Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty, Allen and Unwin, $29.99.
Courtroom drama, psychological thriller, erotic fantasy — Louise Doughty’s Apple Tree Yard is all of these and more.
It’s an intriguing examination of predatory sex, of lust and of where women sit in this world of daring behaviour and blind trust.
It’s also a novel which turns a lot of the general conventions of thriller writing upside down as Doughty entices the reader to take risks, suspend judgment and, like her central character, leap into the unknown with only the barest facts lighting the way.
Told in the first person, the novel starts at the story’s climax, when our as yet un-named protagonist, who we later discover is facing a murder charge in Britain’s famous Old Bailey criminal court, starts to hyper-ventilate as her defence strategy is blown apart with three little words — Apple Tree Yard.
And at once, like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, we are taken back to when Yvonne, a middle-aged geneticist, married with two grown-up children and living in comfortable suburbia on the edge of London, is seduced in the most unlikely way by a man she has never met and who, for a large part of the story, remains anonymous.
With little more than a ‘come hither’ look, the greying wiry stud leads Yvonne to the broom cupboard in The Crypt Chapel of The House of Commons, where they indulge in steamy, at times awkward, but thrillingly exciting sex.
The frisson of illicit and dangerous adultery pulls us in and for the first 100 pages or so it feels as if we’re in a Fifty Shades of Grey spin-off.
Suddenly, the emphasis shifts and Yvonne’s naughty, dark secret is thrown into the shade by an event both shocking and life-changing; an event which shifts Yvonne’s life totally off-kilter and spiralling out of control.
All at once, what started as a bit of dangerous fun, now takes a very different turn as Doughty delves more into Yvonne’s life and we begin to examine the very complex human emotions at play here.
We learn about her children, about her marriage and about the development of this love affair which could either save or destroy her.
Concurrently, we dart in and out of the court proceedings, as a more complete picture of what is going on builds and we begin to mistrust our own feelings about Yvonne.
Clever and enthralling, this is a novel that continues to challenge and surprise all the way to the final full-stop and beyond.
About the author: Louise Doughty
This is the seventh fiction book by UK writer Louise Doughty, whose first novel, Crazy Paving, was shortlisted for four awards when it was published in 1995.
Louise has also written award-winning radio drama and short stories, and contributes to newspapers and broadcasts for the BBC.
She studied for an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia with other great British authors Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter, and then moved to London, where she took on a string of temporary jobs, including teaching and secretarial work, before her first novel was published.
**TELL US WHAT YOU’RE READING NOW
**
In 30 words or less, tell us what is great about a book you are reading at the moment. The best critique will win The AWW Cooking School cookbook, valued at $74.95, and be printed in the next issue of The Weekly. Simply leave your review in the comments section below.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
