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The author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has produced another beautiful novel, he certainly seems to be on a roll. In this story a man struggles with his identity, is he going mad or only now truly discovering himself? Family secrets, relationships and lifestyle are all questioned. A great book to get discussion going, perfect for reading groups.
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Synopsis
The Girl on the Landing by Paul Torday
The novel begins as Michael, a middle-aged man of means, is dressing for dinner at a friend's country house in Ireland. As he descends the grand staircase, he spots a small painting of a landing with an old linen press and the white marble statue of an angel. In the background is a woman clad in a dark green dress. During dinner, Michael comments on the painting to his hosts but they say there is no woman in the picture. When Michael goes up to bed later, he sees that they are correct.
This is only the first in a series of incidents that lead Michael to question his grip on reality. His wife Elilzabeth is unsettled by the changes she sees in a man she originally married because he was dependable and steady, not because she loved him. Suddenly she is aware that she has never really known Michael and as he changes, she sees glimpses of someone she could fall in love with. Michael, in the meantime, is disturbed by events at his family's ancestral home in the wilds of Scotland and by a past that he is threatening to destroy everything, and everyone, he has ever loved.
Reviews
Torday is a gifted writer, I loved it -- THE BOOKSELLER Alice O'Keefe It seems Paul Torday can do no wrong. The Girl on the Landing is his third book and destined to do as well as the other two. -- Caroline Jowett DAILY EXPRESS The author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen impresses again with this absorbing tale of identity PSYCHOLOGIES the finale is terrifying, harking back to old-fashioned ghost stories, but with a modern, plausible twist - it stood the hairs of my arms on end -- Toby Clements DAILY TELEGRAPH Torday skilfully maintains a knife-edge tension... an original and satisfying thriller -- Michael Arditti DAILY MAIL A gently comic novel about schizophrenia sounds like the worst idea ever, but Torday pulls it off magnificently. a clever, gripping novel -- John O'Connell THE TIMES Paul Torday's third and extremely accomplished novel. is another tour de force from one of our best emerging writers -- Virginia Blackburn DAILY EXPRESS compelling and totally captivating BELLA Five stars HOTSTARS his prose remains anything but safe. It is supple, skilful and literary... this is a fabulously good yarn. -- Kate Kellaway THE OBSERVER It's good to see such a highly successful writer resist the urge to repeat the surefire winning formula... Torday will no doubt keep gaining readers and respect -- Catherine Heaney IRISH TIMES Paul Torday seems to take pleasure in confounding expectation. (he) clearly enjoys playfully probing the nature of what is possible -- Clare Allan THE GUARDIAN From the author of the exquisite Salmon Fishing in the Yemen comes an equally exquisite tale -- Henry Sutton DAILY MIRROR Torday gives a polemical twist that gives the novel a depth and a real seriousness -- Tom Adair THE SCOTSMAN a compulsively readable psychological thriller... Torday's ability to keep the reader in the grip of a nightmare is exceptional -- Tina Jackson METRO A fantastically gripping and chilling novel BEST Told by husband and wife, this intriguing story of the impact of ghostly visitors is an unusual exploration of mental illness CHOICE It seems Paul Torday can do no wrong... one of a new breed of British authors who cannot be ignored... A seductive page-turner NEWS OF THE WORLD There is simplicity and enthusiasm to his style that perhaps explains his enormous popularity. And he is clearly on a roll. -- Lucy Atkins SUNDAY TIMES this is an easy-reading page-turner that will find its way into many holiday-bags this summer -- Jeremy Hazlehurst CITY A.M. What starts as a tale of domestic disharmony evolves into a gripping, ghostly page-turner -- Melissa McClements FINANCIAL TIMES back to his best with this elegant ghost story-cum-thriller. an absorbing yarn -- Max Davidson MAIL ON SUNDAY
About the Author
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Paul Torday was born in 1946 and read English Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford. He spent the next 30 years working in engineering and in industry, after which he scaled back his business responsibilities to fulfil a long-harboured ambition - to write. He burst on to the literary scene in 2006 with his first novel, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, an immediate bestseller that has been sold in 25 countries. He is married with two sons by a previous marriage and has two stepsons and lives close to the River North Tyne.
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Literary / Contemporary
