Scottish Review of Books: Losing It
Sandstone have attracted a number of decent writers to their series which promotes books “for readers who are not used to full length novels, or for those who simply want to enjoy a ‘quick read’ which is satisfying and well written”. Past authors who have taken part include Suhayl Saadi, Des Dillon and Isla Dewar. Now Lesley Glaister has contributed this quite neat little tale of wifely paranoia to the stable. What marks these novellas out is their simplicity of purpose, of narrative trajectory, and their reliance, in this instance anyway, on dialogue. Descriptions are kept to a minimum, as is the range of vocabulary, and sentence structure eschews complexity.
Given these restrictions, which might tax other writers, Glaister still manages to concoct an atmospheric and convincing account of the childless, but erstwhile happily married Marion, on whom her new nextdoor neighbour, Jo, is only too pleased to dump her young son, so that she can go out partying with her friends. Gradually, Marion starts to worry that Jo is getting too close to her husband, David, and as Jo’s manipulations become more and more obvious, we find we’re reading a far more psychologically complex story than the simplicity of the writing would suggest.
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When Jo moves into the house next door with her little boy, Marion's delighted. But soon Jo starts to take advantage, always asking Marion to babysit. Worse, she shows a bit too much interest in Marion's husband, David. As for David, he says he thinks Jo's a pest - but does he really?
Reviewed in Scottish Review of Books Volume 4 Number 1