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The Haunting of Henry Twist
London, 1926: Henry Twist's heavily pregnant wife leaves home to meet a friend. On the way, she is hit by a bus and killed, though miraculously, the baby survives. Henry is left with nothing but his new daughter - a single father in a world without single fathers. He hurries the baby home, terrified that she'll be taken from him. Racked with guilt and fear, he stays away from prying eyes; walking her through the streets at night, under cover of darkness.
But one evening, a strange man materialises from the shadows and addresses Henry by name. The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack. Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack, and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife. His mannerisms, some things he says ... And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man? Who really sent him?
Set in a London recovering from the First World War, where life is enjoying a vibrancy again, The Haunting of Henry Twist is a novel about the limits and potential of love and of grief. It is about the lengths we will go to to hold on to what is precious to us, what we will forgive of those we love, and what we will sacrifice for the sake of our own happiness.
But one evening, a strange man materialises from the shadows and addresses Henry by name. The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack. Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack, and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife. His mannerisms, some things he says ... And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man? Who really sent him?
Set in a London recovering from the First World War, where life is enjoying a vibrancy again, The Haunting of Henry Twist is a novel about the limits and potential of love and of grief. It is about the lengths we will go to to hold on to what is precious to us, what we will forgive of those we love, and what we will sacrifice for the sake of our own happiness.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
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956 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
November 21, 2021
Hmm this wasn't quite what I was expecting it be.
The cover and blurb led me to expect one story, whilst this seemed to be trying to be something.
The opening chapter really pulled me in as heavily pregnant Ruby is tragically killed in an accident on Oxford Street, miraculously the baby survives.
I was expecting the story to follow her husband Henry's grief and subsequent challenges of being a single father during the 1920's.
The novel does touch upon this and small fascinating instances like SMA powder being available then too!
But the novel instead sees Henry form a relationship with a stranger named Jack.
His irresistibility convinces Henry that the man might be carrying his wife's spirit.
The book perfectly captures the roaring twenties and partying lifestyle whilst the social norms of the time seem authentic too.
I guess I was hoping for more of the plot to focus on fatherhood in a time when dad's weren't deemed to be so hands on with childcare.
The cover and blurb led me to expect one story, whilst this seemed to be trying to be something.
The opening chapter really pulled me in as heavily pregnant Ruby is tragically killed in an accident on Oxford Street, miraculously the baby survives.
I was expecting the story to follow her husband Henry's grief and subsequent challenges of being a single father during the 1920's.
The novel does touch upon this and small fascinating instances like SMA powder being available then too!
But the novel instead sees Henry form a relationship with a stranger named Jack.
His irresistibility convinces Henry that the man might be carrying his wife's spirit.
The book perfectly captures the roaring twenties and partying lifestyle whilst the social norms of the time seem authentic too.
I guess I was hoping for more of the plot to focus on fatherhood in a time when dad's weren't deemed to be so hands on with childcare.
December 28, 2017
I didn’t particularly enjoy reading Rebecca F. John’s debut novel The Haunting of Henry Twist. It’s not just because I found the character of Matilda to be objectionable, I also never really bought into Henry and Jack’s relationship (more on that in a second) and I found the novel to be overwritten and overwrought, a book that never finds a comfortable rhythm.
John’s isn’t an awful writer, there’s the infrequent nice turn of phrase. However, there’s something stifling and claustrophobic about her prose. Every thought and motivation is picked over and each character – not just Maltida – spends great chunks of the narrative deliberating and angsting over their decisions. It’s all dialled up to twenty and while there’s some justification given Henry’s wife has died horribly, he’s now sleeping with a man who might be the corporeal home of his wife’s soul and he has a newborn to look after, rather than fuel the drama this constant stream of doubt, anxiety, fear, jealousy (the shitty emotions) make the novel a chore to read.
But that’s not my real problem with the book, no my real issue is Henry and Jack’s relationship. The conceit of the novel is that Henry sees the ghost of his wife – her soul, her nature, her essentialness – in Jack. So falling in love with Jack is not Henry being gay it’s Henry loving his wife in an unconventional manner. Late in the book Henry views it this way, in the last chapter we discover that Henry has struggled for decades to come to terms with his relationship with Jack. Now, if the novel had paid greater emphasis on Henry’s confusion about his sexuality, had tendered the idea that he might actually be bi, I’d have been OK with things. But with the ill-fitting introduction of psychic Sybil and other characters noting elements of Ruby in Jack I was left with the impression that love and the possession of your wife’s soul by another person upstages sexual orientation, that falling in love and making love is as simple as finding that essential nature that attracts you. I’m not buying it. I don’t know if this was actually John’s intent but the inability of the novel to accept that Henry may be gay, or bi and that the relationship between he and Jack is as much about love as it is about sexuality, made for a less than satisfying reading experience.
And yeah, Matilda is an awful character.
John’s isn’t an awful writer, there’s the infrequent nice turn of phrase. However, there’s something stifling and claustrophobic about her prose. Every thought and motivation is picked over and each character – not just Maltida – spends great chunks of the narrative deliberating and angsting over their decisions. It’s all dialled up to twenty and while there’s some justification given Henry’s wife has died horribly, he’s now sleeping with a man who might be the corporeal home of his wife’s soul and he has a newborn to look after, rather than fuel the drama this constant stream of doubt, anxiety, fear, jealousy (the shitty emotions) make the novel a chore to read.
But that’s not my real problem with the book, no my real issue is Henry and Jack’s relationship. The conceit of the novel is that Henry sees the ghost of his wife – her soul, her nature, her essentialness – in Jack. So falling in love with Jack is not Henry being gay it’s Henry loving his wife in an unconventional manner. Late in the book Henry views it this way, in the last chapter we discover that Henry has struggled for decades to come to terms with his relationship with Jack. Now, if the novel had paid greater emphasis on Henry’s confusion about his sexuality, had tendered the idea that he might actually be bi, I’d have been OK with things. But with the ill-fitting introduction of psychic Sybil and other characters noting elements of Ruby in Jack I was left with the impression that love and the possession of your wife’s soul by another person upstages sexual orientation, that falling in love and making love is as simple as finding that essential nature that attracts you. I’m not buying it. I don’t know if this was actually John’s intent but the inability of the novel to accept that Henry may be gay, or bi and that the relationship between he and Jack is as much about love as it is about sexuality, made for a less than satisfying reading experience.
And yeah, Matilda is an awful character.
June 26, 2018
I adore this book. Add to your TBR immediately if you're interested in:
- gorgeous writing
- LGBTQ+ historical fiction
- London
- the 1920s
- a small cast of oh-so-flawed characters
- a beautiful, mysterious, roguish man with a past to hide
- the starkly yet lovingly rendered depths of sorrow and grief
- unconventional family structures
If this book were music, it would be a quiet piano piece that you could listen to for hours, and probably cry at least a little.
- gorgeous writing
- LGBTQ+ historical fiction
- London
- the 1920s
- a small cast of oh-so-flawed characters
- a beautiful, mysterious, roguish man with a past to hide
- the starkly yet lovingly rendered depths of sorrow and grief
- unconventional family structures
If this book were music, it would be a quiet piano piece that you could listen to for hours, and probably cry at least a little.
August 1, 2018
Poignant and beautiful
February 9, 2018
If I had to describe this book in only a few words, I would choose "quietly powerful". I think these two words perfectly sum up the impact this book had on me. I didn't know what to expect going in and I was very pleasantly surprised by what I discovered within its pages, namely a beautifully written, gentle paced yet thought provoking story. It also explored a variety of different themes, including love, loss, grief and parenthood, and was populated by some very real, very human characters. I imagine everybody would be able to relate to at least one of said characters or would recognise some aspects of themselves within them. Its emotional impact crept up on me. It held my attention from the very first page but as I moved further through, I would suddenly find myself sitting there teary-eyed or with a big grin on my face. It's always nice to find a book which does this. The only reason it lost a star is because I felt too much time was spent with a certain supporting character who I was not particularly fond of. I understood the importance of having them in the story and the impact they had on the plot, but I personally felt a bit too much page time was devoted to them which could have been better spent on the main character, Henry. However, this was the only negative point in the book for me. The rest was a really lovely read.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a nice, gentle read that gets you thinking. I really enjoyed the time I spent reading this and I will be keeping an eye out for Rebecca F. John's future work as I think she is an exciting new voice in fiction.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a nice, gentle read that gets you thinking. I really enjoyed the time I spent reading this and I will be keeping an eye out for Rebecca F. John's future work as I think she is an exciting new voice in fiction.
February 21, 2019
This is a beautifully written story set in the 1920's and follows Henry Twist as he deals with the tragedy of losing his pregnant wife and having to bring up their young baby on his own, whilst dealing with his grief and how perceptions of the time would lead him to have to take the baby out for a walk late at night.
He soon wonders if he's going mad as he spots someone in the shadows and soon he finds Jack in his life and wonders how he'd cope without him, even though he disappears off for periods of time and doesn't tell him much about his life so there's always that air of mystery about him, but their relationship is a comfort to Henry and helps him cope with what life has thrown his way.
Surrounding Henry are his very helpful elderly neighbours who are always there to help with childcare, and his good friends Grayson and Matilda who are suffering their own marriage issues, not helped by the fact that Matilda is, and always has been, in love with Jack so when Ruby dies she begins to think this might be her chance with Henry.
This book was a little different from what I expected, in a good way! There were so many strands to this story that it did feel a little overwhelming at times but it dealt with some serious issues in a really understanding way, and in Henry there's a character you end up caring about and just wanting the best for him and his young daughter. A really entertaining and touching read.
He soon wonders if he's going mad as he spots someone in the shadows and soon he finds Jack in his life and wonders how he'd cope without him, even though he disappears off for periods of time and doesn't tell him much about his life so there's always that air of mystery about him, but their relationship is a comfort to Henry and helps him cope with what life has thrown his way.
Surrounding Henry are his very helpful elderly neighbours who are always there to help with childcare, and his good friends Grayson and Matilda who are suffering their own marriage issues, not helped by the fact that Matilda is, and always has been, in love with Jack so when Ruby dies she begins to think this might be her chance with Henry.
This book was a little different from what I expected, in a good way! There were so many strands to this story that it did feel a little overwhelming at times but it dealt with some serious issues in a really understanding way, and in Henry there's a character you end up caring about and just wanting the best for him and his young daughter. A really entertaining and touching read.
December 18, 2017
The Haunting of Henry Twist by Rebecca F. John is shortlisted for the 2017 Costa First Novel Award.
4.5 stars
It's 1926 in London and Ruby is happy. She loves her husband Henry, she has settled in London away from her family in Pwll, and a child is on the way. Ruby is lost in thought when she crosses the street on her way home to Henry when she is hit by a bus. The doctors cannot save her life, but they do save Libby, their unborn daughter. (These are not spoilers, since all of this happens on very first few pages).
Henry, against the counsel of the doctors, takes Libby home with him. He cannot part with the only thing that still connects him to his wife. Shortly after Ruby's funeral, the mysterious Jack Turner shows up. Jack has no recollection of who he is since at the same time that Ruby had her accident, Jack claims to have lost his memory in a fight at a pub. Desperately searching for someone to fill the void Ruby left, he senses a connection between his dead wife and the stranger he welcomes into his home.
Matilda, Ruby’s best friend, has always been in love with Henry, yet is married to Grayson. Their marriage is about to falls apart because Matilda cannot bear children. As Matilda discovers that Henry has decided to raise Libby with Jack, her own wish to have a child and her desire to claim Henry for herself after Ruby’s death drive her to extreme measures.
The Haunting of Henry Twist is not ghost story. Henry is not haunted by Ruby’s ghost, and he lives with happy memories of their life together. It is in the light of Matilda’s ruthless hunt for Henry affection that the haunting of Henry Twist takes shape. Henry struggles to allow himself to love Jack, but when he finally does, it becomes apparent how truly dangerous such love was at that time.
I absolutely loved this book. The Haunting of Henry Twist is a novel about love and of grief. It is about the lengths we will go to hold onto the things that make life worth living; about what we will forgive those we love; and about what we will sacrifice for happiness. The characters, especially Henry and Matilda, but also Jack, Ruby – in the form of touching flashbacks –, and Grayson and his mistress Sally, are extremely well fleshed-out. They are believable, and Rebecca F. John perfectly captures their imperfections, their humanity. I will be very much looking forward to whatever this debut author will publish next.
The only qualms I have is that I felt the book did not do a great job at painting a picture of 1920s London. The frequent mentions of flapper girls felt heavy-handed, and most of the references came in the form of events, like the 1926 general strike. I would have loved to feel the effects of post-war Britain on the pages of this book (something that The Clocks in this House All Tell Different Times, another nominee for the Costa First Novel Award, completely nailed), which I feel would have amplified its message.
4.5 stars
It's 1926 in London and Ruby is happy. She loves her husband Henry, she has settled in London away from her family in Pwll, and a child is on the way. Ruby is lost in thought when she crosses the street on her way home to Henry when she is hit by a bus. The doctors cannot save her life, but they do save Libby, their unborn daughter. (These are not spoilers, since all of this happens on very first few pages).
Henry, against the counsel of the doctors, takes Libby home with him. He cannot part with the only thing that still connects him to his wife. Shortly after Ruby's funeral, the mysterious Jack Turner shows up. Jack has no recollection of who he is since at the same time that Ruby had her accident, Jack claims to have lost his memory in a fight at a pub. Desperately searching for someone to fill the void Ruby left, he senses a connection between his dead wife and the stranger he welcomes into his home.
Matilda, Ruby’s best friend, has always been in love with Henry, yet is married to Grayson. Their marriage is about to falls apart because Matilda cannot bear children. As Matilda discovers that Henry has decided to raise Libby with Jack, her own wish to have a child and her desire to claim Henry for herself after Ruby’s death drive her to extreme measures.
The Haunting of Henry Twist is not ghost story. Henry is not haunted by Ruby’s ghost, and he lives with happy memories of their life together. It is in the light of Matilda’s ruthless hunt for Henry affection that the haunting of Henry Twist takes shape. Henry struggles to allow himself to love Jack, but when he finally does, it becomes apparent how truly dangerous such love was at that time.
I absolutely loved this book. The Haunting of Henry Twist is a novel about love and of grief. It is about the lengths we will go to hold onto the things that make life worth living; about what we will forgive those we love; and about what we will sacrifice for happiness. The characters, especially Henry and Matilda, but also Jack, Ruby – in the form of touching flashbacks –, and Grayson and his mistress Sally, are extremely well fleshed-out. They are believable, and Rebecca F. John perfectly captures their imperfections, their humanity. I will be very much looking forward to whatever this debut author will publish next.
The only qualms I have is that I felt the book did not do a great job at painting a picture of 1920s London. The frequent mentions of flapper girls felt heavy-handed, and most of the references came in the form of events, like the 1926 general strike. I would have loved to feel the effects of post-war Britain on the pages of this book (something that The Clocks in this House All Tell Different Times, another nominee for the Costa First Novel Award, completely nailed), which I feel would have amplified its message.
September 2, 2017
Set in postwar London 1926, Henry Twist's pregnant wife Ruby leaves home to meet her friend.
On the way, she is involved in a tragic accident and killed, though miraculously the baby survives.
Henry is left with his grief and Libby, his daughter-a single father desperately lonely in a world without single fathers.
He hurries the baby home,worried that she'll be taken from him.Under the cover of darkness and away from prying eyes, he pushes Libby in her pram through the streets at night.
One evening , a strange man steps out of the shadows and addresses Henry by name.The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack.
Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack,and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife Ruby.His mannerisms, some things he says..And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man ?
London 1926 and Bright Young Things dance all night and into dawn at garden parties hosted by the very generous Monty Thornton-Wells.
Although this book is set in a time period i love reading about, i felt the story didn't have much of a plot to it. Rebecca writes very beautifully , but for me personally i enjoyed reading more about other characters in the novel like Grayson and Matilda.
The book does have echoes of 'The Great Gatsby', my all time favourite 1920's novel.
On the way, she is involved in a tragic accident and killed, though miraculously the baby survives.
Henry is left with his grief and Libby, his daughter-a single father desperately lonely in a world without single fathers.
He hurries the baby home,worried that she'll be taken from him.Under the cover of darkness and away from prying eyes, he pushes Libby in her pram through the streets at night.
One evening , a strange man steps out of the shadows and addresses Henry by name.The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack.
Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack,and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife Ruby.His mannerisms, some things he says..And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man ?
London 1926 and Bright Young Things dance all night and into dawn at garden parties hosted by the very generous Monty Thornton-Wells.
Although this book is set in a time period i love reading about, i felt the story didn't have much of a plot to it. Rebecca writes very beautifully , but for me personally i enjoyed reading more about other characters in the novel like Grayson and Matilda.
The book does have echoes of 'The Great Gatsby', my all time favourite 1920's novel.
February 1, 2019
Why people are listing this as a LBTQ+ novel is totally beyond me because this is one thing it certainly is not. The premise of the novel is frankly ridiculous: Ruby Twist dies in an omnibus accident. Her grieving husband, Henry, with a sudden baby to bring up, believes that the ghost of Ruby lives in the mysterious Jack Turner. Consequently, by loving Jack he is loving Ruby, and he does not perceive himself as gay. Reality is easily set aside by the author-- so the social problems caused by Henry being a one parent, male family, is solved by the convenient presence of an elderly couple who look after his baby. The author makes little of the relationship between Henry and Jack: such is flimsily and clumsily plotted. Instead, the novel is taken up with Matilda, who is in love with Henry, but married to Grayson, and Grayson who is having an affair with Sally Emory. The fundamental weakness of the novel is that John cannot decide what she is writing. Is this a ghost story? Or a crime story? Or a romance? The plot is an amalgam of The Great Gatsby and beautiful people, nonsensical Gothic, occult seances, and an Agatha Christie whodunnit. It feels like an attempt to please every possible reader by stuffing a novel with as many creative writing fiction plots as possible. This is a novel with little style and psychological content, not so much a "gem of a book" as a cheap paste jewel.
June 19, 2018
Beautiful cover. The novel itself bored me to tears and I could only get through 1/3 of it before giving up, realising I would never get back the hours I’d spend on reading the rest. There are probably less than a handful of novels I did not finish in my life, and this has the dubious distinction of being one of them.
There are tiresome things about the writing (such as the habit of finishing paragraphs by repeating a sentence twice, or the rather indiscriminate head-jumping, or the lengthy descriptions) that I could have forgiven, if only I could have come to care about the characters... Instead, they left me completely cold.
The novel is slow-paced — something I usually enjoy, but here the effect was soporific.
There are many m/m books written by women that I absolutely adore, but this one (or at least the first third) felt so unreconstructedly, conventionally and tediously straight in outlook and sensibility, that I lost all patience with it. How about this for a faux pas: “[Jack’s] usually tanned skin was milk-like. His dark eyes shone. His hair was a confusion of perfect kinks. If Henry were a woman, he might have known then that Jack was beautiful.” Men, obviously, being entirely disabled from appreciating each other’s beauty by virtue of their sex. And this in a book writing (supposedly) of same-sex desire.
Sigh. Recycling box or charity shop?
There are tiresome things about the writing (such as the habit of finishing paragraphs by repeating a sentence twice, or the rather indiscriminate head-jumping, or the lengthy descriptions) that I could have forgiven, if only I could have come to care about the characters... Instead, they left me completely cold.
The novel is slow-paced — something I usually enjoy, but here the effect was soporific.
There are many m/m books written by women that I absolutely adore, but this one (or at least the first third) felt so unreconstructedly, conventionally and tediously straight in outlook and sensibility, that I lost all patience with it. How about this for a faux pas: “[Jack’s] usually tanned skin was milk-like. His dark eyes shone. His hair was a confusion of perfect kinks. If Henry were a woman, he might have known then that Jack was beautiful.” Men, obviously, being entirely disabled from appreciating each other’s beauty by virtue of their sex. And this in a book writing (supposedly) of same-sex desire.
Sigh. Recycling box or charity shop?
May 17, 2021
Eww my 3rd 2 star book in a row!!
This is a big nope from me. I thought it would be a new favourite when I read the premise.
On a sentence basis there were some truly beautiful phrases and sentences being used here.
And yet, as a whole it felt messy and fragmented.
The ending made the whole thing worthless and for me at least, made a mockery of a ‘love story’. I say this and yet I can’t honestly say that I believed in Henry and Jack whatsoever.
I regret saving this one.
This is a big nope from me. I thought it would be a new favourite when I read the premise.
On a sentence basis there were some truly beautiful phrases and sentences being used here.
And yet, as a whole it felt messy and fragmented.
The ending made the whole thing worthless and for me at least, made a mockery of a ‘love story’. I say this and yet I can’t honestly say that I believed in Henry and Jack whatsoever.
I regret saving this one.
August 11, 2020
I finished this late last night. This novel has a lot going for it, most notably in its intriguing conception of reincarnation crossed with same-sex desire. The ending, set about 45 years after most of the action of the novel, was especially well done, John certainly shows here skills as a novelist in helping us understand the consequences and outcomes of the events chronicled in the main part of the narrative. As I fell asleep last night, I found myself wandering back over the final pages and what they suggested about the narrative's exploration of loss, secrets, and desire.
The book goes just a bit awry in focusing a lot on the character of Matilda Steck, clearly a villain but also someone that the novel wants the reader to understand and, to a degree, see somewhat sympathetically. At times, the story of Henry and Jack gets lost because the author wants us to focus on Matilda, who is often alone and often filled with rage, jealousy, and guilt, and this obsessive focus on her character (despite her exclusion from the ending) often made me want to put down this book. I'm glad I finished because the ending was powerful, but at times it was a struggle.
I also found it slightly odd that the names "Jack Turner" and "Henry Twist" were used here, mostly because I kept thinking of "Jack Twist," one of the two main characters of _Brokeback Mountain_. Normally, I'd be okay with that potentially chance parallel, but the thematic similarities between _The Haunting of Henry Twist_ and _Brokeback_ are hard to avoid at points. Was this supposed to be a rewriting of _Brokeback Mountain_? I hope not.
Folks interested in LGBT-related stories and experiments with the supernatural should find this interesting, but I'm not sure about broader audiences. Perhaps those into romance and historical fiction will also enjoy it too?
The book goes just a bit awry in focusing a lot on the character of Matilda Steck, clearly a villain but also someone that the novel wants the reader to understand and, to a degree, see somewhat sympathetically. At times, the story of Henry and Jack gets lost because the author wants us to focus on Matilda, who is often alone and often filled with rage, jealousy, and guilt, and this obsessive focus on her character (despite her exclusion from the ending) often made me want to put down this book. I'm glad I finished because the ending was powerful, but at times it was a struggle.
I also found it slightly odd that the names "Jack Turner" and "Henry Twist" were used here, mostly because I kept thinking of "Jack Twist," one of the two main characters of _Brokeback Mountain_. Normally, I'd be okay with that potentially chance parallel, but the thematic similarities between _The Haunting of Henry Twist_ and _Brokeback_ are hard to avoid at points. Was this supposed to be a rewriting of _Brokeback Mountain_? I hope not.
Folks interested in LGBT-related stories and experiments with the supernatural should find this interesting, but I'm not sure about broader audiences. Perhaps those into romance and historical fiction will also enjoy it too?
January 15, 2020
Overall - 3.4/5
Story - 3/5
Writing - 4/5
Character - 4/5
Memorability - 3/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
This is not a spooky book about ghosts. I can't decide if I'm disappointed by that. It's more a study of grief, loss, friendship, love and betrayal. Set after the first world war, during the Roaring Twenties I got Gatsby vibes and a real sense of what London was like at that time. I thought Rebecca F. John's writing was beautiful, if a little overwritten and long winded in places.
Story - 3/5
Writing - 4/5
Character - 4/5
Memorability - 3/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
This is not a spooky book about ghosts. I can't decide if I'm disappointed by that. It's more a study of grief, loss, friendship, love and betrayal. Set after the first world war, during the Roaring Twenties I got Gatsby vibes and a real sense of what London was like at that time. I thought Rebecca F. John's writing was beautiful, if a little overwritten and long winded in places.
September 14, 2019
I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't been for those endless boring party scenes. Plus there was no real explanation of how Henry did look after Libby.
March 9, 2018
The Haunting of Henry Twist is a beautiful novel that has so much to say about love, grief, fear and happiness. With its 1920s setting, its cast of Bright Young Things and its three-dimensional characters, it bears comparisons to The Great Gatsby.
Henry Twist is a wonderful character. Formerly a soldier in the trenches of World War I, his experiences in the mud watching his friends die have irrevocably changed him and formed who he is as a man, driven by fear and terrified of losing the people he loves. He is consumed by memories of his wife after she is hit by a bus and killed. Then Jack walks into his life, offering the hope that maybe he doesn’t have to say goodbye after all.
Despite the title, this is not just Henry’s story. We also follow Henry’s close friends: Grayson and Matilda, whose marriage is beginning to fracture under the weight of Matilda’s unrequited love for Henry, and Monty, an older man who surrounds himself with Bright Young Things so he doesn’t have to feel the relentless marching of time.
The atmosphere and sense of history in this novel is fantastic. In the years after the First World War everyone is struggling with the weight of all they have lived through, while trying their hardest to celebrate their hard-won freedom and have a good time. Bright Young Things flit through gardens lit by candlelight and decorated with fabric swings draped from trees, but beneath it all is the quiet acknowledgement of all the pain and suffering they have gone through to get to this point. Trying to have fun is not as easy as it seems.
The writing is also brilliant. John writes about character with piercing insight, so that they become living, breathing creations standing at your shoulder as you read about their lives. She captures their sense of dissatisfaction, their desperate, clawing search for happiness, with wonderful language and a real sense of empathy. At times the metaphors and descriptions can feel slightly muddled, but this can be forgiven for the overall strength of the writing.
This is a fantastic book and one that I highly, highly recommend.
Henry Twist is a wonderful character. Formerly a soldier in the trenches of World War I, his experiences in the mud watching his friends die have irrevocably changed him and formed who he is as a man, driven by fear and terrified of losing the people he loves. He is consumed by memories of his wife after she is hit by a bus and killed. Then Jack walks into his life, offering the hope that maybe he doesn’t have to say goodbye after all.
Despite the title, this is not just Henry’s story. We also follow Henry’s close friends: Grayson and Matilda, whose marriage is beginning to fracture under the weight of Matilda’s unrequited love for Henry, and Monty, an older man who surrounds himself with Bright Young Things so he doesn’t have to feel the relentless marching of time.
The atmosphere and sense of history in this novel is fantastic. In the years after the First World War everyone is struggling with the weight of all they have lived through, while trying their hardest to celebrate their hard-won freedom and have a good time. Bright Young Things flit through gardens lit by candlelight and decorated with fabric swings draped from trees, but beneath it all is the quiet acknowledgement of all the pain and suffering they have gone through to get to this point. Trying to have fun is not as easy as it seems.
The writing is also brilliant. John writes about character with piercing insight, so that they become living, breathing creations standing at your shoulder as you read about their lives. She captures their sense of dissatisfaction, their desperate, clawing search for happiness, with wonderful language and a real sense of empathy. At times the metaphors and descriptions can feel slightly muddled, but this can be forgiven for the overall strength of the writing.
This is a fantastic book and one that I highly, highly recommend.
April 16, 2018
It’s 1926, Henry Twist is unexpectedly widowed and becomes a first time father in one day.
One night he meets Jack, a man who claims to only remember his own name and Henry’s.
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His wife Ruby haunts him every day. How can one day his wife be so full of life and the next she is gone? It’s not an eerie haunting, it’s a haunting that comes naturally after you lose a loved one. Smelling their scent around the house, savouring it and hoping that it will always linger. The small spark of hope when you see shoes by the door, hoping that you’ll see them come down the stairs and wear the shoes again. That sort of haunting. Henry’s heartbreak was so raw and beautiful. I often had tears as he recollects the times they shared and the pure love they had for one another.
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There’s a real mix of characters in this. His neighbours who help him with fatherhood, the friends who want to distract him, there’s bright young things in here too. There’s a real juxtaposition between the hardships of most people during the 20’s compared to the extravagance that the young things threw around. You see so many varying types of life in this book.
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I loved it, I felt like I was absorbing the book into my soul and brain. It’s not a long book but it felt longer, that’s not a criticism. The pacing was intricate and it felt like I was experiencing the days with them. From heavy rain to golden sunshine, I experienced with them.
The relationships were incredibly interesting to read. There’s jealousy, grief, lust, love, mistrust; there’s a lot of feelings in this book.
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There’s so much I was to discuss about this book but alas, I would spoil it if I did. I have some unresolved feelings surrounding a certain theme; something I’ve seen in other reviews so if you have read it. Please talk to me!
One night he meets Jack, a man who claims to only remember his own name and Henry’s.
.
His wife Ruby haunts him every day. How can one day his wife be so full of life and the next she is gone? It’s not an eerie haunting, it’s a haunting that comes naturally after you lose a loved one. Smelling their scent around the house, savouring it and hoping that it will always linger. The small spark of hope when you see shoes by the door, hoping that you’ll see them come down the stairs and wear the shoes again. That sort of haunting. Henry’s heartbreak was so raw and beautiful. I often had tears as he recollects the times they shared and the pure love they had for one another.
.
There’s a real mix of characters in this. His neighbours who help him with fatherhood, the friends who want to distract him, there’s bright young things in here too. There’s a real juxtaposition between the hardships of most people during the 20’s compared to the extravagance that the young things threw around. You see so many varying types of life in this book.
.
I loved it, I felt like I was absorbing the book into my soul and brain. It’s not a long book but it felt longer, that’s not a criticism. The pacing was intricate and it felt like I was experiencing the days with them. From heavy rain to golden sunshine, I experienced with them.
The relationships were incredibly interesting to read. There’s jealousy, grief, lust, love, mistrust; there’s a lot of feelings in this book.
.
There’s so much I was to discuss about this book but alas, I would spoil it if I did. I have some unresolved feelings surrounding a certain theme; something I’ve seen in other reviews so if you have read it. Please talk to me!
May 15, 2018
There are lots of problems with this book, a key one is that it is extremely overwritten. Clearly John is trying to find an original style, but she often ends with lots of platitudes when it is not completely meaningless sentences. The story too is extremely irregular: I don't know how many time I thought about dropping the book without finishing it. Then suddenly it picks up and I was thinking maybe it will go somewhere, but no, it just returns to the same kind of pointless meanders a few pages later. The worst parts are the opening pages, which are even more overwritten than the rest of the book and very nearly made me stop reading there and then and the final chapter. The ending is even more pointless: while you can see what she was trying to do (and anybody who has read Duras' The Beast in the Jungle will also recognise it as John likely source), she fails so completely that you close the book feeling utterly annoyed.
October 16, 2021
*2.5 stars. A bit overwritten and a bit heavy-handed and a bit tedious. John misses the opportunity presented by a fine concept and instead spends 300 plus pages spinning in a kind literary malaise, with very little for readers to connect with.
November 1, 2022
An interesting idea with an unexpected twist. However I found the writing difficult with so very many descriptives, similes and odd injunctures, that didn’t add anything to the plot or understanding of the characters, it spoilt the overall enjoyment.
November 7, 2020
2.5/5
This was a frustrating read. I enjoyed parts of it - the characters are all vivid, and some of the writing was very endearing - but I spent most of the book in a state of anticipatory unease.
Beyond the plot being rather meandering and slow, and being subjected to sooo much heterosexual nonsense in the Matilda/Grayson/Sally/Henry love-square, I was mostly uncomfortable regarding how John presented Henry and Jack’s relationship.
Possibly if there’d been some actual introspection on Henry’s part regarding his sexuality this would have felt more authentic. But the whole transference-so-it’s-not-gay thing just felt utterly uncomfortable. It definitely brings up some questions regarding how the author views sexuality. I would’ve been happy had the book ended with Henry realising he loves Jack for Jack, and them spending their lives in Wales together - but dangling a happy lifetime and then revealing that Henry has spent his entire life believing he loves Jack because he’s actually Ruby, and is ashamed of loving a man and ended up not a fantastic father... it’s a bit too dull to be called misery porn, but it does seem to enjoy making the characters suffer without much sense or interest for the reader.
In summary: not the worst, definitely not the best. Interesting character work, but poor depictions of LGBT people which could have been very engaging. Meh.
This was a frustrating read. I enjoyed parts of it - the characters are all vivid, and some of the writing was very endearing - but I spent most of the book in a state of anticipatory unease.
Beyond the plot being rather meandering and slow, and being subjected to sooo much heterosexual nonsense in the Matilda/Grayson/Sally/Henry love-square, I was mostly uncomfortable regarding how John presented Henry and Jack’s relationship.
Possibly if there’d been some actual introspection on Henry’s part regarding his sexuality this would have felt more authentic. But the whole transference-so-it’s-not-gay thing just felt utterly uncomfortable. It definitely brings up some questions regarding how the author views sexuality. I would’ve been happy had the book ended with Henry realising he loves Jack for Jack, and them spending their lives in Wales together - but dangling a happy lifetime and then revealing that Henry has spent his entire life believing he loves Jack because he’s actually Ruby, and is ashamed of loving a man and ended up not a fantastic father... it’s a bit too dull to be called misery porn, but it does seem to enjoy making the characters suffer without much sense or interest for the reader.
In summary: not the worst, definitely not the best. Interesting character work, but poor depictions of LGBT people which could have been very engaging. Meh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2018
The Haunting of Henry Twist is a quietly powerful novel about grief, love, and rebuilding. To me, these words 'quietly powerful' sum up the effect this novel has on me. I was hooked by the blurb but it was the story of Henry's strength and how he learns to build himself another family with Jack, after his wife, Ruby, is killed, that kept me reading.
Matilda, Ruby’s best friend, has always been in love with Henry, yet is married to Grayson. Their marriage is about to fall apart because Matilda cannot bear children. As Matilda discovers that Henry has decided to raise Libby with Jack, her own wish to have a child and her desire to claim Henry for herself after Ruby’s death drive her to extreme measures.
The Haunting of Henry Twist is not a ghost story and Henry is not haunted by his deceased wife. Yet it is in light of his friends Matilda's ruthless affection for him that haunts and almost destroys the precious new family Henry is building, that is the true terror of this book.
Throughout the novel, Henry struggles to allow himself to love Jack and by the end, I was left with a million more questions, yet this just made the book more believable and human. Overall this novel was a quiet gem of a book that I struggled to put down and Rebecca F. John is certainly one author to keep an eye on.
Check out more reviews on my Blog
Matilda, Ruby’s best friend, has always been in love with Henry, yet is married to Grayson. Their marriage is about to fall apart because Matilda cannot bear children. As Matilda discovers that Henry has decided to raise Libby with Jack, her own wish to have a child and her desire to claim Henry for herself after Ruby’s death drive her to extreme measures.
The Haunting of Henry Twist is not a ghost story and Henry is not haunted by his deceased wife. Yet it is in light of his friends Matilda's ruthless affection for him that haunts and almost destroys the precious new family Henry is building, that is the true terror of this book.
Throughout the novel, Henry struggles to allow himself to love Jack and by the end, I was left with a million more questions, yet this just made the book more believable and human. Overall this novel was a quiet gem of a book that I struggled to put down and Rebecca F. John is certainly one author to keep an eye on.
Check out more reviews on my Blog
June 15, 2019
I loved this. The characters are all well drawn, the tensions within the plot are sustained over the whole book, with its mix of romance and sorrow, friendship and misplaced affections, along with a growing obsession with the mysteries of the afterlife. When Henry Twist's wife Ruby is killed in an accident, a stranger suffering from amnesia appears outside his house, and Henry begins to believe that Ruby is somehow connected with him. Could her spirit have entered this man's body?
September 16, 2020
I loved the idea of this book but it didn't turn out to be what I had imagined. It was very wordy and I'm afraid I quite literally lost the plot a few times - in my defence I have had a few long days at work so have been tired when reading in an evening!
I didn't feel engaged with the characters and therefore struggled to maintain my interest.
I didn't feel engaged with the characters and therefore struggled to maintain my interest.
August 14, 2022
Not the story I was expecting from the title and cover. Just so bleak and full of sorrow. Found myself skipping chunks as I was bored.
March 19, 2018
I adored this book. Whilst reading it, all I could think was that it was going to become one of my favourites. My only issue is the ending. I felt it was very weak in comparison to the rest of the novel. It leaves questions unanswered that I was so desperate to know the answer to.
Overall, it is wonderfully written and gives a vastly different perspective of the 1920's than we usually see in the media. Henry was tragic, Jack was charming (even though he shouldn't be), Monty was a British Gatsby and Matilda was insufferable.
Overall, it is wonderfully written and gives a vastly different perspective of the 1920's than we usually see in the media. Henry was tragic, Jack was charming (even though he shouldn't be), Monty was a British Gatsby and Matilda was insufferable.
March 4, 2018
London, 1926: Henry Twist's heavily pregnant wife leaves home to meet a friend. On the way, she is hit by a bus and killed, though miraculously the baby survives. Henry is left with nothing but his new daughter - a single father in a world without single fathers. He hurries the baby home, terrified that she'll be taken from him. Racked with guilt and fear, he stays away from prying eyes, walking her through the streets at night, under cover of darkness.
But one evening, a strange man steps out of the shadows and addresses Henry by name. The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack. Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack, and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife. His mannerisms, some things he says ... And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man? Who really sent him?
A very, very good debut novel.
But one evening, a strange man steps out of the shadows and addresses Henry by name. The man says that he has lost his memory, but that his name is Jack. Henry is both afraid of and drawn to Jack, and the more time they spend together, the more Henry sees that this man has echoes of his dead wife. His mannerisms, some things he says ... And so Henry wonders, has his wife returned to him? Has he conjured Jack himself from thin air? Or is he in the grip of a sophisticated con man? Who really sent him?
A very, very good debut novel.
September 2, 2018
So many problems with this book, but the words themselves were well used. I hated the bitty nature of the writing that looked like the author wrote for an hour a day and shoved all the bits together. The story was rubbish and just wanted to pick on a taboo subject from 1930s and picked homosexuality. There was nothing else 1930s about the book so it was just a set-up point. The side stories were used to bring balance to a limited main storyline but they were left hanging with no conclusion. And the main reason I didn’t like it is that it was just a dull story about unhappy people.
April 7, 2019
I really wanted to like this more than I did. It started off brilliantly and I was really intrigued. About eighty pages in, I felt that it really began to lose focus and what started out as an intense and slightly eerie story of a man's grief, became so many things that it just became too diffuse. Everything in the book was interesting, but there wasn't enough time to develop them in a way that was pleasing, and the last two chapters, which basically summarise about fifty years of the characters lives, made me want to hit things very hard, it was so frustrating.
January 16, 2018
The author evokes 1920s London convincingly with atmosphere, character, and dialogue reminiscent of the time period. Very cinematic. Beautiful writing. Great story.
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