Poetic Sadness

Matt Haig was right when he describes that we are limited by our language to describe certain emotions or feelings.

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1 person found this helpful

a bit confusing

I normally love Matt Haig but this was not my favourite of his, still very good and Mark meadows is always a brilliant narrator so don't let that put you off

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Drags a little but the ending wraps everything up well

This book has a very dark ending. This is a character carrying a lot of personal trauma which he unfortunately manifests into being overly protective of his daughter which just pushes her away.

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2 people found this helpful

Stuck it out but not the best

I like Matt Haig but this story is hard work. I wanted to hear the end but won’t be recommending. Definitely not for a light read/listen.

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1 person found this helpful

Oh so disturbing...

Teen rebellion, parental obsession and a very dark narration.

Matt Haig does 'dark' very well, and it's hard not to read his own history of mental illness into his narrators. This is a book I'd never heard of until it's recent Audible release, and I must say the first person (and sometimes second person) narrative is made for listening to.

Antique dealer Terence Cave has lost almost everyone he loves - his wife murdered, his son a recent accidental death, his mother also dead long ago. Now it is just him and his remaining teenage daughter, Bryony. Always the achiever of his twins, he becomes ever more protective and obsessive about her safety, especially when unsavoury-looking young men begin circling...

In the midst of this emotional turmoil, a teenage girl tries to work through the usual rebellions of adolescence, and though I could see Terence's need to control, Bryony had my sympathies - all she is doing is moving on from childhood, exploring her burgeoning sexuality and trying to enjoy her youth. She is never particularly well-developed though, she's more a stereotype of a teenage girl, an archetype - this is Terence's story of his obsessions. Bryony doesn't really change or get a chance to speak to us, she's always reacting to Terence - whether lying to him about her whereabouts or railing against his unfair rules.

Terence is a character you see gradually unravelling, becoming more and more consumed with his daughter and her perfections; his own intellectual interests and rather elitist outlook makes him less likeable over the course of the book.

It's quite a gripping story, and though it's hard to feel love for the narrator, you do want to know what he is going to do.

There is a supernatural element to this story which I didn't really like, but that's a personal preference - without this then Terence wouldn't have had any way to 'find out' certain things about his son's death (as well as life). It is in the everyday slowly cranking up of a father's narrow boundaries and protective strategies that Haig gives us an intense and frightening 'smothering love' story.

I've only ever seen the 'you' narration used successfully in one other book, not surprisingly a stalker story, and thought it was used to great effect here.

Mark Meadows, as ever, makes a good 'middle class' sounding narrator of the audiobook, with a clear and benign English accent that suits Terence well and brings out the slowly escalating drama of his situation. I'd recommend this as an audio read.

With thanks to Nudge Books for the sample Audible copy.

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8 people found this helpful

Great characterisation

I love Matt Haig but struggled to finish this mainly because I think the character paired with the performance felt very real and it unnerved me a little - so make what you will of that! The story itself was a little hard to follow and I think I would have preferred a paper copy to flick back in to get the details straight in my head.

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3 people found this helpful

Not the best Matt haig

It was very interesting take on psychosis, impact of grief and how it shows up in relationship.

I’m not sure I would be recommending to others in a hurry, but it was okay. And didn’t hate it,

I think by anyone else I wouldn’t have such high expectations,

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2 people found this helpful

Struggled to finish this book.

Disappointed with this quite Depressing book. Usually love Matt Haig Books but this was a struggle to finish. Sorry Matt.

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Very interesting perspective

I loved listening to this book from the father's point of view. He rapidly goes mad when his son dies, leaving his daughters life in tatters. Very well narrated.

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struggling but perhaps it's me

I love Matt's work but found this really depressing.

Gave it 2 hours but decided I am not in a place where I can finish.

Will maybe revisit another time but do not recommend to anybody looking for a little escapism

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1 person found this helpful