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Demons
They were going to tell stories. Let's go away for the weekend, said Megan, and leave our phones behind and turn off the computers and television and stop time because time is moving too fast and soon we'll all be saying where the hell did our lives go? We'll cook some food and drink some wine and each tell a story.
IT IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. Seven friends leave their ordinary lives behind to travel to a remote coastal beach house off the Great Ocean Road.
The stories they tell, turn by turn, are the beginning of a puzzle, each exposing the foibles of humankind.
But what to these disturbing tales reveal - or conceal - about each of them? Where does fact finish and fiction begin?
As a storm rolls in and torrential rain cuts the party off from the outside world, it becomes clear that some secrets are best kept hidden.
Brilliantly exploring the line between life and art, truth and lies, Demons is a mesmerising novel from one of Australia's most inventive writers.
IT IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. Seven friends leave their ordinary lives behind to travel to a remote coastal beach house off the Great Ocean Road.
The stories they tell, turn by turn, are the beginning of a puzzle, each exposing the foibles of humankind.
But what to these disturbing tales reveal - or conceal - about each of them? Where does fact finish and fiction begin?
As a storm rolls in and torrential rain cuts the party off from the outside world, it becomes clear that some secrets are best kept hidden.
Brilliantly exploring the line between life and art, truth and lies, Demons is a mesmerising novel from one of Australia's most inventive writers.
230 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2014
3 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Wayne Macauley
12 books16 followersWayne Macauley is the author of the highly acclaimed novels: Blueprints for a Barbed-Wire Canoe, Caravan Story and, most recently, The Cook, which was shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award, a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and the Melbourne Prize Best Writing Award. His new book Demons will be available in August 2014. He lives in Melbourne.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 29, 2015
REVIEW: DEMONS by Wayne Macauley
DEMONS is an incredibly adorable and endearing novel with which I fell instantly in love. Seems odd, of a novel in which mostly all the characters, and those in their true (or imaginatively constructed) stories, are self-centered, selfish, sniping, greed- or lust-motivated, and too frequently, clouded to their own emotional vulnerabilities and self-motivations. Nevertheless, DEMONS contains such a wealth of imagination, is so excellently constructed, I read it in one sitting, hungry for more by author Wayne Macauley. Truly a Best of 2015.
DEMONS is an incredibly adorable and endearing novel with which I fell instantly in love. Seems odd, of a novel in which mostly all the characters, and those in their true (or imaginatively constructed) stories, are self-centered, selfish, sniping, greed- or lust-motivated, and too frequently, clouded to their own emotional vulnerabilities and self-motivations. Nevertheless, DEMONS contains such a wealth of imagination, is so excellently constructed, I read it in one sitting, hungry for more by author Wayne Macauley. Truly a Best of 2015.
July 22, 2014
Demons is the fourth novel by Australian author, Wayne Macauley. A group of eight friends arrange to spend a technology-free weekend in a coastal dwelling on the Great Ocean Road. The plan is to eat good food, drink wine and tell stories to pass the time. Three couples arrive on Friday afternoon, but, at the last minute, events conspire to prevent the fourth wife from joining them: instead the husband turns up late with his reluctant teenaged daughter in tow. The adults share gossip and news and they tell tales, tall or true, who knows…… Their tales are often second- or third-hand and each has enough of an element of implausibility to raise doubts amongst the listeners. When heavy weather confines this gathering of very different individuals to the house with its leaks and a temperamental smoke alarm, the combination of personalities, mood and proximity leads some of them to indulge in an honesty that is possibly ill-advised. Macauley has found an interesting way to present some very well-told, thought-provoking but unrelated short stories. And while the stories told by the members of the group are unrelated, there are echoes with real-life occurrences. Macauley touches on quite a wide range of topics: infidelity, allergies, refugees, infertility, tree-change, land rights, the Great Aussie Dream, paedophiles, healthcare budgets, corruption, politics, protests and police violence. In the stories that are told, characters commit murder, suicide and adultery; they abandon modern life, abandon responsibility and milk cows; they renovate an old church or squat in an unfinished house; they rort the system for the greater good. The friends who tell the tales are easily recognisable from the local restaurant, workplace or pub: the wine-loving ex-builder, passionate about real estate; the newly-elected MP still finding his feet; the documentary film-maker; the litigation lawyer; the retired journalist with his young girlfriend. The lack of quotation marks for dialogue means the reader does have to pay attention to ascertain just who is saying what, but Macauley rewards the reader with some marvellous descriptive prose: “He’d beaten the grog with naturopathy, meditation and yoga and the cure had clung to him almost as persistently as the disease” and “Clouds ran past the moon and out over the sea. A few stars were showing. The waves below curled and scurried, folding the moonlight in. Out at the skyline a ship passed – it had come from the far side of the world” are just two examples. This novel looks at truth and lies, at fact and fiction and art. It is absorbing, thought-provoking and altogether quite brilliant.
