Page 18 - Phonebox Magazine April 2016

Book Review
Thelma Shacklady
The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton
Ruby and her mother have own to Alaska to meet up with her father, who has been making a wildlife lm there. However, they are met at the airport by a police of cer, who informs them that Anaktue, the tiny village where Matt had been
staying has been destroyed by a re which has killed all of the twenty three inhabitants and that twenty four bodies have been discovered. Yasmin refuses to believe that her husband is dead and sets out to nd him.
Given this rather improbable scenario, the story which is then told is quite thrilling. The trucker’s cafe gives them the opportunity to hitch a lift in one of the giant vehicles regularly following the perilous ice roads, but further dif culties await them on their journey. Also it seems as though there is someone determined that they will not reach their destination. The story is told partly from Yasmin’s viewpoint and partly from that of ten year old Ruby. And it is her part of the account which is unusual, since Ruby is profoundly deaf, communicating by sign language and by her special ‘voice’ computer. Undoubtedly this is one of the reasons for the title, the other being the vastness of the Arctic wastes.
What gives this novel its strength is only partly the plot, which stretches a little thin at times. The portrayal of the journey through the Arctic night is powerfully done, as is the description of the bitter and dangerous cold. Atmospherically, the account is quite brilliant. But what enhances the story and gives it an extra quality is the portrayal of Ruby, a precocious young girl suffering from a profound hearing loss and yet compensating for that loss in a quite remarkable way. When she becomes the narrator the reader is taken into a new world and given an insight into an unusual childhood. It is quite fascinating and I would recommend the book for this aspect alone.
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Heather Carroll
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
You may have seen the lm.....but have you read the book? Nominated as ‘Thriller of the Year’ (2012), Gillian Flynn’s ‘Gone Girl’ is a gripping page-turner of a tale about an average couple whose relationship is somewhat mis-matched.
As Amy and Nick Dunne’s life in New York City falls apart due to them both becoming unemployed, an opportunity arises back in Nick’s home-town of Missouri. Without any consideration for the consequences, Nick moves them back west – much to the detriment of his marriage.
On their fifth wedding anniversary, Amy suddenly disappears, leaving a disturbed scene at their Missouri home. As police attempt to piece together the events of her disappearance, more and more evidence 18 Phonebox Magazine | April 2016
emerges that suggests Nick may be behind the crime. But is it a crime? Without a body, nobody can be sure that an offence has
actually been committed. As readers, we are privy to the dark workings of Nick’s mind, yet he is truly bewildered by the strange searches that police uncover on his computer and the persistent calls on his mobile phone.
As the plot unfolds, a portrait of Amy emerges: a woman who has been trying to please an impossible husband. She is clearly the victim. However, in this tale of brilliant switchbacks, nothing is as it seems. Flynn cleverly manipulates the reader until he is unsure of the crime, the victim’s identity and which of the characters should be believed. Mid-way through the book, there is a twist that is so shocking and unexpected it requires the reader to reassess their perception of the plot, and one version of events is eroded to reveal another.
‘Gone Girl’ is a superb novel-noir of psychological suspense, wildly unexpected plot-twists and contradictory accounts, cleverly written in a dark and chilling manner. This is so much more than a straightforward crime novel – it is absolutely terrifying!