4 stars for The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan.
Have you ever chose to read a book because the title intrigues you so? Yes, I do and a resounding one at that; more often than not, I fall victim to the allure of aptly named storybooks. The Girl in the Photograph - the title alone - fascinates me so that the moment I set my eyes on the paperback, I feel compelled to read the book.
As much as I am attracted to the book title, I am awed by the author who writes with the florish and fluency of a polished writer albeit this is only her second novel. Even as I read the opening chapter, I am impressed by the way the author picks her choice of words and arranges them in sentences or in lines of dialogue to express her ideas and ultimately theme of the story. The use of simple yet mesmerising descriptions of the Fiercombe Manor - a lonely house tucked into the countryside where many have lived out their lives - lulls me into its enchanting yet deeply disturbing past.
At halfway mark, I find myself so curious about the history of this old Fiercombe Estate and the spectres lurking in the dark hallways that I steal a peek into the last two chapters, something which I shun but practice once in a blue moon. Surprisingly, what takes me aback is not the ending itself which is actually rather predictable but the fact that even with knowing how the story pans out, I am still keen to go back to where I leave off and continue reading the story of a house caught in a time warp and alive with the past. I may have known the story ending - the what and the where - but I still want to read and find out for myself the why.
As I persist in my reading, the many question marks branching out from the tree of why are slowly answered by Alice Eveleigh - a young lady 26 years of age - who takes my hand and walks me through her part of the story and the girl in the photograph who provides the all-encompassing eyes into the events long past.
All in all, The Girl in the Photograph is a skilfully written story. There is no clear-cut black and white to the characters who are often victims of their own circumstances. Though the ending may be easily predictable, the reason that leads to the finale is unexpectedly disconcerting and pretty sad. It is now a story that takes up residence in my mind.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication date: 15 Jan 2015
*** Favourite quote 1 ***
Fragments of memory were flitting through her mind. They came so fast, bats across a darkening sky, that she hadn't yet been able to grasp one and examine it.
*** Favourite quote 2 ***
The real ghosts are the ones that take up residence in your mind...
~ The Girl in the Photograph
Kate Riordan
@}--->>--->>-----
The Girl in the Photograph/Fiercombe Manor
(published in the US and Canada as Fiercombe Manor)
When Alice Eveleigh arrives at Fiercombe Manor during the long, languid summer of 1933, she finds a house steeped in mystery and brimming with secrets. Sadness permeates its empty rooms and the isolated valley seems crowded with ghosts, none more alluring than Elizabeth Stanton whose only traces remain in a few tantalisingly blurred photographs. Why will no one speak of her? What happened a generation ago to make her vanish?
As the sun beats down relentlessly, Alice becomes ever more determined to unearth the truth about the girl in the photograph - and stop her own life from becoming an eerie echo of Elizabeth's . . .
‘Fiercombe is a place of secrets. They fret among the uppermost branches of the beech trees and brood at the cold bottom of the stream that cleaves the valley in two. The past has seeped into the soil here like spilt blood. If you listen closely enough you can almost hear what has gone before, particularly on the stillest days. Sometimes the very air seems to hum with anticipation. At other times it’s as though a collective breath has been drawn in and held. It waits, or so it seems to me.’
Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition
Publication date: 3 Jun 2015
*Blurb and except from author's website*
Add to:
Links to purchase:
No comments:
Post a Comment