February 22, 2015
I'd rate this 2.5 stars.
Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
"I wonder if stories can change how things are in the world or if they're just us telling others what we think the world looks like?"
Seven friends gather at a beach house in Australia one winter weekend. They've made a promise not to bring their children, and to cut themselves off from the outside world for a few days—no cell phones, no internet, no television. They plan to eat and drink well, and each will tell a story. It doesn't have to be a personal story, simply a story worth sharing.
As they start telling their stories, a storm rolls in, flooding the area and essentially stranding the group in the house. They debate the power of stories on the larger world. Amidst the stories, some tensions rise to the surface, as one friend reflects on his role in a tragic incident that affected his family, and his relationship with his teenage daughter. And then it's not just the weather that is tumultuous, because suddenly some long-held secrets are revealed.
I'd never read anything by Wayne Macauley before, and I thought the premise of this book was pretty intriguing. Macauley is a very good writer, and he ratchets up the tension little by little throughout the story, until you're just waiting for something to happen.
The problem is, there are so many characters it's often difficult to remember who's who, and who belongs with whom. Not all of the stories they tell are interesting, so it's difficult to really get into the book. And I felt the ending just took the whole book down a soap opera-esque path that really undercut the book's overall appeal. It's a shame, because I really thought the book showed promise. But given Macauley's narrative ability, I'm definitely interested in checking out some of his older books.
See all of my reviews (and other stuff) at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
"I wonder if stories can change how things are in the world or if they're just us telling others what we think the world looks like?"
Seven friends gather at a beach house in Australia one winter weekend. They've made a promise not to bring their children, and to cut themselves off from the outside world for a few days—no cell phones, no internet, no television. They plan to eat and drink well, and each will tell a story. It doesn't have to be a personal story, simply a story worth sharing.
As they start telling their stories, a storm rolls in, flooding the area and essentially stranding the group in the house. They debate the power of stories on the larger world. Amidst the stories, some tensions rise to the surface, as one friend reflects on his role in a tragic incident that affected his family, and his relationship with his teenage daughter. And then it's not just the weather that is tumultuous, because suddenly some long-held secrets are revealed.
I'd never read anything by Wayne Macauley before, and I thought the premise of this book was pretty intriguing. Macauley is a very good writer, and he ratchets up the tension little by little throughout the story, until you're just waiting for something to happen.
The problem is, there are so many characters it's often difficult to remember who's who, and who belongs with whom. Not all of the stories they tell are interesting, so it's difficult to really get into the book. And I felt the ending just took the whole book down a soap opera-esque path that really undercut the book's overall appeal. It's a shame, because I really thought the book showed promise. But given Macauley's narrative ability, I'm definitely interested in checking out some of his older books.
See all of my reviews (and other stuff) at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
September 14, 2014
The individual stories recounted by the characters were more interesting than the main story itself. There was not enough character development and too many characters and consequently I didn't really care about any of them.
January 31, 2015
ARC for review.
So, when I read about this on NetGalley, here's what I read:
"They were going to tell stories. Let's go away for the weekend, said Megan, and leave our phones behind and turn off the computers and television and stop time because time is moving too fast and soon we'll all be saying where the hell did our lives go? We'll cook some food and drink some wine and each tell a story.
IT IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. Seven friends leave their ordinary lives behind to travel to a remote coastal beach house off the Great Ocean Road.
The stories they tell, turn by turn, are the beginning of a puzzle, each exposing the foibles of humankind.
But what to these disturbing tales reveal - or conceal - about each of them? Where does fact finish and fiction begin?
As a storm rolls in and torrential rain cuts the party off from the outside world, it becomes clear that some secrets are best kept hidden.
