A theatrical and exciting mystery on a Greek Isle with a STUNNING ending!
"I know what I will do is wrong. But stronger than my conscience is my Fury." -Euripedes, Medea
Meet Elliot Chase. He's about to tell you a story about his life...but he's going to tell it to you his way, in his time, and on his terms...and it's up to YOU to decide if he's leaving anything out...or if he's even telling you the truth. This tale involves a cast of characters you might think you already know, with glamorous, A-List movie star Lana Farrar at its center. Lana lives a bit of a reclusive life, but every year around Easter, she invites some of her nearest and dearest friends to her private island in Greece for respite and camraderie.
On this particular year though...the privacy this island affords turns out to be deadly...and once a body turns up, this formerly tight-knit group wonders who they can truly trust. With so many suspects in one place, and lies and secrets swirling furiously around them...who will end up dead? Who will live to tell Lana's tale? And by the time the 'final curtain' comes crashing down...will ANYONE be left standing to take that final curtain call?
First of all, I have to say aside from novellas, graphic novels, and perhaps a short story or two, it has been TWO YEARS (prior to the birth of my lovely and wonderful son) that I have finished a thriller in ONE DAY. The fact that I picked this up on a Sunday morning and COULD NOT go to bed at night that evening until I'd finished it speaks to the absolutely compelling nature of this one. Where Michaelides fell down with the Maidens, he bounced back with a VENGEANCE in The Fury! Unlike his last effort, The Fury's formatting and pacing is SPOT on. I never felt compelled to read a chapter just because it was short, but because I just HAD to know which way the narrative was going to turn next. There is a certain alluring nature about this read, a sort of sinister charm that oozes from Elliot...you never know QUITE where he's going with his story, but when he begs you to remain on your metaphorical bar stool while he buys you another drink...you feel compelled to DO it.
And that brings me to the second reason this novel was so successful: it is a love song to the theatre, where Michaelides presents the story as a play, with all of the gravitas and panache you'd expect from a Henry James or Arthur Miller...but with a touch of Greek tragedy AND a gentle nod to Agatha Christie thrown in. The book is even split into Acts, blurring the line even further between fact and fiction, theatricality and practicality. There's no doubt that your journey is being curated by Elliot, and presented in a certain way for a certain purpose...but should you envy him? Fear him? Pity him? Trust me when I say you'll be changing your mind over and over again with each revelation...and a week after finishing this one, the jury's STILL out in my mind! 👩⚖️
But with all that being said...I knew from about the third chapter in (once Elliot and his MO were somewhat established), that this was going to be One. Polarizing. Book. Enjoying The Fury DEMANDS that you appreciate the decimation of the Fourth Wall...so if that isn't your thing, I think it's safe to say this won't be your kind of read. Since parts of the book literally read like a one-sided conversation with the reading audience, readers who get antsy waiting for big twists or who prefer a strictly 'traditional' read might grow weary of the structure and subsequently, annoyed with Elliot. I personally LOVE most media that is meta on ANY level, especially when it's clever, so whether or not I LIKED Elliot, Michaelides got me hanging on his every word! I'm also a theater loving fangirl, so all of the allusion, the references to Greek tragedies, and the like were just icing on the...baklava, let's say! 😉
And for those of you who (like me) feared that after the Maidens, Michaelides would be a one-hit marvel in the literary space?
By the end of this one, I PROMISE you will feel like you can finally let out that breath.
...
(You know...the one you didn't know you were holding 😏)
4.5 stunning stars!
#ReadTheFury #CeladonReads #partner
Meet Elliot Chase. He's about to tell you a story about his life...but he's going to tell it to you his way, in his time, and on his terms...and it's up to YOU to decide if he's leaving anything out...or if he's even telling you the truth. This tale involves a cast of characters you might think you already know, with glamorous, A-List movie star Lana Farrar at its center. Lana lives a bit of a reclusive life, but every year around Easter, she invites some of her nearest and dearest friends to her private island in Greece for respite and camraderie.
On this particular year though...the privacy this island affords turns out to be deadly...and once a body turns up, this formerly tight-knit group wonders who they can truly trust. With so many suspects in one place, and lies and secrets swirling furiously around them...who will end up dead? Who will live to tell Lana's tale? And by the time the 'final curtain' comes crashing down...will ANYONE be left standing to take that final curtain call?
First of all, I have to say aside from novellas, graphic novels, and perhaps a short story or two, it has been TWO YEARS (prior to the birth of my lovely and wonderful son) that I have finished a thriller in ONE DAY. The fact that I picked this up on a Sunday morning and COULD NOT go to bed at night that evening until I'd finished it speaks to the absolutely compelling nature of this one. Where Michaelides fell down with the Maidens, he bounced back with a VENGEANCE in The Fury! Unlike his last effort, The Fury's formatting and pacing is SPOT on. I never felt compelled to read a chapter just because it was short, but because I just HAD to know which way the narrative was going to turn next. There is a certain alluring nature about this read, a sort of sinister charm that oozes from Elliot...you never know QUITE where he's going with his story, but when he begs you to remain on your metaphorical bar stool while he buys you another drink...you feel compelled to DO it.
And that brings me to the second reason this novel was so successful: it is a love song to the theatre, where Michaelides presents the story as a play, with all of the gravitas and panache you'd expect from a Henry James or Arthur Miller...but with a touch of Greek tragedy AND a gentle nod to Agatha Christie thrown in. The book is even split into Acts, blurring the line even further between fact and fiction, theatricality and practicality. There's no doubt that your journey is being curated by Elliot, and presented in a certain way for a certain purpose...but should you envy him? Fear him? Pity him? Trust me when I say you'll be changing your mind over and over again with each revelation...and a week after finishing this one, the jury's STILL out in my mind! 👩⚖️
But with all that being said...I knew from about the third chapter in (once Elliot and his MO were somewhat established), that this was going to be One. Polarizing. Book. Enjoying The Fury DEMANDS that you appreciate the decimation of the Fourth Wall...so if that isn't your thing, I think it's safe to say this won't be your kind of read. Since parts of the book literally read like a one-sided conversation with the reading audience, readers who get antsy waiting for big twists or who prefer a strictly 'traditional' read might grow weary of the structure and subsequently, annoyed with Elliot. I personally LOVE most media that is meta on ANY level, especially when it's clever, so whether or not I LIKED Elliot, Michaelides got me hanging on his every word! I'm also a theater loving fangirl, so all of the allusion, the references to Greek tragedies, and the like were just icing on the...baklava, let's say! 😉
And for those of you who (like me) feared that after the Maidens, Michaelides would be a one-hit marvel in the literary space?
By the end of this one, I PROMISE you will feel like you can finally let out that breath.
...
(You know...the one you didn't know you were holding 😏)
4.5 stunning stars!
#ReadTheFury #CeladonReads #partner