Page 169

"The little stranger" is proving to be a different book from the usual stuff I've picked up recently. It is not chic-lit. I suspect it is a horror story which is something I normally stay well away from. Blame it on TIME bookstore and my gravitation towards any books marked down by 25%. Added to that there was one of those round little stickers proclaiming it to be : The TV bookclub best read and at the bottom of the cover was written " shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2009. I dare you to resist! The other books in that section were Susan Boyle's autobiography, Jennifer Weiner's chic lit ( yawn) some self help books and a selection of Asian authors. I've stopped at page 169 mainly because it's gotten to the scary bit. There's a hint of evil powers lurking around Roddy ( one of the characters) as he tries to explain his "symptoms" to Dr Faraday. The other characters are Caroline ( Roddy's sister who's describe as plain with full hips) and Mrs Ayres ( Roddy's mum).They live in "Hundreds" which is one of those old buildings you see in Agatha Christie's whodunnits put to film. Post ward, the building is run down and money is short. I think despite being a book packed with potentially scary bits, I have every intention of finishing it. Why? Simple enough, Sarah Waters writes so brilliantly you have little choice but to answer the pull of her words and read on regardless. Wish me luck.