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A review by stonypockets
The Company by Arabella Edge
4.0
A masterly dark and disturbing tale.
Like Heath-Ledger-as-Joker disturbing.
Also disturbing: In the acknowledgements, the author thanks someone I assume is her daughter, who had to listen to the novel being read aloud every day after school. Wha? What's her bedtime story, a Clockwork Orange?
Based on true events from the 1600s, the story centers on an evil young apothecary, exiled to the colonies from Amsterdam, who is shipwrecked and spends the next 40 days marooned on desert isles playing God with his fellow castaways.
This is a truly unique read but with familiar elements. There is a strong "Lord of the Flies" element with a generous splash of S&M. The voice and style, and being forced uncomfortably into the mind of a madman, also reminds me of [b:Perfume: The Story of Murderer|343|Perfume The Story of a Murderer|Patrick Süskind|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41UJkoYGPpL._SL75_.jpg|2977727]. And the way the victims looked to the apothecary, sort of a modern pharmacist, for salvation and guidance even reminds me of TV's Lost and how the survivors instinctively chose Dr. Jack Shepherd as some sort of leader. But the know-how to heal is also the know-how to poison.
The known events are disturbing enough. But the author does an amazing job filling in the blanks. The chapters, dedicated to each day of the 40-day nightmare, are short and haunting. Historical fiction at its creepiest.
Like Heath-Ledger-as-Joker disturbing.
Also disturbing: In the acknowledgements, the author thanks someone I assume is her daughter, who had to listen to the novel being read aloud every day after school. Wha? What's her bedtime story, a Clockwork Orange?
Based on true events from the 1600s, the story centers on an evil young apothecary, exiled to the colonies from Amsterdam, who is shipwrecked and spends the next 40 days marooned on desert isles playing God with his fellow castaways.
This is a truly unique read but with familiar elements. There is a strong "Lord of the Flies" element with a generous splash of S&M. The voice and style, and being forced uncomfortably into the mind of a madman, also reminds me of [b:Perfume: The Story of Murderer|343|Perfume The Story of a Murderer|Patrick Süskind|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41UJkoYGPpL._SL75_.jpg|2977727]. And the way the victims looked to the apothecary, sort of a modern pharmacist, for salvation and guidance even reminds me of TV's Lost and how the survivors instinctively chose Dr. Jack Shepherd as some sort of leader. But the know-how to heal is also the know-how to poison.
The known events are disturbing enough. But the author does an amazing job filling in the blanks. The chapters, dedicated to each day of the 40-day nightmare, are short and haunting. Historical fiction at its creepiest.