The Stone Boy is a strange and fascinating novel about mental illness and parent/child relations that leaves the reader with shifting perceptions about truth.
I thought I knew what it was about and updated my opinions several times with new information, but truly, I never had a clear perception and had to work through each new situation.
The book is difficult to review because to appreciate it fully, it has to develop for each reader. I want people to read this book, but I also want them to be able to navigate the plot in the circuitous way the author presents it. Recognizing and puzzling over each bit of information, changing your mind, getting little bits of back story, making suppositions, experiencing a sense of dread...
The beginning is a bit slow and did not particularly engage me, but I am so glad I stuck with it because I became completely immersed in the novel. I will not soon be forgetting The Stone Boy.
Sophie Loubiere won the Lion Noir Prize and the Ville de Mauves-sur-Loire Prize for The Stone Boy. Norah Mahoney did a great job with the first English translation.
Highly recommended.
(After a period of books that were not so good, many of which I did not finish, I'm having an unprecedented run of luck with my ARC choices!)
NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing
Psychological. Oct. 2013. Print version: 304 pages.
Sounds very mysterious - I'll have to look this one up.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Lynn :D
I'm intrigued!
ReplyDeleteLynne-- I was impressed with the author's ability to pull me into the world of Elsa Preau and keep me wondering!
ReplyDeleteStefanite-- The Stone Boy is intriguing for several reasons. The author does a masterful job of presenting mental illness and keeping the reader from knowing how much is real.
I haven't heard of the author or book before.
ReplyDeleteYour description of this book has me very curious, Jenclair. A book that makes you change your perception as you go especially--especially a reader who tends to be right more than not about twists and turns in books!
Same here, hadn't heard of the author before but it does sound like an interesting read. Yay for good ARCs :)
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