Brilliantly exploring the line between life and art, truth and lies, Demons is a mesmerising novel from one of Australia's most inventive writers"
This sounds GREAT, right? Group of adults, alone in a remote location, telling stories that will form "the beginning of a puzzle", then the storm?! C'mon! Awesomeness is sure to follow.
Except it doesn't. What you get are three middle-aged couples (which is great, I was glad they weren't young), and then one middle-aged man and his daughter. A few of them tell stories, a few of the stories are interesting, but the interaction between the members of group couldn't be duller. Are there secrets? None that anyone really cares about, and I got the impression that even the CHARACTERS were unimpressed, basically saying, "hey, we've got this great setup, now let something HAPPEN! Mysterious disappearance? Murder confession? Imagined demon? REAL demon? Key party? SOMETHING. Sheesh.)
Macauley is a decent writer in desperate search of some sort of gripping plot here, and though I did read it quickly, that's just because I knew something exciting would happen on the next page. And then I was done.
So, when I read about this on NetGalley, here's what I read:
"They were going to tell stories. Let's go away for the weekend, said Megan, and leave our phones behind and turn off the computers and television and stop time because time is moving too fast and soon we'll all be saying where the hell did our lives go? We'll cook some food and drink some wine and each tell a story.
IT IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTER. Seven friends leave their ordinary lives behind to travel to a remote coastal beach house off the Great Ocean Road.
The stories they tell, turn by turn, are the beginning of a puzzle, each exposing the foibles of humankind.
But what to these disturbing tales reveal - or conceal - about each of them? Where does fact finish and fiction begin?
As a storm rolls in and torrential rain cuts the party off from the outside world, it becomes clear that some secrets are best kept hidden.
Brilliantly exploring the line between life and art, truth and lies, Demons is a mesmerising novel from one of Australia's most inventive writers"
This sounds GREAT, right? Group of adults, alone in a remote location, telling stories that will form "the beginning of a puzzle", then the storm?! C'mon! Awesomeness is sure to follow.
Except it doesn't. What you get are three middle-aged couples (which is great, I was glad they weren't young), and then one middle-aged man and his daughter. A few of them tell stories, a few of the stories are interesting, but the interaction between the members of group couldn't be duller. Are there secrets? None that anyone really cares about, and I got the impression that even the CHARACTERS were unimpressed, basically saying, "hey, we've got this great setup, now let something HAPPEN! Mysterious disappearance? Murder confession? Imagined demon? REAL demon? Key party? SOMETHING. Sheesh.)
Macauley is a decent writer in desperate search of some sort of gripping plot here, and though I did read it quickly, that's just because I knew something exciting would happen on the next page. And then I was done.
July 11, 2015
Think of this book as a collection of short stories with some padding in between. That way you'll be satisfied with this dark, oddly haunting read rather than disappointed with the petty dramas of the main characters doing the story-telling.
July 21, 2024
It is an interesting way to pull together some short stories. But character development was lacking. I wasn't that interested in what happened to them.
December 19, 2014
I wanted to love this book. I liked his last novel, The Cook. I liked the premise of this one – friends away at the beach for the weekend wanting to tell stories. And the friends are from my bubble – middle class, mostly middle aged, inner urban Melbournites.
There is the ex-alcoholic, the lawyer, the artist, the newly made politician and his teenage daughter. And more. The structure of the book is that they each tell stories. Some of the stories are about relationships, some about politics or greed or excess. If you imagine the sorts of stories that might be told around any late-night dinner party, you would not be far wrong in terms of imagining the content. The presiding feeling is the kind of middle-class ennui/disgust with modern life kind of feeling.
The problem for me is that the stories are OK but they take the reader outside of the slightly claustrophobic beach house and the relationships therein. Some of the stories have some resonance for the characters in the book but the effect is to dilute both elements of the book; the ‘real story’ and the small character-driven/articulated stories. And there’s not enough character development in the meta story to be interesting.
A reviewer speculated that this was the author’s way of using some random short stories that he had written. I reckon the reviewer is on the money. What it felt like to me was that the author was on a contract to deliver another book and nothing was coming easily.
