Angelica

Author: Arthur Phillips
Date Finished: January 18, 2008
Rating: 3.5/5

This is my first ever book review so it might not be as good as I would hope, but here goes nothing...

From the inside cover: "Angelica is a spellbinding Victorian ghost story, an intriguing literary and psychological puzzle, and a meditation on marriage, childhood, memory, and fear."

Angelica is portrayed as a Victorian ghost story, but although there is a "ghost" in the story it is more of a story of the mental and emotional workings of a young family that perhaps has been touched by mental illness. I say perhaps, because some characters elude to the possible mental illness, but other characters portray it as something else entirely.

There were points in the story when I could not wait to see what would happen next, but more often than not I was left wondering what was going on! The book is divided into four sections and each section is told from the perspective of a different main character. This technique is enlightening and helps the reader to see the different events from a variety of viewpoints, but ultimately left me confused as to what actually happened. Overall, I was frustrated with the fact I am still not sure what happened in some key points in the story and why. It would be interesting to use this book in a group where discussion could occur because perhaps that would help clarify things in the mind of each reader. But as for me I remain more confused than ever.

This is my first book by this author and although I will probably read another of his books sometime in the future I will not be rushing out to buy one immediately.