|
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant, intense psychological thriller, 30 July 2005
By A Customer
A sinister and intense story of voyeurism and manipulation, 'As far as you can go' will keep you awake at night - if not out of fear then out of an unstoppable need to turn the last page.A young British woman, Cassie, answers an advert asking for a couple to spend a year at a remote farmstead in outback Australia to work as housekeepers and companions to a man and his wife. She persuades artist boyfriend Graham to embark on the adventure in the hope of testing his commitment to her following an infidelity. On arrival, however, their total isolation comes as a shock, they send but never receive any letters, and they find themselves increasingly prone to paranoia and a feeling that they are being 'watched'. Creepy boss Larry seems to be keeping secrets from them, including the reasons for the departure of their predecessors and the real nature of his wife Mara's alleged mental illness. Meanwhile, Mara is exiled to a converted shed where she lives in virtual darkness - apart from her occasional naked jaunts into the outside world where her tranquillized state becomes obvious. When Larry quizzes Cassie about her 'test' of Graham's reliability as a boyfriend, and offers her pharmaceuticals to help 'stabilise' his personality, the reader starts to get a sense of quite how disturbing Larry's character is. And Graham is being 'tested' enough as it is - Mara has demanded painting lessons from him, and he has discovered that she doesn't want to paint, she wants to be painted - and not on canvas, on her body. Things get increasingly strange and tense as the story unfolds and the reader races to find out what's really going on in Larry's head and behind his locked doors. The languid state of some of the characters at times in the story contrasts sharply with the pace at which the tale unfolds, and the reader's own urge to turn the pages and find out what happens next. The characters are all equally plausible, and the novel's oppresively hot setting provides the perfect backdrop to this steamy, claustrophobic tale. You feel like you are there with them, and that you'd rather be just about anywhere else.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
by Lesley Glaister
by Lesley Glaister
by Lesley Glaister
by Lesley Glaister
by Lesley Glaister
