Lowly’s Book Blog

Hmmm… I wonder if June Colbert has read anything by Melina Marchetta. This really feels like a ripped off plot if there ever was one.

Sarah is 16 and living happily with her Aunt Willow, a relic of the 70s hippie culture, complete with conspiracy theories. Then one day Willow disappears. Sarah dragged kicking and screaming to live with her estranged father, her stepmonster and three younger siblings, including a teething baby. All she really wants is to find Willow and put life back the way it was.

Her only clue is Willow’s diary from her first year at uni. Willow pours over this every chance she gets, not easy when the stepmonster is determined fill every minute of her days. The diary details life in Willow’s shared house, complete with cryptic nicknames like Sparkle and Tiger Lily. Eventually Hawk, Willow’s boyfriend becomes real, and from there Sarah is on her way to finding out what happened to Willow.

This book is interesting in the way it portrays the youth culture of the 70s. The sit-ins, anti-war marches and even the drug use is clearly shown. Sarah’s real existence is less exciting. The reader as well as Sarah wants to jump back to the diary at every opportunity. Sorry, but I just found the family too trite.

This book has a lot in common with On the Jellicoe Road. So much in common that I believe the story could be considered pale imitation. Both have disappearing relatives, both have a conspiracy of silence and cover-up. Both have an autobiographical source of information that leads to a solution of the puzzle in the end. However, Marchetta adds layers of delicious relationships both current and historical to make her novel a far more satifying read.

How is your Dante? Any familiarity with other Apocalyptic literature, especially Christian? Mine is lousy and I suspect it needs to be in order to enjoy this first book from a new young English author.

The book opens with a middle-aged man waking up on the floor of his apartment covered in blood. He cannot remember his name or anything else about his life. Gradually he learns that he is living in Budapest. His name is Gabriel Antaeus. He speaks Hungarian and English fluently, and there is a lot of money in a bag in the kitchen.  And he can see strange monsters that are invisible to everyone else. Like the burning man that invades his dreams. Gabriel is a man frightened and alone.

After weeks and months alone in his apartment, Gabriel starts to move out into the city, just to be near normal people. He is drawn to visit churches, cathedrals and religious sites through the city. One day he is befriended by Stephimo, another man who can apparently see these strange monsters. The other person that Gabriel connects with is the young pregnant teenager living in the apartment building.

I have seen this book described as a mix of Dan Brown and Umberto Eco. I wholeheartedly agree. There is a level of gothic/supernatural strangeness that I have only ever encountered in Eco’s works.  And yet the core of the story is a thriller, much in the style of Dan Brown, the reader is asked to link the clues to uncover the conspiracy.

The publisher’s website indicates that Alex Bell wrote this novel when she was just 19. Much of the publicity for the book focuses on the fact that it is a young author’s debut novel. I can accept that everyone has to start somewhere, but Bell really needs to spend a lot of time more time in research. Just a quick glance at Wikipedia will clearly demonstrate that the title should have been The Seventh Circle.

Sorry. This book simply didn’t sit well. Perhaps, like everyone’s first novel, it needs to go back into the box. Alex Bell shows potential, but she needs to find a good editor.