There is the ex-alcoholic, the lawyer, the artist, the newly made politician and his teenage daughter. And more. The structure of the book is that they each tell stories. Some of the stories are about relationships, some about politics or greed or excess. If you imagine the sorts of stories that might be told around any late-night dinner party, you would not be far wrong in terms of imagining the content. The presiding feeling is the kind of middle-class ennui/disgust with modern life kind of feeling.
The problem for me is that the stories are OK but they take the reader outside of the slightly claustrophobic beach house and the relationships therein. Some of the stories have some resonance for the characters in the book but the effect is to dilute both elements of the book; the ‘real story’ and the small character-driven/articulated stories. And there’s not enough character development in the meta story to be interesting.
A reviewer speculated that this was the author’s way of using some random short stories that he had written. I reckon the reviewer is on the money. What it felt like to me was that the author was on a contract to deliver another book and nothing was coming easily.
January 19, 2016
An interesting title, eh? This is Wayne Macauley’s fourth satire – perhaps not in the same league as The Cook (see my review) – but nonetheless an ambitious book in its intent and execution.
Like The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron, the novel is framed around the idea of storytelling. A group of friends set off for a weekend away at a coastal hideaway somewhere along the Great Ocean Road: they’ve left their phones and other techno-toys at home but have brought a plentiful supply of booze and the makings of comfort-food meals. Macauley brings his characters together on a cold Winter weekend where the old friends’ plan is to reconnect with each other by telling each other stories.
Yes, it’s to be a talkfest. This is the generation that came to adulthood in the long shadow of the Baby Boomers. Before long they have a roaring fire going, but really they don’t need it. It may be bitterly cold outside but this lot generates enough hot air all by themselves.
To read the rest of my review please visit
http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/09/21/de...
Like The Canterbury Tales and The Decameron, the novel is framed around the idea of storytelling. A group of friends set off for a weekend away at a coastal hideaway somewhere along the Great Ocean Road: they’ve left their phones and other techno-toys at home but have brought a plentiful supply of booze and the makings of comfort-food meals. Macauley brings his characters together on a cold Winter weekend where the old friends’ plan is to reconnect with each other by telling each other stories.
Yes, it’s to be a talkfest. This is the generation that came to adulthood in the long shadow of the Baby Boomers. Before long they have a roaring fire going, but really they don’t need it. It may be bitterly cold outside but this lot generates enough hot air all by themselves.
To read the rest of my review please visit
http://anzlitlovers.com/2014/09/21/de...
November 15, 2014
A quick and satisfying read about a group of seven middle aged friends who spend a weekend together in a secluded house off the Great Ocean Road (in Australia). It's winter, they open wine, cook some food and decide to tell stories that reveal things about social values and eventually lead to them revealing some secrets about themselves. A great social study of typical people opening up tricky situations. Recommended.
January 6, 2024
The scheme is enticing, a kind of plague free Decameron (a few years later, he could have used COVID) wherein a group of well healed people entering middle age isolate themselves for a cultural detox (no phones or screens etc.) and share tales of the contemporary life. My problem is not with this but the execution.
He would have had to make a decision at some point as to how authentic he wanted the speech to sound, particularly during the anecdotes which bristle with writerly figures that no one would utter in real speech. This is not so bad as such (and there is a blurring of speech and general prose from a deliberate lack of conventional speech punctuation) but it tends to render all the tales told directly by the characters into the author's own voice. These people all sound the same. I found this frustrating as there are both good ideas and some very fine writing.
It's clear that we aren't meant to like these people much: they're aware of it themselves, declaiming their flaws as individuals or members of a generation. However, someone admitting a fault without apology always sounds like a praise fisher.
He would have had to make a decision at some point as to how authentic he wanted the speech to sound, particularly during the anecdotes which bristle with writerly figures that no one would utter in real speech. This is not so bad as such (and there is a blurring of speech and general prose from a deliberate lack of conventional speech punctuation) but it tends to render all the tales told directly by the characters into the author's own voice. These people all sound the same. I found this frustrating as there are both good ideas and some very fine writing.
It's clear that we aren't meant to like these people much: they're aware of it themselves, declaiming their flaws as individuals or members of a generation. However, someone admitting a fault without apology always sounds like a praise fisher.
April 11, 2020
I absolutely hate when authors don’t use quotations around speech. It’s so wankery. Having said they, I didn’t have much trouble following along and actually enjoyed the stories the characters were telling.
