The Other Girl by C.D. Major
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I know I said I would not read any more books that had the word ‘girl’ in the title because I was sick of the infantilisation of women in contemporary fiction, but I might need to add some exceptions to my statement, because in this case, the word ‘girl’ was entirely appropriate.
An asylum is ravaged by fire, leaving many of the patients it was housing dead. Newly arrived Dr Declan Harris is drawn to one of the survivors, Edith, a young woman locked away in the asylum since childhood. Delving into her history, Dr Harris cannot fathom why Edie is scheduled for a ‘procedure’ that will tear into her brain, stripping out all of what makes her what she is. Determined to work with Edith to save her from this fate, Dr Harris begins investigating Edith’s memories of another time, another life – another girl.
With increasing desperation, in a fight against time to save Edie from her fate, Dr Harris begins to believe that Edie might indeed have lived before. But once he discovers the truth, can he live with the consequences of it?
This was a fast paced, creepy tale, with quite a gothic feel. The setting gave quite a claustrophobic feel and draws you in. The terrific characterisation meant that I was heavily invested in Edie’s fate, and was almost cheering Dr Harris along, willing him to get a little backbone so that he could stand up for Edie.
As for the ending. Did I see it coming? Yes. I did. But this doesn’t spoil the book. In the interests of not spoiling it for the rest of you I am not going to comment further on the ending. But I will now revise my thoughts on books with the word ‘Girl’ in the title.
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Deborah Siddoway 