The first shock in this book, is that to live in the house at the centre of this story you have to keep possessions to a minimum, including no bookcases. Straight away that puts me off living there. Then you find that, the house is rented out by the architect who designed it and there is a questionare to complete to be eligible, 200 rules as part of application have to send photos and then the architect decides whether you can live there; he has a habit of choosing women, who look like his dead wife.
Other things that may be disturbing to some are it deals with sensitive subjects of rape, still birth and Down’s syndrome.
The architect is a Christian Grey type character; controlling and sinister. Like Christian’s Grey apartment the apartment is very modern with latest technology. The book mostly alternates between two narrations, one of Emma is past and other of Jane in the ‘now’. As the story goes on, the characters develop and you are taken round many twists. Like many reviews I have read, I found it to be a page turner.
It is one day to become a film.
A review that was very different to most others is the below. Also interesting mention of comparison of listening compared to reading the book; after listening to Cousin Rachal then I’m interested how different formats influence perceptions.
Source: The Girl Before – JP Delaney
Wonderwall 