Didn’t really like any of the characters - though I’m not sure I was supposed to - and after a while, the stories got less interesting and book itself got a little bit political/preachy/blah blah reflection of the human condition 😐.
I’d picked up this book because the cover, title and blurb of people being cut off due to torrential rain and telling stories made me think it would be creepy (ie: they’d tell spooky stories and something scary might happen).
So my bad that I made that assumption and despite it being more literary, (which I don’t tend to enjoy), it was a quick, easy read and I liked the author’s writing style (aside from the lack of “these”).
Didn’t really like any of the characters - though I’m not sure I was supposed to - and after a while, the stories got less interesting and book itself got a little bit political/preachy/blah blah reflection of the human condition 😐.
I’d picked up this book because the cover, title and blurb of people being cut off due to torrential rain and telling stories made me think it would be creepy (ie: they’d tell spooky stories and something scary might happen).
So my bad that I made that assumption and despite it being more literary, (which I don’t tend to enjoy), it was a quick, easy read and I liked the author’s writing style (aside from the lack of “these”).
March 5, 2019
I think the author started with an interesting premise (couples gather without technology in a holiday house to tell stories and reconnect as friends) but he has such a poor opinion of his readership that he decided to make the distinction between story and 'story within the story' so obvious that the enjoyment I should have felt in exploring the text was lost - and on page one.
Wooden, predictive and without grace, the story unfolds. I couldn't wait to finish it (book club book).
The gratuitous use of violence and sex , casually inserted because...why? Macauley likes to shock?
Because we need to know about such things? Infantile, childish and it didn't impress me. Maybe he thought it was sophisticated but it read as tawdry, self-conscious and without merit.
Wooden, predictive and without grace, the story unfolds. I couldn't wait to finish it (book club book).
The gratuitous use of violence and sex , casually inserted because...why? Macauley likes to shock?
Because we need to know about such things? Infantile, childish and it didn't impress me. Maybe he thought it was sophisticated but it read as tawdry, self-conscious and without merit.
October 30, 2022
Very strange book! Started off ok about a group of friends who wanted to have a weekend away with no mobile phones etc and tell stories instead for entertainment. The stories themselves were actually quite good, but were they that, just stories or were they real? I didn’t like that there were no quotation marks when the characters spoke, this was annoying. Then the book actually didn’t have an actual ending- so frustrating.
I read this book for my in branch book club so will be interesting to see what the others thought.
I read this book for my in branch book club so will be interesting to see what the others thought.
August 15, 2017
I liked this book. The stories the characters tell each other get better as the book progresses. Maybe because of their similar names, I never quite got a hang of who was which character and was married to who and did what for a living, except for Marshall the politician and Tilly his teenage daughter.
January 5, 2019
It was okay. Just.
Want to read
January 5, 2024I learned of this book via this post: https://anzlitlovers.com/2014/09/21/d...
July 28, 2020
I really enjoyed reading the individual stories within this book. I think it would have been better written as a book of short stories. I didn't care for any of the characters/friends, and found it very difficult to remember who was who.
The book description states, "But what do these disturbing tales reveal - or conceal - about each of them? Where does fact finish and fiction begin?" I was hoping my thinking would be really challenged here, but it wasn't. With too many characters and minimal character development, I just didn't care when one was found to be lying.
Being an Australian author, and living in Australia myself, I loved the descriptions of Australian landscape. The descriptions of the Australian beach and weather made me feel very immersed, as if I could smell and hear the rain or crashing waves from the beach.
The book description states, "But what do these disturbing tales reveal - or conceal - about each of them? Where does fact finish and fiction begin?" I was hoping my thinking would be really challenged here, but it wasn't. With too many characters and minimal character development, I just didn't care when one was found to be lying.
Being an Australian author, and living in Australia myself, I loved the descriptions of Australian landscape. The descriptions of the Australian beach and weather made me feel very immersed, as if I could smell and hear the rain or crashing waves from the beach.
February 11, 2015
I received an advanced copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Text Publishing!
