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Description
Fiction. Literature. Romance. Suspense. HTML:From the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage Portrait and Hamnet comes an intense, unnerving and passionate story of betrayal, loss and love, with all the frisson and psychological intensity of Rebecca. When Lily moves into new boyfriend Marcus's apartment and plunges headlong into their relationship, she must contend with an intangible, hostile presence�??Marcus�??s ex-girlfriend, Sinead. As Lily and Marcus become more deeply involved, Lily becomes obsessed with Sinead's fate and thinks she sees her everywhere. She must question not only her sanity, but whether the man she loves is someone she can, or should, be with a
User reviews
LibraryThing member Mardel
I liked this book. It was a little different than I'm used to, but I did enjoy reading it.
However, there was one section that was a little confusing. Suddenly, after reading from one main character's pov (third person, present tense) the book suddenly switches to first person/present tense, then
Other than that, this book was a page turner. The beginning main character, Lily, falls rather quickly into a relationship with a man who has lost his girlfriend Sinaed. She rents a room in his flat, and they quickly fall into a relationship. He (Marcus) has another roommate, Aidan, who seems a little hostile and disapproving. Lily begins experiencing events that appear to be hauntings. This section was a little suspenseful. Everything is not as it seems though. Lily becomes rather obsessed with finding out more about Sinead. Lily's inner stalker comes out, and Marcus also begins to show some odd behavior. You get some glimpses of Aidan's life also, quick little asides that just seem to make him more mysterious-until, of course, later.
Then the strange section begins with back and forths from Sinead's point of view, from way past-first-person-present-tense, to recent(?)-past-third-person-present-tense-though-still-Sinead. This goes on for awhile, back and forth. This section, though interesting was difficult to read; it was hard for me to keep the events straight in my head.
I still found the book interesting; interesting enough to think about reading other works by Maggie O'Farrell. She did exercise my brain a bit with her writing style. Her characters are not perfect human beings, which I liked- how many of us are completely wonderful people after all? Her characters do stupid, and sometimes cruel things-just like real people do. All in all, a good book.
However, there was one section that was a little confusing. Suddenly, after reading from one main character's pov (third person, present tense) the book suddenly switches to first person/present tense, then
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to third person present tense. It took me a little while to realize that the book has actually switched to another character's voice (the first person); in fact, at first I had to check the "Part 2" heading, see if there was a name or year mentioned. Nothing, just part 2. Not only does this section switch over to another character (who was previously only alluded to before), but sections are going back and forth in time, though they are both still set in the past. So one section, sometimes just a few pages long, is first person, present tense in the past; then you are suddenly reading in the third person present tense a few years into the future of this same person, back and forth, back and forth. I found this a little confusing and couldn't figure out why the author did this. Basically there are two stories of Sinead's past, which are divided up into smaller bits and shown in alternating strips. There wasn't any headings warning you of what was to come, just this back and forth bit.Other than that, this book was a page turner. The beginning main character, Lily, falls rather quickly into a relationship with a man who has lost his girlfriend Sinaed. She rents a room in his flat, and they quickly fall into a relationship. He (Marcus) has another roommate, Aidan, who seems a little hostile and disapproving. Lily begins experiencing events that appear to be hauntings. This section was a little suspenseful. Everything is not as it seems though. Lily becomes rather obsessed with finding out more about Sinead. Lily's inner stalker comes out, and Marcus also begins to show some odd behavior. You get some glimpses of Aidan's life also, quick little asides that just seem to make him more mysterious-until, of course, later.
Then the strange section begins with back and forths from Sinead's point of view, from way past-first-person-present-tense, to recent(?)-past-third-person-present-tense-though-still-Sinead. This goes on for awhile, back and forth. This section, though interesting was difficult to read; it was hard for me to keep the events straight in my head.
I still found the book interesting; interesting enough to think about reading other works by Maggie O'Farrell. She did exercise my brain a bit with her writing style. Her characters are not perfect human beings, which I liked- how many of us are completely wonderful people after all? Her characters do stupid, and sometimes cruel things-just like real people do. All in all, a good book.
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LibraryThing member OrchidJ
For me, the suspense in finding out what had happened to Marcus' last girlfriend was enough to keep me reading - but I was disappointed by the reveal which was a litle dull. I was expecting more from the plot.
Some of the descriptive writing was vivid, but I didn't like her use of the present tense,
Some of the descriptive writing was vivid, but I didn't like her use of the present tense,
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to me it felt a little forced and I was very much aware of it, which took me out of the writing somewhat. The section from Sinead's point of view, when it flicked back and forth using a mixture of past and present tenses to describe two diffrent stories in the character's past, was an interesting device, but it didn't sit comfortably with the way the rest of the story had been told - it seemed an odd choice. Show Less
LibraryThing member shirley8
Thought it was going to be a ghost story and it wasn't!
Didn't really like this book at all.
Didn't really like this book at all.
LibraryThing member nocto
Catching up with a big backlog of read books, hence very short writeups.
Didn't enjoy it as much as the first O'Farrell I read, downright slow trudging in places.
Didn't enjoy it as much as the first O'Farrell I read, downright slow trudging in places.
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
I really like Maggie O'Farrell's novels although I find it difficult to pigeon-hole them - the best I can do is describe them as chick-lit for people who usually read more literary fare. Except they aren't quite chick-lit. In any case, I read them when I want to relax with a novel, and yet still
My Lover's Lover concerns Lily, who moves into the spare room in Marcus's loft and soon after begins a relationship with him. The problem is that Marcus is in mourning for his last girlfriend, and Lily begins to see her around the loft. She becomes fixated on finding out what happened.
The first half of this book just wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible, just strained and unconvincing. It improved dramatically after the big twist, and became a solid and interesting story, but the chapters I had to read to get there were lackluster. This is O'Farrell's second novel and it reads as though she wasn't quite sure what she was planning as she went along. I'd recommend After You'd Gone or The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox to anyone, but My Lover's Lover is best avoided.
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feel like my brain is involved. My Lover's Lover concerns Lily, who moves into the spare room in Marcus's loft and soon after begins a relationship with him. The problem is that Marcus is in mourning for his last girlfriend, and Lily begins to see her around the loft. She becomes fixated on finding out what happened.
The first half of this book just wasn't very good. It wasn't terrible, just strained and unconvincing. It improved dramatically after the big twist, and became a solid and interesting story, but the chapters I had to read to get there were lackluster. This is O'Farrell's second novel and it reads as though she wasn't quite sure what she was planning as she went along. I'd recommend After You'd Gone or The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox to anyone, but My Lover's Lover is best avoided.
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
This is a pretty good story of a woman obsessed with her lover's lover. Maggie O'Farrell 's wonderful use of language, metaphor and imagery elevates it to enjoyable. I think the main thing I dislike is that the women seem gullible and foolish in love. There is fleeting reminiscence of the plot of
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"Rebecca", but doesn't rise to the same level of quality. Show Less