What would you do if you thought your neighbour was abusing their child? Well, that’s the predicament faced by Elsa Perau. In this novel (touted as a national phenomenon in its native France), the reader is presented with the narrative view of Elsa Perau and her increasing concern for the safety of a child living next door to her. However, this isn’t just your usual case of an abused child living next door; Elsa isn’t exactly the most reliable person, and paranoia is the main theme of this novel. Is the child actually being abused, or is Elsa imagining it?
This novel is translated into English, and I believe that it lost something in translation. Don’t get me wrong, the pace and style was good, but I just couldn’t help thinking that I was missing something by not reading in the original language. It felt like a heavy fog – you could make out something, but not quite see it clearly.
As mentioned above, the pacing of this novel was good because just when you think it is going in one direction, it turns on you. This kept me guessing, and changing my mind at various points throughout. However, there are some parts where it seems like there is no build up to surprises, and it feels like a kind of “oh this happened, surprise!” And then it moves straight on. I did like how it made you think about what is real, and what you want to be real; so often in life we can make things seem real enough, and in fact there will be a completely different interpretation, depending upon who you ask.
Overall, it was an entertaining read, but I felt it lacked that certain je ne sais quoi. I recommend it for its ability to portray truths and versions of truths that I haven’t seen before, but being a phenomenon? I don’t know….

ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Buy it here: The Stone Boy