Reviews

Synopsis
When Agatha and Paddy decide to leave London and buy a house on the coast, they are full of hope for themselves and their growing family. Three months later, when the builders move out and they move in, things look very different. A personal tragedy threatens to destroy all they have carefully built up and only a small miracle, it seems, will save them ...Ghost Story is a book both haunted and haunting, which asks how we can ever mourn something that hasn't lived. Emotionally resonant, beautifully crafted and ultimately redemptive, it is Toby Litt's finest, most mature novel to date.

Average Customer Review:

Shallow Angst, August 7, 2005

Reviewer: A reader

Mmmm - have to admit that I stopped reading this when I was three quarters through it. Don't think I've ever done that before. I thought the main characters were unlikeable and poorly crafted, but it was the self obsessed angst and grief, constantly revisited, that I lost interest in. Waste paper collection. 

Moving to the point of tears, August 6, 2005

Reviewer:   "bendylegs" - See all my reviews

I found the author's preface extremely moving, having suffered a recent miscarriage myself; it made me cry to the extent that I had to stop reading it! The book was worth buying just for the preface.

Ghost Story itself was also extremely well written and very poignant. It was a simple story, which felt very real and raw. This book isn't an easy read but the writing is so good and so intelligent that I couldn't put it down.

It's books like that this that make clear the distinction between people who write for a living (of which there are a lot) and good writers. 

Pain and suffering, June 24, 2005

Reviewer:   A reader

This book is about pain - the pain of losing children and parents, the pain of fragile relationships and people teetering on the edge of sanity. It is exquisitely written and every nuance of emotion is explored in a very honest way. The autobiographical section at the front shows that the author is familiar with grief, though I'm not sure what it adds to the story that follows. Nothing much actually happens in the story. The tragedies take place off-stage and what we see is the effect on the central couple, Agatha and Paddy. I found this book very difficult to read, mostly because I found Agatha such an unsympathetic character; I felt I should sympathise with her suffering but most of the time I wanted Paddy to give her a good shake and tell her to pull herself together. Anyway, I found myself flipping the pages over towards the end rather than wade through more description of Agatha's inner turmoil. The ending is slightly more upbeat than you might expect but I must admit I was more worried about what would happen to the kitten than any of the human characters! 

Refreshingly good, March 14, 2005

Reviewer:   "bmanicsa" - See all my reviews

This is a great novel, not too heavy but if you let yourself you can really be drawn into it. Certainly Litt's best from what I've read... and a bit less of the stomach-churning disgust. It feels very real.