too think The Tooth Fairy would make a great film - the imagery is so vivid! It's definitely a book that can be read again without loosing any of its excitement. I'm certainly going to buy more of Graham Joyce's books.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Grotesque, beautiful, repulsive, compelling, hilarious, tragic, magical and very very erotic! Rarely have I read a book that provokes so many conflicting emotions. The angst of growing pains and awakening sexuality is very skilfully crafted and will, no doubt, strike a chord of recognition with many readers. The enigmatic character of the Tooth Fairy will haunt you long after the final page.
A minor masterpiece.
A minor masterpiece.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Took a while to get into but then had to finish
This for me was one of those books that i took a while to really grasp and i couldn't quite get. But as i read through i found myself getting more involved and finally couldn't put... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Emma Barry
4.0 out of 5 stars
Peter pan recycled
Dark, mysterious, adolescent, dreams, night mares, a growing boys infatuations, the teenage brain, that's what I think it was all about
Published 21 days ago by Tes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very readable and wholly unique
I really enjoyed this dark and intreging book. The characters are believable and will resonate with the childhood memories of many readers.
Published 2 months ago by Vicki Laws
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely NOT for Children!
This is probably the weirdest book I've ever read. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but I was certainly shocked. Read more
Published 3 months ago by CaSundara
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book not to be read in the dark!
Lots of other people have already left feedback covering how I feel about this book so I'll keep this quite short. Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Lancaster
5.0 out of 5 stars
Years on and I still remember it ...
... okay, I'm writing a review for a book that I read so long ago I don't actually recall the plot intricacies. Read more
Published 4 months ago by booksy
4.0 out of 5 stars
The horror of coming-of-age
At the tender age of 5, Sam accidentally sees the Tooth Fairy when he wakes in the middle of the night. Read more
Published 11 months ago by neverendings
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tragic, magical and very, very funny
Graham Joyce surely is one of the most underrated authors...is this possibly because he is so hard to market? Is he horror? Is he fantasy? Or possibly `social surrealism'...? Read more
Published 12 months ago by Ruby
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spellbinding!
I borrowed this book from the library many years ago, I have read it many times since. That first time was around the festive period and I recall devoting two entire day and nights... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Juehoo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eroded childhood
Whilst Sam's encounters with the tooth fairy illustrates the problems of growing up, it is his relationship with the landscape of his childhood that I most empathised with. Read more
Published on 3 May 2011 by Ms. J. E. Davis
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