Grace Paperback – 14 Jan. 2009

Marvellous book - eerie, rich, surreal, and moving in equal measure. Sophisticated literary fiction and yet engrossing and gripping too. Definitely give this one a read!

rubbish

This author is destined for great things. It's a gripping read that quickly draws you deep into an intriguing labyrinth of a troubled mind. You follow dreamily as the tale unfolds in the hinterland of fairy tale, the subconscious or perhaps reality as the psychotic protagonist wrestles with his own guilt and injustice, whilst he gravitates towards reason, fate or love.By the time you get to the middle of the book you've had it - it's going to be a late night because you will have to get to the end - where, like me and the previous reviewer you will probably cry.Powerful, original and with language which at times is just beautiful this book will have book groups across the land debating for hours as they try to unweave its many layers!I have never bothered to review a book before but felt compelled. I'm still feeling its after effects.

I hadn't heard of this writer, but I read a review online and it sounded interesting so I thought, why not?Really glad I bought it - it's written brilliantly: pacy, exciting, but thought provoking and the end had me in tears.I'd recommend it to anyone (although some of it is quite 'adult').Definitely five stars.

Peterman has escaped from a secure hospital. He murdered his mother, and now he runs through the forest in the snow with sirens blaring behind him. Suddenly searing pain runs up his body from his leg. He has been caught in a bear trap.This dramatic opening to Grace, sets the scene for a mysterious and fantastic story, in which Alex Pheby explores themes of illusion against reality, crime against innocence and the question, is madness just a sane of coping with impossible circumstances?Peterman finds refuge in the home of those who set the trap and finds himself cared for, but also perhaps held captive (or perhaps captivated) by an ancient woman and her foundling child. The relationship between the three develops through the telling of stories and a common rejection of the world "out there".The book builds up to its inevitable climax, and readers are left to make their own decisions about whether Peterman is insane, or whether the medical and judicial systems have woven their own myths to classify him as a criminal insane.I enjoyed this book and once I had started it found myself racing through it - always a good sign. It is a strange mixture of narrative and stories within stories. Pheby does not mind confusing his readers and leading them astray, and it takes an alert mind to keep up with the nuances. In an interview Pheby says,"I use, for example, the form of the fairy tale to frame certain parts of the story and the conventions of the nineteenth century realist novel to frame others - the reader brings their own expectations of both these forms of writing (largely without realising it) and this can be very useful in subtly undermining or shoring up particular parts of the story".In other words, the reader's head is definitely being messed with, but in quite a sophisticated way - and this is part of the fun of reading this very novel novel. Grace is a rewarding read which suggests that Pheby's works in progress will be worth waiting for.

Grace is a dark fairytale reminiscent of the work of Angela Carter. The novel begins with Peterman, an escapee from a mental hospital, running hell for leather through a forest. The snow comes down and he plunges on until he finds himself in the jaws of a bear trap, whereupon he meets an old woman, Granny, and a girl. Granny and the girl change everything for Peterman, and through them he is able to find a little happiness for the first time since he was institutionalized.Granny and the girl nurse Peterman back to health, and Peterman comes to love the girl as a daughter. Peterman's mind is perhaps not the most reliable indicator of events, so when the group becomes fractured the reader questions if the girl and the old woman ever existed. It's interesting that the only time Peterman is particularly convincing as a trustworthy witness is when he is in the company of these two women.Grace struck me as a feminist text and ninety-nine-year-old Granny was undoubtedly my favourite character. There are stories within stories and Granny's transgressive tale of debauchery fascinated and engrossed me. Its tone was very different from the tone of the stories offered by Peterman and the girl and for me it was the most brilliant element of this novel. The novel's consideration of fatherhood and father-daughter love was possibly the most emotional element and it is woven throughout the book, right until the final line.It took me a while to immerse myself in Grace's pages, and in order to do so I had to read the novel in total silence with no distractions, as otherwise I'd find my eye slipping down the page and I'd have to reread sections. However, when I gave it a hundred percent of my attention, I was captivated and delighted by the storytelling. This is vivid but risk-taking writing. The reader has work to do and not everybody will fancy the challenge that Grace offers. I was not able to dip in and out of this book, so I read it in two sittings, which was an intense but rewarding experience.Events unfold in a weird and wonderful manner and even though the reader is never entirely sure what is in Peterman's mind and what is occurring independently of it, I found myself siding with Peterman's version of events, and I was far less convinced by the psychologist's theories. I imagine Grace would do very well on a university syllabus, because of the quality of writing, but also because Grace has so many layers that can be peeled back to reveal its hidden depths. There is a compelling surface story but there are counter stories running beneath, which makes Grace a novel that plays with the mind even after finishing it.The descriptive passages are beautiful, characterisation is gloriously strange and whilst the plot is relatively small in its scale, it is not simple. When viewed as a whole the novel has a mesmorizing, unsettling quality that might be considered quite rare in this age of supposed `lowest common denominator' publishing.