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hobhouchin's review
4.0
Ian tells the story from his point of view. He introduces us to his life and his friends. Right from the start he might not be a sympathetic narrator but he appears like an alright guy who has strong opinions we, as reader, might not agree with; he confesses about his bad habits like online poker and sounds weary of his little corner of the world and his place in it but he doesn't have the energy either to do anything to improve his situation.
Or so it appears at first.
His friendship with Ollie is burdened by a slight jealousy from Ian but he loosens the sharpness of his acrid commentary with lengthy explanations, musings and a joke here and there.
And yet something is off, something about him doesn't want to sit right and layer by layer this impression gets explained the further the story goes on.
Slowly, with every further page turned, Ian's true personality shines through. He is obsessed with winning, with numbers, with feeling underappreciated, with always finding the grass on the other site of the fence greener, more tempting, more delicious.
Ian develops from an average guy into a terrible person, he becomes a narrator we learn to despise and that is what I find extradordinary about the book. Usually the narrator is someone we are supposed to like or identify with (there are exceptions, I know) or build at least a relationship with that we can comprehend their actions, understand their motivations. Ian however grows into a horrible person with every new layer he himself peels back.
His entire mask unravels and what remains at the end is a disturbing (as well as disturbed) and ugly person. All his lies - although he never realises or accepts them as such himself - are dismantled and the truth is unfurled.
I found myself wondering how I was ever able to feel sympathy for such a nasty piece of work and that makes the novel so interesting and - in my humble opinion - a genius piece of writing.
The only thing I didn't like yet I agree was important to get behind the way Ian's brain works, were the extremely lengthy and detailed descriptions of his and Ollie's sportive activities (namely golf and tennis). That's however a personal matter since I have zero knowledge about neither golf nor tennis and was unable to generate an image in my head matching with the description on the page in front of me.
On a sidenote: The television drama - staring Shaun Evans as Ian, Rupert Penry-Jones as Ollie, Claire Keelan as Em and Genevieve O'Reilly as Daisy - is definitely worth a watch, alone for the great acting of Shaun Evans, but the book offers the better story arch and - telling.
Or so it appears at first.
His friendship with Ollie is burdened by a slight jealousy from Ian but he loosens the sharpness of his acrid commentary with lengthy explanations, musings and a joke here and there.
And yet something is off, something about him doesn't want to sit right and layer by layer this impression gets explained the further the story goes on.
Slowly, with every further page turned, Ian's true personality shines through. He is obsessed with winning, with numbers, with feeling underappreciated, with always finding the grass on the other site of the fence greener, more tempting, more delicious.
Ian develops from an average guy into a terrible person, he becomes a narrator we learn to despise and that is what I find extradordinary about the book. Usually the narrator is someone we are supposed to like or identify with (there are exceptions, I know) or build at least a relationship with that we can comprehend their actions, understand their motivations. Ian however grows into a horrible person with every new layer he himself peels back.
His entire mask unravels and what remains at the end is a disturbing (as well as disturbed) and ugly person. All his lies - although he never realises or accepts them as such himself - are dismantled and the truth is unfurled.
I found myself wondering how I was ever able to feel sympathy for such a nasty piece of work and that makes the novel so interesting and - in my humble opinion - a genius piece of writing.
The only thing I didn't like yet I agree was important to get behind the way Ian's brain works, were the extremely lengthy and detailed descriptions of his and Ollie's sportive activities (namely golf and tennis). That's however a personal matter since I have zero knowledge about neither golf nor tennis and was unable to generate an image in my head matching with the description on the page in front of me.
On a sidenote: The television drama - staring Shaun Evans as Ian, Rupert Penry-Jones as Ollie, Claire Keelan as Em and Genevieve O'Reilly as Daisy - is definitely worth a watch, alone for the great acting of Shaun Evans, but the book offers the better story arch and - telling.
minimallibrary's review
dnf at 50%. i thought this was a thriller going in, but it definitely is more of a contemporary novel with some mystery elements. not for me.
drakeula_73's review against another edition
1.0
Had this on audiobook and still couldn't get through it. Terrible characters, with the main character being a total shit, and there is no chance of any empathy towards him or the others in this dirge of a book. By the third chapter I couldn't care less about them or their bet and the guy picked to narrate the book seems to have been selected for his condescending tone of voice, which irritated even more. Maybe this book is better if you read it yourself but I doubt it.
jackiefranklee's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
mharbee's review
2.0
Billed as ‘creep, compelling’, ‘delightfully twisted’, and ‘a suspenseful thriller’, I was looking forward to reading this book. The blurb is enticing and does its job wonderfully. Ot sells the story to you. And there the enjoyment for me ends. I get that the narrator, Ian, is disturbed and quite a manipulative character and Morrison has written him to make readers feel uneasy. However, I feel the story lacked credibility and the plot was tenuous at best.
In large parts of the book I felt that Morrison had merely read encyclopaedia entries for various activities and adapted them slightly for the book. You are taken through cricket, tennis and cycling with unnecessary detail, a tutorial almost, and Ian’s gambling addiction is completely stereotypical and predictable.
For me there was no ‘shocking denouement’ but rather an anticlimactic feeling that I’d been taken on a bit of a wild goose chase.
In large parts of the book I felt that Morrison had merely read encyclopaedia entries for various activities and adapted them slightly for the book. You are taken through cricket, tennis and cycling with unnecessary detail, a tutorial almost, and Ian’s gambling addiction is completely stereotypical and predictable.
For me there was no ‘shocking denouement’ but rather an anticlimactic feeling that I’d been taken on a bit of a wild goose chase.
jen567's review
4.0
Reminiscent of highsmith style of dysfunctional protagonist being the narrator and a slow burn suspense - loved the style of writing
paperbirds's review
1.0
Maybe it isn't fair for me to rate this after only reading 43 pages. On the other hand, I've only read 43 pages and I can already more or less tell exactly where this book goes, already despise the narrator, and already know I don't care about anyone in this story. It says nothing about its themes that have not already been said in more subtle and captivating ways, in my opinion.
jyddx's review
Ooh, I don't mean to be a dick but I really did not enjoy this book whatsoever, hence why it took me so long to read. I didn't like the narrator - which is kind of the point, I think - but he was just a bog-standard boringly shit bloke rather than being dislikable in any particularly interesting way. I didn't like the long descriptions of golf/tennis/swimming that had conversation interspersed through them; I do not need my dialogue couched in a cricket tutorial. I wasn't invested in this weird bet thing Ian and Ollie had going on, which really may as well have not been in the book and little would have been different. And more generally I just thought the style of writing was kinda shit. Ouch! Not the book for me, evidently. Onwards!