Being mostly a reader of mysteries, Demons was a little bit out of my wheelhouse. The crimes and deaths in it are just as real, but the implications run much deeper than my usual fare. Four middle-age friends reunite in the middle of nowhere and tell stories. Stories that are so engrossing, I had a hard time putting the book down. All are sad and devastating. Between the stories, we see the couples spend time together, as friends tend to do. Little by little, their secrets, insecurities and pettiness come out to show that, privileged as they may be, they are not much better off than the subjects of their tales. The whole book reminded me of a play. I could see this on a stage. The characters are so well defined, that I think I would recognize them if I saw them on the street. The ending is unexpected, although it takes everything to its logical conclusion. Things couldn't have been any other way. Demons is a serious book about important issues, written so well it reads easily. A great, unforgettable read.
Being mostly a reader of mysteries, Demons was a little bit out of my wheelhouse. The crimes and deaths in it are just as real, but the implications run much deeper than my usual fare. Four middle-age friends reunite in the middle of nowhere and tell stories. Stories that are so engrossing, I had a hard time putting the book down. All are sad and devastating. Between the stories, we see the couples spend time together, as friends tend to do. Little by little, their secrets, insecurities and pettiness come out to show that, privileged as they may be, they are not much better off than the subjects of their tales. The whole book reminded me of a play. I could see this on a stage. The characters are so well defined, that I think I would recognize them if I saw them on the street. The ending is unexpected, although it takes everything to its logical conclusion. Things couldn't have been any other way. Demons is a serious book about important issues, written so well it reads easily. A great, unforgettable read.
March 4, 2015
The premise behind Demons seemed fresh and different - 7 friends in Australia get together for a weekend, sans all technology, to share stories, food and good drink. We learn a lot about humankind, in general, from the stories they share, but the close personal interaction exposes each character's weaknesses and flaws as well.
I really enjoyed the stories our characters told. They were each unique, insightful into the human condition and thought provoking. These stories may have been the best bit for me. They did make me think and I feel they will stay with me for some time. We learn a great deal about the 7 friends as well. As the weather worsens outside, the politeness and civility of the characters inside erodes.
I did have some difficulty with the writing style of the dialog initially. Knowing who said what to whom stumped me but I eventually got the hang of it.
Demons was a refreshing novel that made me think. I would certainly recommend it to others too.
I really enjoyed the stories our characters told. They were each unique, insightful into the human condition and thought provoking. These stories may have been the best bit for me. They did make me think and I feel they will stay with me for some time. We learn a great deal about the 7 friends as well. As the weather worsens outside, the politeness and civility of the characters inside erodes.
I did have some difficulty with the writing style of the dialog initially. Knowing who said what to whom stumped me but I eventually got the hang of it.
Demons was a refreshing novel that made me think. I would certainly recommend it to others too.
October 18, 2015
Unfortunately Demons is another book that has added fuel to the fire that is my bad luck in choosing reading material at the moment. I feel as if it's an achievement that I finished it when it was so difficult to follow along when Wayne Macauley doesn't use quotation marks around speech. It may work for other authors but it really didn't here.
All the characters felt as if they were the same with little aside from their occupations to tell them apart and their interactions with one another were very hollow. I did in the beginning enjoy the stories being told until I realized that each and every one of them was very depressing, whiny and somewhat pathetic when you consider the context in which they are being shared. I waded through the upper class whinge sessions about the state of the world thinking that something had to happen that would close out the book in a satisfying way. In the end it all read disjointed and dull.
All the characters felt as if they were the same with little aside from their occupations to tell them apart and their interactions with one another were very hollow. I did in the beginning enjoy the stories being told until I realized that each and every one of them was very depressing, whiny and somewhat pathetic when you consider the context in which they are being shared. I waded through the upper class whinge sessions about the state of the world thinking that something had to happen that would close out the book in a satisfying way. In the end it all read disjointed and dull.
December 1, 2014
I have really loved some of Macauley's trenchant, hilarious satirical books and was looking forward to this immensely. It left me a little nonplussed. Macauley sets up a series of stories within a story structure, with a bunch of middle-aged friends taking a weekend away together to disconnect from the world and tell each other stories. The stories told are compelling and the atmosphere of foreboding builds as they find themselves trapped by bad weather, but the group are quickly revealed to be self-indulgent middle class liberals whose lives have been wasted on food, booze and complaining and whose lives are sad, empty and frustrated. It's a brutal book, giving its (at times interchangable) characters a frightful kicking.
February 26, 2015
It sounds like the blurb for a fairly standard Hollywood thriller. A group of old friends decide to go away for a technology free weekend in a remote seaside cottage in Australia.
