Publication Date: Febuary 18th from Vintage
Source: Netgalley
A twisted young medical student kidnaps the girl of his dreams and embarks on a dark and delirious road trip across Brazil in the English-language debut of Brazil’s most celebrated young crime writer.
Oh my days. Well for a start that was a one sitting read it may take me WEEKS to recover from, secondly my best advice would be not to read TOO much about it until you read it. The small blurb in bold above is more than enough. Don’t let anything spoil it for you and I promise that there will be no spoilers in this. I’m going to talk about the reading of it much more than I am the plot of it…
A small plot soundbite – Teo falls in love and when his love is not returned in a way he deems appropriate he just simply takes matters into his own hands. She is the girl of his dreams and for Teo that is everything.
This book is super creepy in that very disturbing way that is spot on pitch perfect. It relies on the narrative of one character – Teo – and puts you firmly inside his very twisted and yet horrifically logical head. If ever there was a masterclass in how to construct a perfect psychological thriller you are looking at it right here. Not since Graeme Cameron’s “Normal” have I experienced such a mix of emotional highs and lows as I did whilst I was reading “Perfect Days”.
It is intensely addictive from first page to last and the tension never lets up and yet it also kind of gently rolls along in places. There are times you forget the terror and get caught out in the sunshine, and even have a laugh – then BANG back you are in that dark place again.
I was on the edge of yelling out and scaring the neighbourhood cats at several points in the storyline and there was one moment ONE MOMENT that I read with my mouth open screaming “NO NO NO” silently in my head. Somewhere deep down inside I’m going to be screaming NO at that moment for a very long time. It will haunt my dreams.
Perfect Days also manages a rare, unexpected and absolutely “perfect” ending – this is a journey that that will chew you up and spit you out the other side wondering what the heck just happened and have you looking around in a daze wondering where the world went. Seriously I’m considering never leaving the house again.
I’m a huge fan of this type of writing, where the boundaries are pushed a bit and some different paths are taken. This may be Raphael Montes first book that has been translated into English, I can only hope that our UK Publisher has signed up for everything he writes ever. Perfect Days was a reading experience. And that cover – it is beautiful, and spot on – it draws you into the novel but once you have read it you’ll look at it in an ENTIRELY different way. Trust me on that one….
Highly Recommended. But be prepared…
You can follow the author on Twitter here.
And Pre-Order “Perfect Days” by Clickety Clicking right HERE
Don’t be scared- no really.
Your reaction to this book reminds me of mine when I read Caroline Kepnes “You” OMG. My mouth hanging open at a bunch of moments. Can’t wait to read this one!
OOH I have that one to read as well!