Emily Maguire's debut novel could be described as literary erotic fiction. It's the dark tale of a fourteen-year-old who is seduced by her English teacher one day at school, and of the life-changing chain of events that this unleashes for the heroine and everyone close to her.
Sarah is obsessed with Mr Carr, sex and literature - in that order. But how far will she, and the people who love her, go for the sake of devotion and obsession? In some ways, the character of Sarah was not easy to identify with - she was ruthless, often cold-hearted, and she treated herself and others with little respect. But somehow Emily Maguire made her oddly sympathetic. Mr Carr, who I expected to hate, came across as human too - albeit a terribly flawed, damaged individual. There was something compelling about the story of Sarah's exploits, and I found it very easy to care about Sarah's friend Jamie, her longtime friend and admirer.
Throughout this book, Emily Maguire explores the complexity of relationships. There are no easy answers. This is sometimes an uncomfortable read, but a worthwhile one. The descriptions of Sarah's violent sex life were graphic but not gratuitous, though not particularly erotic, either. The focus was on the emotional state of the characters, and the book was both disturbing and thought-provoking. It is worth reading for a no-holds-barred look at the extremes of female sexuality, and the study of where the true power lies in relationships. There were parallels drawn with Jane Eyre which, though slightly hard to get a grip on initially, gave the book an interesting focus on unconventional heroines, and a feminist slant. A dark and original book. [Luisa Plaja]
Rating: 4 out of 5
Like this? Try Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
