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A review by carolhoggart
The Visitors by Simon Sylvester
4.0
I bought this book completely out of the blue - a bookstore having a closing down sale and me determined to score a bargain. The cover grabbed me, and the back blurb intrigued, and so I grabbed it - and I'm so glad I did. Truly beautiful and atmospheric writing, and quite psychologically insightful at times. The plot moved deceptively slowly for the first three-quarters - but in a way that utterly suited the atmosphere and setting, and yet never felt dragging. It was like floating in a stream, and I was quite happy just to let myself flow along.
The main reason I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars was I found the last few chapters a little dissatisfying. Endings are hard - I get it! But I wasn't convinced by Izzy's metamorphosis from kindly beachcomber whom all the children love to demented serial killer. Other elements of the plot didn't seem to quite tie up either, especially the epilogue: I had no idea how much time was meant to have elapsed since the last chapter or what might have happened to Flo in the interim.
Even so, this was a wonderfully addictive reading experience. I think I would have finished this book in one sitting if I'd had the time.
The main reason I gave it 4 rather than 5 stars was I found the last few chapters a little dissatisfying. Endings are hard - I get it! But I wasn't convinced by Izzy's metamorphosis from kindly beachcomber whom all the children love to demented serial killer. Other elements of the plot didn't seem to quite tie up either, especially the epilogue: I had no idea how much time was meant to have elapsed since the last chapter or what might have happened to Flo in the interim.
Even so, this was a wonderfully addictive reading experience. I think I would have finished this book in one sitting if I'd had the time.