Girl on the Landing [Paperback]

Paul Torday (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2009

Michael is dressing for dinner at a friend's country house in Ireland. As he descends the staircase, he spots a small painting of a landing with an old linen press and the white marble statue of an angel. In the background is a woman clad in a dark green dress. During dinner, Michael comments on the painting to his hosts but they say there is no woman in the picture. When Michael goes up to bed later, he sees that they are correct. This is only the first in a series of incidents that lead Michael to question his grip on reality. His wife Elilzabeth is unsettled by the changes she sees in a man she originally married because he was dependable and steady, not because she loved him. She realises she has never really known Michael and as he changes, she sees glimpses of someone she could fall in love with. Michael, in the meantime, is disturbed by events at his family's ancestral home in the wilds of Scotland and by a past that is threatening to destroy everything, and everyone, he has ever loved.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The best book of the year...a truly astonishing take on what appears on the surface to be mental illness and turns out to be something far darker' -- Virginia Blackburn SUNDAY EXPRESS 'This is an exciting novel - part love story, part psychological thriller - which confounds your expectations as it tightens its grip.' -- John Koski YOU, MAIL ON SUNDAY 'The story of Michael Gascoigne's strange affinity with the wilderness unravels slowly, tantalisingly...' GUARDIAN 'Torday carries off a surprising, suspenseful update of Stevenson in the 21st-century Jekyll-and-Hyde thriller.' OBSERVER 'Torday is clearly having fun' SUNDAY TIMES 'A highly unusual fusion of atmospheric ghost story and sensitive protrayal of mental illness' GOOD BOOK GUIDE

About the Author

Paul Torday was born in 1946 and read English Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford. He spent the next 30 years working in engineering until he decided to take up writing. He burst on to the literary scene in 2006 with his first novel, SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, an immediate bestseller. He is married and lives close to the River North Tyne.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Phoenix (September 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753823403
• ISBN-13: 978-0753823408
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #671,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars immersive tale with unexpected twist, May 3, 2009

By 

Gamma (SF Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl on the Landing (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed Paul Torday's first novel "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" and therefore looked forward to reading "The Girl on the Landing." I found the characters and setting to be immersive - I found myself just pulled into this world of a British upper-crust couple who are sleep-walking through life until something truly unexpected happens. Without giving the plot away, I will say that the novel surprised me, and left me racing to get to the end, only to be scratching my head and wondering what exactly happened (in a good way). I'm glad that Paul Torday took up writing in his 60s (rather than not at all). He has a fresh, unique style and fascinating characters. This is a book that makes you think, long after you've finished reading the book. For example - the main character Michael is on a prescription drug named Serendipozan that dulls the senses and makes life predictable but boring. The author uses this situation to make the reader pause and think about whether the "daily grind" of modern 21st century life is a bit like being medicated permanently and makes you wonder about your own "identity."

5.0 out of 5 stars great edge of your seat thriller!, October 27, 2011

By 

beckyly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl on the Landing (Paperback)

Having read the "Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce" and loved it, I was not disappointed with "Girl on the Landing". It's a fascinating book about what seems on the surface a boring marriage and a boring man. Even from the start, Torday makes you care about these characters, and the first person narrative shared by both main characters really works. I couldn't put this book down and read it in a day and a half. It starts out being about mental illness but then becomes a real exciting thriller. It should be made into a film. GREAT READ!!!