Fran is struggling with being stuck at home with a toddler. Her perfect life in London, married to her childhood sweetheart isn't so perfect anymore. On a whim, Fran flees to Las Vegas, where she meets Leslie, who is fleeing demons of her own. The two end up back in Vancouver, where Leslie lives and where Fran grew up.

There is some lovely writing in this, and it's highly readable--so much so that I almost missed my stop on the train. The weakness of the book is that some of the themes and tangential threads are a bit thin, and there are a few too many coincidences for my liking. But overall it was a good read and I look forward to more from Kate Pullinger. ( )

I was mostly annoyed with the main character in this book. The concept is something I am sure many people consider - just taking off - but this novel just wasn't that strong to hold my attention and make me like it. ( )

A quick read at best

While sifting through the fiction shelves at the library, I noticed the headline on the back cover of Little Stranger, which stated that it was a must read for anyone considering having children. This compelled me to read the synopsis, since having children has been important to me for a long time. As was the case with my deciding to read We Need To Talk About Kevin, I was intrigued by a mother who loses her motherly instinct.

These two novels are nothing alike, and the latter is without a doubt the better read. Little Stranger is about a mother who feeling unfulfilled, and even trapped, finds herself in a daze at the airport trying to escape her life, baby included. We Need To Talk About Kevin shares a view into the mind of a mother who feels little love or emotion towards her child, and (debatably) how this eventually affects him.

Kate Pullinger has a lot of plot lines going on in Little Stranger, whose interconnectedness often felt under developed and mostly contrived. I didn't find myself carrying about any of the characters, and felt little sympathy for their plights. It's apparent to me that if Pullinger had of directed her focus to a few storylines, and put more emphasis on the character development of her main characters, this could have been a far better book.

Story of a new mom who is overwhelmed with how a child has changed her life and takes off when she can't handle it anymore. She runs away to Vegas and then to Vancouver. Her husband winds up taking their son to the restaurant where he works
i could relate to a few things. i liked the stint she had is Vegas and some of the supporting characters in this novel. I liked the part of Nick with the little fellow in the restaurant but that was not a big part of the novel unfortunatly.
Novel was light and okay ( )