4.5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member; I enjoyed the last book I read by this author, Secret Kill, so chose this one straight away.
In a Nutshell: Novella, set in Australia, in which an intellectually disabled man becomes obsessed with a neighbour.
Intellectually disabled Benny Goodchild is in his early forties, works in a warehouse where he suffers taunts from colleagues, and lives alone. His life is humdrum indeed, but trouble starts when he starts doing gardening work for Olivia, who lives nearby. Then he gets the opportunity to earn some serious money—the sort of serious that he suspects might be illegal.
I was engrossed in this book all the way through, looking forward to getting back to it at each session. It's written in the third person, with the deep point of view that allows the reader to see into Benny's often rather confused mind. The story has been planned well, and I couldn't work out what was going to happen, at all—it could have taken a number of different turns. Ms Storey has an easy, flowing writing style, and the characterisation is subtly but artfully developed, even for lesser characters.
I would have given it five stars if it wasn't for a practical issue that didn't convince me, but I do tend to read with an editor's head on, and I doubt it would bother most people; if Amazon ratings had a ten star range, I'd give it eight. Overall, this is a highly entertaining book throughout which I was not tempted to skip-read once (which is something, for me!) and it comes with a definite recommendation. Buy it!
5 out of 5 stars
Psychological drama
On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
I started to read this book at five o'clock this afternoon, and have just finished it. I haven't done that in ages. What a brilliant piece of work.
John Dexter is an extraordinarily mentally disturbed man who has done some terrifying things (many of which are, frustratingly, only hinted at), but he's also oddly likeable. After a while the problems created by his extreme fear-of-abandonment issues seem sort of - well, understandable. You feel sympathy for him, and want to help him. Yes, this is story of love and obsession but it's also a study of the type of psychological disorders attributed to him. The book is witty, clever, street sharp and kinda cool. I loved it. Mark Barry, thank you from saving me after a short run of abandoned books! This was a breath of fresh air, albeit a psychotic one.
A couple of things I loved about the Kindle version - when John, the narrator, digresses onto another subject, usually about a film or book that might interest you, he gives the exact phrase to type into the 'search' on your reading device so, if you like, you can skip the digression and get back to the story. Marvellous! I took him up on it a few times but not in others (I found myself wanting to read Norman Mailer's 'An American Dream') - and it worked! But this book is a perfect example of something I believe - never mind all the current trends in what are or are not acceptable in novel writing, when someone writes as well as Barry does they can stray from the plot all they like.
I've had this book for over a year, and am so glad I finally got round to opening it. If you've got it on yours too, please do the same!
THE NIGHT PORTER by Mark Barry reviewed HERE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE CITY OF CRIMINALS by Mark Barry reviewed HERE
ULTRA VIOLENCE by Mark Barry reviewed HERE
