theysay-lgBy Sarah Pinborough

Earthling Publications, out now

Anna’s life is not easy – coping with the aftermath of the thing, a 10 year old sister, a mother who’s trying to juggle everything, and a grandmother whose Alzheimer’s affects everyone around her. And then she learns about two unexplained deaths…

Sarah Pinborough’s short novel is very much in the mould of her 2009 book The Language of Dying – not so much in the subject matter, but in the way she approaches the characters, drawing you into their lives. Teenager Anna has been damaged by events that were outside her control – which she refers to as “the thing” – which have led to her and her family having to move to a much smaller area. There she feels out of place and either unwilling or unable to fit in, even though her sister, her mother and even her grandmother (who was brought up locally) find ways. She’s not the most sympathetic of characters but you understand how she was hurt, and why she reacts as she does with the author doling out the information in small but critical doses. Pinborough recreates the small town America mentality well – everyone in everybody else’s business – but gives it a slightly creepy underpinning that you’re not quite sure comes from the characters’ paranoia or is really there…

It’s a difficult book to review without giving away some of the key twists but it’s definitely one that you’ll come back to and regard very differently on every other reading (and equally definitely, you’ll want to give it that second and third reading). Characters suffer from memory problems of various sorts with bits that they’ve forgotten breaking through at sometimes the most inconvenient moments (such as during a church service), and you’ll find yourself yearning to put the pieces together before they do…

Verdict: Another strong novel from Sarah Pinborough that will haunt you. 9/10

Paul Simpson