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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
An enjoyable read
Another page-turner. This was a quick read with lots of red herrings and another cast of unlikeable characters! It ended a little abruptly and didn’t have quite so many twists as Our House or The Other Passenger. Recommended!
Another page-turner. This was a quick read with lots of red herrings and another cast of unlikeable characters! It ended a little abruptly and didn’t have quite so many twists as Our House or The Other Passenger. Recommended!
This one kept me guessing with a lovely twist st the end.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
You have to admire an author's bravery in writing a book that's populated almost entirely by unlikeable people, forcing you to consider if the bad people are really that bad when the good people are really that passive aggressively awful and, for this reader anyway, why anyone would live in the suburbs ever. Okay so that last one is a very personal reaction but when Darren and Jodie move into the family friendly, terribly proper, "suburban dream world" of Lowland Way they aren't quite the right sort of people. For a start they come from a local estate, and they knock down garden walls loudly, repair cars and crowd the place up with second-hand wrecks, half-arse renovations, play loud music, drink, fight, party hard. All of which is obviously not good neighbourly behaviour but lordy there's a sneaking feeling of sympathy for their sod off attitude to the buttoned up, "perfect" people in the rest of the street. Okay so again that probably says more about me than it does about the characters in this book - but I really struggled to connect to any of them, I really didn't care what happened to most of them, and yet I couldn't quite bring myself to put the book down.
This is one of those stories that won't work if you read it on face value - there's a lot going on here and eventually I decided it's not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance. There's something being said here about class and aspirational living, about hidden tensions within families, and perfect "going out" faces. Whilst on one hand you can understand that the shell shock of a newly arrived couple who couldn't give a rats for others sensitivities, aspirations, quiet enjoyment is overwhelming, but on the other hand... well a bit of a shake up couldn't hurt these control freaks. And goodness knows I'd be cutting the power to any house that played music loudly into the night, but at the same time... there were points in this novel where taking sides was called for, and it got hard to decide where sympathies lay. On the obvious, good, aspirational, proper, upright family side or the shaker uppers just because.
Having said all of that, THOSE PEOPLE's not an easy reading novel. The general unlikeability of most characters could make it a bit of a struggle to give a damn, especially as it takes quite a while for the hint dropping to cease, and something tangible to happen. It wasn't until I'd finished that I decided something clever was going on here, that the structure was designed to challenge and to wrongfoot the reader. It's not meant to be easy reading, and it's meant to throw you just a bit. It's also one of those novels that make me enormously thankful for a rural lifestyle with excellent neighbours - quite a distance away.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/those-people-louise-candlish
This is one of those stories that won't work if you read it on face value - there's a lot going on here and eventually I decided it's not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance. There's something being said here about class and aspirational living, about hidden tensions within families, and perfect "going out" faces. Whilst on one hand you can understand that the shell shock of a newly arrived couple who couldn't give a rats for others sensitivities, aspirations, quiet enjoyment is overwhelming, but on the other hand... well a bit of a shake up couldn't hurt these control freaks. And goodness knows I'd be cutting the power to any house that played music loudly into the night, but at the same time... there were points in this novel where taking sides was called for, and it got hard to decide where sympathies lay. On the obvious, good, aspirational, proper, upright family side or the shaker uppers just because.
Having said all of that, THOSE PEOPLE's not an easy reading novel. The general unlikeability of most characters could make it a bit of a struggle to give a damn, especially as it takes quite a while for the hint dropping to cease, and something tangible to happen. It wasn't until I'd finished that I decided something clever was going on here, that the structure was designed to challenge and to wrongfoot the reader. It's not meant to be easy reading, and it's meant to throw you just a bit. It's also one of those novels that make me enormously thankful for a rural lifestyle with excellent neighbours - quite a distance away.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/those-people-louise-candlish
Powerful domestic suspense, with a devastating sting in its tail!
There’s a reason Louise Candlish’s name is synonymous with the domestic noir sub- genre of crime fiction and it’s because she’s simply the queen of turning the everyday into the horrific. Those People is a perfectly executed study in the escalation and spiralling out of control of a domestic situation that is scarily plausible. The power, suspense and gut-wrenching tension lies in the extreme reactions and measures that a host of very ordinary characters take in the face of a situation that anyone could be subjected to. We’ve all experienced neighbours who have had moments of being unquestionably inconsiderate, but Those People very cleverly puts readers into the shoes of a group of residents who are relentlessly tormented by the behaviour of a new neighbour. I spent much of my time wondering what I would do in the circumstances. This is one aspect that makes Those People such an enjoyably anxious read: we’re all only one monstrous neighbour away what the residents of Lowland Way face…
As well as being able to turn everyday life into a torturous nightmare, another part of Candlish’s books that I am drawn to is the social commentary. Those People takes some of the author’s familiar themes - such as privilege, wealth, class, property porn, misogyny and family friction - and weaves them through the narrative with a perfected skill. This book is very much about character and one of the reasons I am so fond of it is because of how complex and realistic they are. Candlish expertly blurs the lines between right and wrong, good and bad to create a cast of characters that are all simultaneously vile and sympathetic. There are so many layers to each and every one, all playing out beautifully with the overarching plot.
