Summary
The Standing Pool by Adam Thorpe (Cape, [pounds]17.99) ALL kinds of evils seethe under the sun in Adam Thorpe's superior seventh novel, set in idyllic southern France. For the Mallinson family a Gallic sabbatical seems, at first, to be just what the doctor prescribed. Forced by his failing voice to take a break from lecturing, Cambridge historian Nick, his wife, Sarah, and their young daughters settle quickly into the Mas des Fosses, a farmhouse with a tragic past. Belonging to the Sandlers, two gloriously nauseating grotesques, the Mas also conceals antique dealer Adam Sandler's illegitimate hoard: treasures pilfered from Iraq. But Sandler's secret pales beside those of Jean-Luc, the property's deranged gardener. Driven to the edge by a bedridden mother, Jean- Luc embarks on a terrifying project in which the unwitting Mallinsons will have a starring role. At times almost comically pregnant with portents, Thorpe's ultimate twists still come as a surprise.
Wincingly precise in his imagery and technically adept, he has here crafted an electric and darkly gleeful read.See the full content of this document
Extract
New Fiction
A Case Of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif (Cape, [pounds]12.99) THE cause of the 1988 air accident that killed Pakistan's G...
See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
