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Yellow
An intense, tautly crafted novel of sensual manipulation and suspense
Stella’s life is impeccably ordered, spare, and completely sealed within her London flat. Everything comes to her—her aromatherapy massage clients, her pharmaceuticals, and her lovers. When Ivan decides to stay for good, she tells him the rules: no stories from the past, no unnecessary anecdotes, no questions. As the two engage in a brilliantly choreographed erotic dance, Stella’s life gradually slips through her fingers as everything she has sought to control turns against her.
- GenresFiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 2, 2021
Janni Visman's second novel introduces us to Stella Lawrence. Stella works as an aromatherapist and lives with her boyfriend, Ivan, and cat, George. She lives a pretty simple life and has everything she needs. The only problem is, Stella is agoraphobic and can't leave her flat. Her daily routine is planned with precision to make things as easy as possible. She has a treatment room in the back of her flat where she sees her clients and Ivan picks up any shopping that she requires. Her sister, Skye, pops by to bring anything else she needs and for some company. Stella doesn't need to go outside for anything. She didn't even need to leave her flat to find Ivan. Their relationship began when he came to her flat as a gas fitter. He removed her pipes and moved in pretty soon after.
Ivan didn't bring a lot with him, which works perfectly with Stella's rule about questions. She doesn't want or need to know about his past. Until she finds out that she does want to know. One morning, Ivan decides to put on an old bracelet and Stella can't help asking him about it. A love token from his ex-girlfriend, the bracelet starts to create problems that cause a massive upheaval to Stella's routine. Her world quickly becomes more complicated and the more she finds out about Ivan the worse things get. It also doesn't help that she has a new neighbour who is keen to make friends. A neighbour who is also a big hit with George. Every aspect of Stella's carefully crafted life starts to fall in on itself and she slowly starts to lose control.
Throughout the novel, we get an insight into Stella's troubled mind and, as time moves on, her thoughts get more complicated. She has a strange obsession with gas and during her more emotional episodes, she smells gas in her flat. Of course, Ivan assures her that the pipes were removed and there is no danger. Still, the gas haunts her. In fact, this is a book full of ghosts. Stella's previous two neighbours jumped from the balcony. Then there's the ghost of Ivan's ex Sophia Lawrence. A ghost with the same initials as both Stella and her sister. When Sophia enters their flat via the bracelet, Stella becomes obsessed with finding out everything about her. Going so far as to ring up Ivan's mother to ask questions. It's all evidence of Stella's dwindling mental health and we see her narration become more frantic and paranoid as the story progresses.
As an aromatherapist, Stella is well tuned in to the human body and notices details about the people she watches from her balcony. Her narration is full of observations about how people walk or look. It's a very sensory novel and Visman's writing really paints a fantastic picture. Stella stands above everyone and judges them without making any connection. Even her clients are removed from her life. She shuts her doors so her personal belongings remain secret. She hears these ladies' secrets but won't reveal anything about herself. Her narration is precise and cold. Stella is isolated and preoccupied with the past. Cut off from the real world. she follows a strict life and it's interesting to see how unexpected elements can quickly tip the balance.
Yellow was an interesting novel and did some very interesting things. Visman's writing style was exciting and felt a little experimental. The only problem was the narrative. It just didn't seem to fit. The ending was rushed and felt a bit cheap. It's the kind of mindless thriller that you'd expect of a trashy TV show instead of a novel that had so much promise. It doesn't exactly do anything that will shock you but it will, at least, entertain you on the way there. It won't be the sort of book that everyone will love because it's pretty light on plot. However, if you're interested in getting into the inner thoughts of its narrator, then you'll find something here.
Ivan didn't bring a lot with him, which works perfectly with Stella's rule about questions. She doesn't want or need to know about his past. Until she finds out that she does want to know. One morning, Ivan decides to put on an old bracelet and Stella can't help asking him about it. A love token from his ex-girlfriend, the bracelet starts to create problems that cause a massive upheaval to Stella's routine. Her world quickly becomes more complicated and the more she finds out about Ivan the worse things get. It also doesn't help that she has a new neighbour who is keen to make friends. A neighbour who is also a big hit with George. Every aspect of Stella's carefully crafted life starts to fall in on itself and she slowly starts to lose control.
Throughout the novel, we get an insight into Stella's troubled mind and, as time moves on, her thoughts get more complicated. She has a strange obsession with gas and during her more emotional episodes, she smells gas in her flat. Of course, Ivan assures her that the pipes were removed and there is no danger. Still, the gas haunts her. In fact, this is a book full of ghosts. Stella's previous two neighbours jumped from the balcony. Then there's the ghost of Ivan's ex Sophia Lawrence. A ghost with the same initials as both Stella and her sister. When Sophia enters their flat via the bracelet, Stella becomes obsessed with finding out everything about her. Going so far as to ring up Ivan's mother to ask questions. It's all evidence of Stella's dwindling mental health and we see her narration become more frantic and paranoid as the story progresses.
