Adeline
4.5 stars Speculative mystery, following Isserley a woman who spends her days riding her car, travelling through Scotland, picking up hitchhikers for mysterious reasons.
My first time reading Michael Faber, I really liked this book ! The writing was gorgeous, lush with an unsettling atmosphere and evocative description of the Scottish land. I love how the author explained the reasons behind Isserley’s actions in a subtle way, revealing bits by bits his overall world building that was fascinating. I liked reading about Isserley, her thoughts, pains and hopes, she came across as a very complex and touching person. I also liked how the author approached themes like identity, speciesism, oppression, capitalism, classism, animal rights, misogyny, perception and alienation
This wasn’t a strictly horror book, more unsettling than gory though there was a couple of disturbing scenes that really underlined the unsettling and creepy atmosphere. I’d also advise other readers to check the trigger warnings.
As this was a very character centric novel, the plot wasn’t incredibly elaborate and lack any intricate storyline which didn’t really bother me. Although I really liked the ending, however I felt the development towards it felt a bit rushed, compared to the rest of the story who was rightly paced for the atmosphere it conveyed. I also wanted to see more of the world so the last scenes felt a bit abrupt.
I also know there was a movie adaptation but from what I’ve heard I probably won’t watch it.
Overall a dark and unsettling novel, I definitely recommend reading this novel with knowing as little as possible about it.
4.5 stars Speculative mystery, following Isserley a woman who spends her days riding her car, travelling through Scotland, picking up hitchhikers for mysterious reasons.
My first time reading Michael Faber, I really liked this book ! The writing was gorgeous, lush with an unsettling atmosphere and evocative description of the Scottish land. I love how the author explained the reasons behind Isserley’s actions in a subtle way, revealing bits by bits his overall world building that was fascinating. I liked reading about Isserley, her thoughts, pains and hopes, she came across as a very complex and touching person. I also liked how the author approached themes like identity, speciesism, oppression, capitalism, classism, animal rights, misogyny, perception and alienation
This wasn’t a strictly horror book, more unsettling than gory though there was a couple of disturbing scenes that really underlined the unsettling and creepy atmosphere. I’d also advise other readers to check the trigger warnings.
As this was a very character centric novel, the plot wasn’t incredibly elaborate and lack any intricate storyline which didn’t really bother me. Although I really liked the ending, however I felt the development towards it felt a bit rushed, compared to the rest of the story who was rightly paced for the atmosphere it conveyed. I also wanted to see more of the world so the last scenes felt a bit abrupt.
I also know there was a movie adaptation but from what I’ve heard I probably won’t watch it.
Overall a dark and unsettling novel, I definitely recommend reading this novel with knowing as little as possible about it.