Foe
A Novel
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4.0 • 111 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A taut, psychological mind-bender from the bestselling author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
We don’t get visitors. Not out here. We never have.
In Iain Reid’s second haunting, philosophical puzzle of a novel, set in the near-future, Junior and Henrietta live a comfortable, solitary life on their farm, far from the city lights, but in close quarters with each other. One day, a stranger from the city arrives with alarming news: Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm...very far away. The most unusual part? Arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won't have a chance to miss him, because she won't be left alone—not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company.
Told in Reid’s sharp and evocative style, Foe examines the nature of domestic relationships, self-determination, and what it means to be (or not to be) a person. An eerily entrancing page-turner, it churns with unease and suspense from the first words to its shocking finale.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the beginning of the latest nerve-wracking novel from Reid (I'm Thinking of Ending Things), Junior and Henrietta lead a peaceful, solitary life on their farm in the near future. They wake up, drink coffee, go to work, and come home. Sometimes Henrietta plays the piano they found in their house. All of that is interrupted one day by the arrival of the mysterious Terrance, sent on behalf of the space research organization OuterMore to inform Junior he's been longlisted in a lottery for a temporary resettlement expedition into space called the Installation. Junior never applied for the program, and Terrance's appearance knocks them off-kilter, but Junior and Henrietta are able to eventually put it out of their minds that is, until Terrance returns two years later to congratulate Junior on being selected for the Installation. When Junior expresses worries about being separated from Henrietta and leaving her alone, Terrance unveils the other side of the plan: while Junior is in space, a synthetic duplicate will come to take his place, working his job and keeping Henrietta company. In order to collect data for this duplicate, Terrance moves in with Junior and Henrietta, but as the days go on, Junior starts to believe there is something more sinister at play that Terrance is not telling him. Though the ending falls a little short, Reid proves once again that he is a master of atmosphere and suspense. Readers won't be able to put this one down.
Customer Reviews
Love
Loved it. Beautifully written and kept me hooked with unease
Thumbs up for Foe
My first time reading a book by this author and I am hooked!
I read this book in 2 days, I was totally absorbed in the story line and could not wait to find out the next twist and turn.
What just happened?
I love feeling captivated by a book, like I just can’t bear to part with it. While I kept reading to find out what would happen, nothing ever did. This fell so flat for me and I’m so disappointed since I loved I’m thinking of ending things. This writer is twisted so I’m guessing I missed something but maybe not. I can’t really think of anything that I could have possibly missed. The plot is a disturbing thought though, makes me appreciate my life and the freedom I have but beyond that, meh.