This blistering debut took me on quite a journey within the single sitting it took for me to consume it. Full of tension and foreboding, it delves into the relationship between memory and truth, the ripple effect of trauma and the damage we inflict upon those who remind us of the most hidden parts of ourselves. Love it.
#1 on my "I wish I'd read the book first!" list.
If you haven't watched the movie adaptation of this book on Netflix yet, wait! Devour the book then definitely watch the movie because they did a fantastic job capturing its bizarre essence. But, if you can, let this eerie road trip adventure unfold page by page the first time you experience it. This book is a subversive journey through genres that ends with a big red bow that may or may not be dripping with blood. If you like complicated relationships, inner dialogue, puzzles that don't feel like puzzles, and don't mind things getting a little weird, this wonderfully strange novel is for you.
Iris Carmichael has spent her life feeling second best to her twin, Summer. Born moments apart and identical to the naked eye, Summer nonetheless has always been the beloved golden child while Iris is the prickly black sheep. But the race to be the sole heir of their father's massive estate is the one time Iris is determined to be the "first" twin.
Expensive lifestyles, backstabbing siblings and gorgeous Australian and island settings make this the ideal escape, dive in and enjoy!
In this recent reissue of Ingalls' delightfully bizarre novella, we're introduced to the usual trope of bored housewife stuck in a loveless marriage during 50's suburban ennui. But before your eyes glaze over, in walks Larry - an amphibious frogman who has escaped from cruel captors at a research center, bringing in an element of B-horror creature feature love story that would have made Ed Wood go wild.
