Elena Varvello

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I'm reviewing Can You Hear Me?: The viciously gripping page-turner of summer 2017. This is written by Elena Varvello, and translated from Italian by Alex Valente. Here are my thoughts:

^^ Set in the late 1970s, this is a chilling account of a father struggling to cope with not only the loss of his job, but with his own mental illness and how it affects the lives of others.

^^ To be honest, I didn't think it was as "gripping" as it had promised. I definitely read it fast, and in one sitting, so there wasn't anything wrong with it as such, but I f
eel like I expected more. Maybe I've just read so many fast-paced psychological thrillers lately, I was taken back with the slow and steady unfolding of this story. I do sometimes think a large part of enjoying a book depends on a lot of personal internal/external circumstances and not just whether an author can write well.

^^ Saying that, I did enjoy the twist, and always welcome books talking openly about mental illness, as it's a subject that has only too often been brushed under the carpet, and is now being talked about much more openly.

Overall: "Can You Hear Me?" is an intense, dark read, covering not only murder, but the devastating effect on a family coping with mental illness.… (meer)