review by Aimee
In October I went to the author corner at London’s Comic-con, where I saw a panel on magic in the mundane, with Ben Aaronovitch as a guest (I was star-struck!) One of the questions they discussed was what should stop being written about in the world of fantasy. Their answer; vampires.
Now, mostly, I would agree with this. Vampires have been outdone, and they lost their original scare factor when they started sparkling (thanks for that, Stephanie Meyer). However, I have found the exception to the rule.
Matt Haig’s – The Radley’s is the most original vampire novel I’ve come across. The Radley’s are desperately trying to be a normal family, going to school, going to work, raising their children. It’s all going well for them, until their daughter is assaulted at a party, and accidentally tastes blood for the first time. Then comes the teenage struggle of an identity crisis, coping with their newfound uncle who is completely off the rails, and trying to prevent anyone else from finding their secret, a task they desperately fail at.
Matt Haig has an immense talent to be able to write something so light-hearted and funny, whist also giving a much deeper comment on humanity. The message I took from this one was that we’re all trying to be normal, but no one is. The Radley’s are just one of those examples trying desperately to fit in. True nature will appear eventually.
Title DetailsPublisher: Cannongate Books
Date Published: 2 July 2015
RRP: £8.99
ISBN: 978-1782116882
Synopsis: Taken from Amazon
Life with the Radleys: Radio 4, dinner parties with the Bishopthorpe neighbours and self-denial. Loads of self-denial. But all hell is about to break loose. When teenage daughter Clara gets attacked on the way home from a party, she and her brother Rowan finally discover why they can’t sleep, can’t eat a Thai salad without fear of asphyxiation and can’t go outside unless they’re smothered in Factor 50.
With a visit from their lethally louche Uncle Will and an increasingly suspicious police force, life in Bishopthorpe is about to change. Drastically.
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