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Un Segreto Non Fa Rumore (2010)

by Sofie Laguna(Favorite Author)

3.59 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

8811666198 (ISBN13: 9788811666196)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Garzanti

review 1: One Foot Wrong is a beautifully told story. Hester is born to older, reclusive, Bible bashing parents who have their share of secrets. Hester has a learning difficulty or perhaps a form of autism. It is never clarified in the book. Perhaps she just has extremely odd parents who screw her up. She makes friends with inanimate objects such as the tree in the garden, the ax she chops wood with, the table that holds her up when her parents are torturing her down in their basement. It's hard not to see the sustaining friendships she makes with these objects as indicative of the will Hester has to survive and be happy. In fact, given the slightest opportunity for happiness, Hester grabs it, and this ensures a happy ending, despite the horrors that have gone before. There is one s... morecene towards the end where Hester confronts her parents which was not what I was expecting at all, and was a little unsatisfying, OK, I'll say it, she axes them to death while they sleep. While it was happening I thought it was going to spoil the book for me, given that it was so brutal and silent, the parents never knowing why she did it, or never having to confront where the inadequacies and brutalities of their treatment of her have brought them. However, afterwards, Hester continues as though her parents are still alive, and I realise Hester is an innocent and cannot be judged for her actions in the same way another character could. The conversations she has with the inanimate objects are truly beautiful at times. Very different. Super book.
review 2: A Child’s Drawing: One Foot WrongLaguna, S. (2008). One Foot Wrong. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.Being plunged head first into the abstract brain of a young child is a surprisingly exhilarating experience, perfectly captured in Sofie Laguna’s novel One Foot Wrong. This gripping, fictitious tale presents the colourful world of Hester: a young girl trapped in the ridiculous rules of her reclusive religious parents. Readers are invited into Hester’s bizarre world where door handles and wooden spoons become talking friends and where drawings contain the absolute essence of communication. Do not, however, let this lead you into believing this is a light and nonsensical read. Through Hester’s easily delighted and wildly creative mind our hearts are increasingly darkened as we read of the unthinkable abuse she is subjected to by her unstable parents. ‘Turn me Hester,’ handle said.I stepped closer.‘I am your friend, turn me.’‘What is a friend?’ I asked him.‘A friend gives you pictures,’ he saidI reached out and turned him.The back door swung open and I stepped out. (p.8)This novel is exquisitely written. Laguna’s short, potent sentences are quickly devoured with their sparkling originality resonating long after the book has been put down. The innocent questions and conclusions drawn by Hester offer a humorous and refreshing view of the suburban life so rarely questioned post childhood. The detailed scenes of rape, torture and murder inject black ink into this painted world, perhaps ultimately going a little beyond believable. This is the only flaw in this otherwise well constructed novel. One Foot Wrong is Laguna’s first adult fiction. The Melbourne based author has a background in children’s theatre and has previously written several successful books for children. This wealth of experience has clearly fuelled her realistic portrayal of a child’s perspective. This novel is a compilation of artfully balanced binaries: cruelty and innocence, wonder and horror, darkness and light. Laguna’s words will draw unforgettable pictures in every reader’s mind. less

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