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Book Review
Jul. 13th, 2014 10:41 pmThe Furies: A Novel
by Natalie Haynes
This novel is told mainly from the point of view of Alex Morris, a young theatre director whose life is shattered when her fiance Luke is murdered. Months later, she goes up to Edinburgh to teach drama at Rankeillor, a school for troubled teenagers. One of her classes is particularly difficult, yet Alex is able to connect with them through teaching them Greek tragedies. Studying these plays also has a profound effect on the students, for both good and ill.
This story could have been rife with tiresome cliches about grief and redemption, but luckily, it is absolutely not. There is nothing smarmy or pat about either the characters or the story. I found the narrative very compelling, and Haynes' writing very good. She keeps The Furies very concentrated and focused: there is very little about the other classes Alex teaches and very few secondary characters outside of Alex and the five students she teaches Greek tragedy to. The characters are vivid and never stock. Alex seemed very much like the sort of person I would be friends with, and the five students were all surprisingly complex. None of them could be pigeon-holed as simple delinquents or emotionally disturbed. I especially liked the slow reveal and narrative structures used to spin out the story. It really drew me in and got me involved.
by Natalie Haynes
This novel is told mainly from the point of view of Alex Morris, a young theatre director whose life is shattered when her fiance Luke is murdered. Months later, she goes up to Edinburgh to teach drama at Rankeillor, a school for troubled teenagers. One of her classes is particularly difficult, yet Alex is able to connect with them through teaching them Greek tragedies. Studying these plays also has a profound effect on the students, for both good and ill.
This story could have been rife with tiresome cliches about grief and redemption, but luckily, it is absolutely not. There is nothing smarmy or pat about either the characters or the story. I found the narrative very compelling, and Haynes' writing very good. She keeps The Furies very concentrated and focused: there is very little about the other classes Alex teaches and very few secondary characters outside of Alex and the five students she teaches Greek tragedy to. The characters are vivid and never stock. Alex seemed very much like the sort of person I would be friends with, and the five students were all surprisingly complex. None of them could be pigeon-holed as simple delinquents or emotionally disturbed. I especially liked the slow reveal and narrative structures used to spin out the story. It really drew me in and got me involved.