As an aromatherapist, Stella is well tuned in to the human body and notices details about the people she watches from her balcony. Her narration is full of observations about how people walk or look. It's a very sensory novel and Visman's writing really paints a fantastic picture. Stella stands above everyone and judges them without making any connection. Even her clients are removed from her life. She shuts her doors so her personal belongings remain secret. She hears these ladies' secrets but won't reveal anything about herself. Her narration is precise and cold. Stella is isolated and preoccupied with the past. Cut off from the real world. she follows a strict life and it's interesting to see how unexpected elements can quickly tip the balance.
Yellow was an interesting novel and did some very interesting things. Visman's writing style was exciting and felt a little experimental. The only problem was the narrative. It just didn't seem to fit. The ending was rushed and felt a bit cheap. It's the kind of mindless thriller that you'd expect of a trashy TV show instead of a novel that had so much promise. It doesn't exactly do anything that will shock you but it will, at least, entertain you on the way there. It won't be the sort of book that everyone will love because it's pretty light on plot. However, if you're interested in getting into the inner thoughts of its narrator, then you'll find something here.
May 23, 2014
I started off really liking this book. It is about a woman, Stella, who has a deep fear of leaving her apartment she shares with her cat and boyfriend. She works as an aromatherapist from home so that she doesn’t have to leave. She can also constantly smell gas in the apartment, despite all the appliances being electric.
I’ve always been really interested in books about people with mental disorders; it’s interesting to see the world through a new pair of eyes. And this particular one started out very strong, and I suppose on the whole it was a very good book. But I suppose the ending just let me down a bit. It didn’t really flow the way I expected it would have. I wouldn’t have guessed it would end the way it did if you’d given me a thousand and one guesses.
Still a good read, though.
I’ve always been really interested in books about people with mental disorders; it’s interesting to see the world through a new pair of eyes. And this particular one started out very strong, and I suppose on the whole it was a very good book. But I suppose the ending just let me down a bit. It didn’t really flow the way I expected it would have. I wouldn’t have guessed it would end the way it did if you’d given me a thousand and one guesses.
Still a good read, though.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Yellow - Nevisande : Janni Visman - ISBN : 670034029 - ISBN13 : 9780670034024 - Dar 192 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2004
June 15, 2022
Basically what the other reviews say. I loved the writing style, it was so vivid and i enjoyed how methodical the protagonist was. Then it devolved into some weird crime drama thing which wasn't explained. I'd have loved it to go in the direction of exploring Stella's agoraphobia, her career in the library, why she was estranged from her sister and her past relationships. But those were all left as loose ends.
March 19, 2020
A riveting book with a very surprising ending. I like the clinical nature of her characters as well as her writing style.
November 19, 2021
2 1/2 stars
June 21, 2022
This book feels like a giant loose end..
July 13, 2024
Claustrophobic story with darker plot lines.
February 27, 2010
Delicious. A quick, satisfying read. Alone on an early page of the book:
"The rules I made when he moved in:
No stories from the past.
No unnecessary anecdotes.
No questions.
'Suits me fine,' he said."
Stella has life sorted meticulously. It works great, until it doesn't, until each part of her world begins to wrest itself from her grip.
I loved the writing. This author had me on the very first page with this book that is part mystery, part portrait of an eccentric internal life, part straight-up literary fiction. Oh, there's a creepy-good sexual component, too. Recommended!
"The rules I made when he moved in:
No stories from the past.
No unnecessary anecdotes.
No questions.
'Suits me fine,' he said."
Stella has life sorted meticulously. It works great, until it doesn't, until each part of her world begins to wrest itself from her grip.
I loved the writing. This author had me on the very first page with this book that is part mystery, part portrait of an eccentric internal life, part straight-up literary fiction. Oh, there's a creepy-good sexual component, too. Recommended!
June 4, 2013
This book is only 173 pages amd covers the span of five days. Stella is obviously a troubled woman, one that I wanted to shake a few times, but she was also a sympathetic character. The language was sparse, but beautiful and the book was a joy to read. I admit that I did not see the end coming. Which is part of my small problem with the book. The end seemed to come out of nowhere, with little warning. It felt a little off from the rest of the novel.
there's more on my blog http://stacybuckeye.wordpress.com/200...
there's more on my blog http://stacybuckeye.wordpress.com/200...
November 11, 2007
Read my thoughts at: Thoughts of Joy...
March 25, 2010
Beautiful, spare writing that still manages to impart vivid detail. And if you enjoy reading about psychological dysfunction of any sort, you'll be hooked. I know I was!
August 20, 2014
really weird....
June 22, 2012
Bleh... I couldn't even muster up 3 stars for this book. Sometimes it's interesting to see inside the mind of a disturbed person, but not this time.
July 22, 2014
Yellow is one of the most captivating, well-written books I've ever read. I'm still not totally sure what happened though.
April 3, 2016
A strange book. Creepy and weird.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews