Strange Sally Diamond

-

 Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent



I want to preface this post by stating that Liz Nugent is one of my favourite authors of all time, therefore read my thoughts below with more than un peu de sel (I'm learning French here - a pinch of salt), albeit warranted praise given the Irish author's first-class narrative skills. The book started with five pages of reviews and praise from other renown authors and not a single lie was uttered. 

A supreme skill of the author is encapsulating a steady plot, not just to get the reader to a resolution at the end of the book, but also unravelling the main character on a journey through their life. In fact, the detail (or what we'd expect to be the killer plot twist) is usually provided upfront in the early stages of the book. In this story, we're told in the blurb already that Sally's father has died, and she has followed his instructions to the tee by putting his dead body out with the rubbish. We then follow Sally's life as she steps into a world outside of the isolation of her house and without her father's equivocal protection, which is accompanied by a lot of learning, unlearning and unpacking of the character's past to understand how she became the person she is and how that shapes her future.

I enjoyed that the focus was placed on Sally's story, and not so much the supporting characters. Authors often want to breathe life into the supporting characters through storylines that tend to divert us from the main plot, which risks the reader resigning from the book. While the characters play a great role as support, I don't want to get into their lives' detail unless it adds to the main character's plot. (This is pretty ironic given I once complained about a supporting character serving no role apart from being the main character's venting wall. But that had more to do with not understanding the basis of their friendship when nothing in the book validated it.)

I digress. Liz has once again outperformed herself in this contemporary killer as her best work to date! If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (review here), you'll definitely find a friend in Strange Sally Diamond. 

Rating: 4.75/5

TW: Kidnapping, Sexual Assault
Location: South Africa

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good Neighbours by Sarah Langan

-
Image
    Oh that was horrible — 5 stars, please!  ðŸŒŸ  Firstly, I borrowed this from the Manchester City Library solely because Gillian Flynn was on the cover. I often see “perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn/Gone Girl” (which I am), but hardly ever see the good sis endorse work herself so that got me. Sarah Pinborough (another top author on my thriller list) also described the book as a “bistering satire of suburban life with serious emotional stakes. A fantastic literary thriller.” The book is described as a ruthless portrayal of suburbia that excavates the perils and betrayals of motherhood and friendships and the dangerous clash between social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear. These are so intricately interwoven it’s difficult to accept the characters’ ills, and they were all grotesque, without at least trying to understand what makes them who they are. Sarah did an excellent job of depicting these complexities. This book also included a map of the neighbourhood, which at first almost
Read more

The Blessed Girl by Angela Makholwa

-
Image
The beautiful Bontle Tau has Johannesburg’s most influential men dancing on the palm of her hand in this hilarious South African novel. Competition is tough as they, unknowingly, compete to pay for her penthouse, pay for her cars, local and international getaways as well as give her stipend to live on. Other than focusing on ensuring she always looks Instagram perfect, no matter the cost or circumstance, Bontle also directs her attention (well, sometimes) on her start-up business while simultaneously dealing with her ex-husband-to-be and healing from childhood and family trauma. Bontle’s live-for-today attitude might get her through the short term but could be detrimental in the long term.  Like most of my favourite first-person narrators, Bontle is as unreliable as they come. However, her interactive narration feels as though she’s talking directly to the reader and Angela Makholwa’s witty style of writing leaves you laughing in disbelief. As much as I enjoyed Th
Read more

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

-
Image
Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse.  Lily’s childhood was not easy but getting out of small Maine and moving to Boston, coupled with a lot of hard work, has made her the bold businesswoman she is. Merely hours after fleeing her father’s funeral, Lily Bloom meets the unrealistically attractive neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid, on the rooftop of a building in Boston and when the spark between them blazes, nothing could be better. Not only is Ryle attractive and smart, but he’s also confident, compassionate and caring – well most times. His aversion to romantic relationships is affirmed when their relationship is threatened by the resurfacing of Atlas, Lily’s first love.  Whenever we hear about a woman being abused (which happens way too often), the question “why doesn’t she leave?” is always posed. Besides the risk of being killed for leaving and the threat of financial insecurity, Colleen also explores another factor we often forget to consider when looking at domestic abuse
Read more