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The Radleys by Matt Haig
Feb. 22nd, 2013 11:48 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Life with the Radleys: Radio 4, dinner parties with the Bishopthorpe neighbours and self-denial. Loads of self-denial. But all hell is about to break loose. When teenage daughter Clara gets attacked on the way home from a party, she and her brother Rowan finally discover why they can’t sleep, can’t eat a Thai salad without fear of asphyxiation and can’t go outside unless they’re smothered in Factor 50. With a visit from their lethally louche uncle Will and an increasingly suspicious police force, life in Bishopthorpe is about to change. Drastically.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Matt Haig’s novel is essentially a cosy, middle class domestic drama with vampires. It’s a witty, frothy read that kept me turning the pages and I loved the extracts from The Abstainers Handbook, which keep the tone light. However the plot is predictable, it doesn’t add a great deal or do much that’s original with vampire mythology and the characters at times border on stereotype as Haig over-emphasises how normal the Radleys are. As such, it’s an enjoyable read but not a great one.
Life with the Radleys: Radio 4, dinner parties with the Bishopthorpe neighbours and self-denial. Loads of self-denial. But all hell is about to break loose. When teenage daughter Clara gets attacked on the way home from a party, she and her brother Rowan finally discover why they can’t sleep, can’t eat a Thai salad without fear of asphyxiation and can’t go outside unless they’re smothered in Factor 50. With a visit from their lethally louche uncle Will and an increasingly suspicious police force, life in Bishopthorpe is about to change. Drastically.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Matt Haig’s novel is essentially a cosy, middle class domestic drama with vampires. It’s a witty, frothy read that kept me turning the pages and I loved the extracts from The Abstainers Handbook, which keep the tone light. However the plot is predictable, it doesn’t add a great deal or do much that’s original with vampire mythology and the characters at times border on stereotype as Haig over-emphasises how normal the Radleys are. As such, it’s an enjoyable read but not a great one.