Listening to this as an audiobook this time (I have previously read the novel), I was in awe of how brilliantly Tuppence Middleton managed to embody all of the different characters. She brings each to life in a unique and distinctive way. She captures the various personality traits with aplomb. It is hard to believe that the narrator who brings vulnerability, sadness and a softness to Sissy, also brings the pompous bombast and irritatingly entitled confidence of Ralph to life. This novel worked really well in audio and I loved how the events being told from different perspectives (including snippets of police enquiries) translated all of the mystery and suspense that I recalled from when I first read the book.
If you’re a fan of audiobooks, this is definitely a must listen. If you’re a fan of addictive, frighteningly plausible crime fiction, then this book is for you in any format!
There’s a reason Louise Candlish’s name is synonymous with the domestic noir sub- genre of crime fiction and it’s because she’s simply the queen of turning the everyday into the horrific. Those People is a perfectly executed study in the escalation and spiralling out of control of a domestic situation that is scarily plausible. The power, suspense and gut-wrenching tension lies in the extreme reactions and measures that a host of very ordinary characters take in the face of a situation that anyone could be subjected to. We’ve all experienced neighbours who have had moments of being unquestionably inconsiderate, but Those People very cleverly puts readers into the shoes of a group of residents who are relentlessly tormented by the behaviour of a new neighbour. I spent much of my time wondering what I would do in the circumstances. This is one aspect that makes Those People such an enjoyably anxious read: we’re all only one monstrous neighbour away what the residents of Lowland Way face…
As well as being able to turn everyday life into a torturous nightmare, another part of Candlish’s books that I am drawn to is the social commentary. Those People takes some of the author’s familiar themes - such as privilege, wealth, class, property porn, misogyny and family friction - and weaves them through the narrative with a perfected skill. This book is very much about character and one of the reasons I am so fond of it is because of how complex and realistic they are. Candlish expertly blurs the lines between right and wrong, good and bad to create a cast of characters that are all simultaneously vile and sympathetic. There are so many layers to each and every one, all playing out beautifully with the overarching plot.
Listening to this as an audiobook this time (I have previously read the novel), I was in awe of how brilliantly Tuppence Middleton managed to embody all of the different characters. She brings each to life in a unique and distinctive way. She captures the various personality traits with aplomb. It is hard to believe that the narrator who brings vulnerability, sadness and a softness to Sissy, also brings the pompous bombast and irritatingly entitled confidence of Ralph to life. This novel worked really well in audio and I loved how the events being told from different perspectives (including snippets of police enquiries) translated all of the mystery and suspense that I recalled from when I first read the book.
If you’re a fan of audiobooks, this is definitely a must listen. If you’re a fan of addictive, frighteningly plausible crime fiction, then this book is for you in any format!
Very relatable story re: annoying neighbors. I liked the realistic suspense, which was then leveled up with the uncertainty of the others neighbors on the street. I liked that no one was “good” and everyone had a motive.
There were some great twists and turns but the whole thing felt a little bit too contrived. I almost didn't care by the time I got to the end. I think I set my expectations too high.
With unlikable characters, a slow plot and obvious reveals I didn’t feel to compelled to keep reading. But I did. Because it was for a book club... not my cup of tea. The constant social commentary was obvious but not deep and the only time it was really called out from a characters wife it went no where. Wasted opportunity.
Not going to lie, I only made it to page 184 and had to give up on this book. I would usually force myself to finish a novel in hope of improvements but from reading some other reviews - I’m just not going to put myself through it. The storyline is intriguing, neighbours from hell is a pretty good plot (hence the 1 star) - however, it just goes on and on and on and on without getting anywhere particularly exciting? Definitely one of the worst books I’ve read (attempted to read) in a long while.
Boring chick lit
Busybodies plotting to kill a new neighbor - these are supposed to be the normal (good) ones. Smearing dog-poo to the doorstep of that neighbor, smashing his car, window and security cam, these "normal" families. Just because they are so upset that the new neighbor plays loud music, renovates the house and tries to make living.
All of it is drowned in mumsy dullness and myopia, next-door kid allegedly cannot sleep because of noise, but then it turns out he's hard of hearing ?!?
Just shows how pigheaded people certain of their privilege have no grip on reality.
Busybodies plotting to kill a new neighbor - these are supposed to be the normal (good) ones. Smearing dog-poo to the doorstep of that neighbor, smashing his car, window and security cam, these "normal" families. Just because they are so upset that the new neighbor plays loud music, renovates the house and tries to make living.
All of it is drowned in mumsy dullness and myopia, next-door kid allegedly cannot sleep because of noise, but then it turns out he's hard of hearing ?!?
Just shows how pigheaded people certain of their privilege have no grip on reality.