Three of the couples arrive on the Friday but the final pairing sees the wife unable to attend so the man brings along his very reluctant teenage daughter for the weekend. They drink wine and eat good food and tell stories.
A storm converges on the area flooding them in and effectively trapping them in the house. Not all of the stories are particularly interesting and it is often hard to remember who all the characters are and how they fit together. it should be a shocking conclusion but by that point I was a bit bored and just wanted it to be over.
Supplied by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Three of the couples arrive on the Friday but the final pairing sees the wife unable to attend so the man brings along his very reluctant teenage daughter for the weekend. They drink wine and eat good food and tell stories.
A storm converges on the area flooding them in and effectively trapping them in the house. Not all of the stories are particularly interesting and it is often hard to remember who all the characters are and how they fit together. it should be a shocking conclusion but by that point I was a bit bored and just wanted it to be over.
Supplied by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Read
January 15, 2015I kept waiting for this book to be about something other than awful middle-aged, middle-class people telling other people's stories and wringing their hands about the state of the world. Of course, that's the point of the book but if I was interested in those kinds of stories, I'd watch something starring Claudia Karvan.
Nitpicking: at one point I think they turn on a dishwasher in the middle of a power blackout. One day I hope to be middle class enough to be able to afford a dishwasher that runs on drunken smugness.
Nitpicking: at one point I think they turn on a dishwasher in the middle of a power blackout. One day I hope to be middle class enough to be able to afford a dishwasher that runs on drunken smugness.
February 1, 2015
I loved the blurb about friends going off for a weekend without electronics to reconnect. I half expected someone to ax murder all the others at the end. Perhaps the ending, while far more believable, was more terrifying. I never connected to any of the characters, neither the ones in the story or the ones the stories were about. It was told in interesting little snippets and while I did enjoy the read, it will probably be passed along instead of going on the bookshelf with the others I plan to read again someday.
March 23, 2015
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
Several friends get together for a weekend at the lake to tell stories? I was intrigued by the premise of this book but found the pacing rather frantic and disjointed. The stories the characters told were the best part of the book. The character's interactions with one another left a lot to be desired. I have a hard time reviewing books I don't enjoy simply because I feel bad writing a less than positive review. Hopefully other readers will enjoy this title more than I did.
Several friends get together for a weekend at the lake to tell stories? I was intrigued by the premise of this book but found the pacing rather frantic and disjointed. The stories the characters told were the best part of the book. The character's interactions with one another left a lot to be desired. I have a hard time reviewing books I don't enjoy simply because I feel bad writing a less than positive review. Hopefully other readers will enjoy this title more than I did.
February 4, 2015
Ugh. I hereby pledge to boycott any book that try to be more 'literary' by not bothering with quotation marks around speech. You have to be a really, really great writer to get away with it, and..well, this isn't.
Life's too short. If I don't get intrigued by either the plot, the characters or the writing style in the first couple of chapters (hopefully all three), that's it, over, no correspondence will be entered into.
Life's too short. If I don't get intrigued by either the plot, the characters or the writing style in the first couple of chapters (hopefully all three), that's it, over, no correspondence will be entered into.
March 24, 2015
First, I want to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read this book for free for an honest review. I thought I would like this story. I have been opening my reading mind to other genres, but alas...I was disappointed. I felt I was reading a B-rated movie plot. A group of friends going away for the weekend with no cellular devices or ways to reach the outside world...and that is where the interest was lost. It just was not a book for me.
February 18, 2015
The book Demon, I felt had me losing interest, early into the book. I found the narration to be un-evolved and had no depth. I wish the characters were throughout and developed further. The story did not feel well thought out nor did I feel the ending was thought out closing all the loose ends
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Text Publishing for the digital copy to review.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Text Publishing for the digital copy to review.
April 14, 2015
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book was promising...group of friends going away for the weekend...storm rolls in...
But that's basically where it becomes boring and uninteresting. Characters were not engaging and I did not feel anything for any of them...
Book did not hold my interest and is a little disappointing...just my opinion.
The premise of the book was promising...group of friends going away for the weekend...storm rolls in...
But that's basically where it becomes boring and uninteresting. Characters were not engaging and I did not feel anything for any of them...
Book did not hold my interest and is a little disappointing...just my opinion.
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