BelEdit Book Reviews
The House with Nine Locks is a wonderful, immersive and original historical novel with the best cast of characters I’ve come across in a long time.
From the publisher:
“In post-war Flanders, Adelais de Wolf’s family is slowly, inexplicably, falling apart: her mother evermore lost to religious devotion, her father to alcohol. But with the death of a beloved uncle, Adelais finds herself in receipt of an unexpected legacy: a shuttered house in a rundown district and its contents – contents that hold the promise of independence and wealth. All that is required is application, nerve, and a willingness to break the law.”
I was drawn to The House with Nine Locks initially because it’s set in my home country, Belgium, which is relatively rare for English novels. And I loved ‘seeing’ the places I know as they would have been in the late 1940s. But the novel is wholly original not just for its setting: the story is unique, the characters distinctive and the plot continually surprising. Not with contrived twists, but due to the characters’ individual choices and actions. It’s intelligent, insightful and imaginative, with scenes that are vividly brought to life.
There’s Adelais, a determined, independent young woman who refuses to let herself be defined by her physical disability (from polio). Her rather ruthless but staunchly loyal friend Saskia. Sebastien, who doesn’t fully succeed in emancipating himself from parental expectations. De Smet, the morally dubious police inspector. These and the other characters are portrayed in all their complexity. No cardboard cut-outs here.
I love Philip Gray’s writing style. It’s a classic, British literary style, deceptively simple. Very easy to read and lose yourself in, in a way that makes you forget how precise and careful the language actually is. The dialogue is very true, each character having a distinctive voice. And surprisingly, Gray also has managed to capture the ‘spirit’ of Belgium in this novel. Hard to sum up a national spirit in a few words; suffice to say there’s a definite feeling of Simenon! A certain Belgianness (‘belgitude’) pervades the novel.
Indeed it’s altogether so original, but with a sense of real [Belgian!] people, that I frequently found myself wondering if it were based on a true story, and whether the author had strong connections to Belgium.
Very hard to say more about the story without spoilers, but I will say that this is the most gripping and interesting story I’ve read in a long time and I recommend it 100%.
My thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for giving me an ARC. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.
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