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Snyopsis: Journalist Joe Oakes makes a living exposing supernatural hoaxes.But what he sees when he visits a secretive religious community on a remote Scottish island forces him to question everything he thought he knew. Why have the islanders been accused of Satanism? What has happened to their leader?And why will no one discuss the strange creature seen wandering the lonely beaches of Pig Island? In Pig Island, Mo Hayder dares you to face your fears head on and to look at what lurks beneath the surface of everyday normality. It’s about the unspeakable things people do to each other.
***
Review: I got this book, looking forward to a wonderfully horrifying story. It was wonderfully horrifying alright, horrifyingly badly written. The first third or so of the book is fantastic, I was convinced I was going to be raving positively about it by the end. It featured a good set up, in-depth background and (what I thought was) a likeable main character, Joe ‘Oaksey’ Oakes. I’m sure some people won’t be impressed with the level of profanity however. The book hints at the supernatural, but reveals less than half way through it is something else entirely. Most of the characters beside Oaksey are fairly one-dimensional, but pulled it along okay. Oaksey’s wife, Lexie, is extraordinarily annoying and although she provides a few giggles in her complete obliviousness, it’s hard to care when you find out the fate that awaits her.
The middle of the book is redundant, the final third is so different from the first that the whole thing reads like an amalgamation of two different stories, and the ending is completely unpredicatable because it makes little sense. The middle features well thought out movements and twists, set in named locations which Scottish locals could check out for themselves. Unfortunately these later turn out to not have been relevant to anything at all. The ending is dragged out, and features a final twist which will make you want to re-read the book for the ‘ahh so that’s why x happened’ factor, but I’m pretty certain there’s nothing whatsoever that points to such an ending. The book becomes laborious if not depressing to read by the final 150 pages, and really you’d be better off making up your own version of events.
After reading this book, I found mixed reviews. Some people thought this book was brilliant – and sure, the writing style itself, Hayder’s capability with the English language at a basic level, is quite good. Her basic starting concept, and the general execution of the middle section are not too bad. But even her talented writing cannot save her poor characterizations or senseless plot, and by the middle you’ll want to give up. Had she left out Lexie’s narrative and turned this into two separate stories – she could well have been onto two separate winners. The majority however agree with me, and while some suggest this isn’t one of Hayder’s better offerings (hint hint check out others), I think I can safely say I won’t be bothering with any more of her books. Even if you’re a fan of her other books, do yourself a favour and give this one a miss.
Rating: 2/5
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