The Bellwether Revivals: A Novel

· Sold by Penguin
5.0
1 review
Ebook
432
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

*Finalist for the Costa First Novel Award*

*Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize*

 
From a rising literary star, a thrilling debut novel of psychological suspense set among the colleges of Cambridge

When bright and bookish Oscar Lowe follows the haunting sound of an organ into the chapel of Kings College, Cambridge, one day, his whole world changes. He meets a beautiful and seductive medical student, Iris Bellwether, and her charismatic and troubled brother Eden. Oscar is seduced by their life of scholarship and privilege, but when Eden convinces Iris and her close-knit group of friends to participate in a series of disturbing experiments, Oscar fears he has entered into something from which he cannot escape. Reminiscent of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, The Bellwether Revivals is a gripping exploration of the line between genius and madness that will hold readers spellbound until its breathtaking conclusion.

Ratings and reviews

5.0
1 review
A Google user
June 27, 2012
Summary: The Bellwether Revivals takes place mainly at King’s College, Oxford and the surrounding area. (Don’t you love it already?) Oscar Lowe is an outsider who works in a nursing home nearby who falls in love with the privileged medical student. As he dives into her world he realizes that the life on the other side isn’t always as beautiful as it seems. Bechdel Test?: Unfortunately no. The book is from the perspective of a male character (Oscar) and he primarily interacts with other men. Iris and Jane, the two females who show up the most, don’t really talk to each other with Oscar around. Rating: 5/5 It has been a long time since I’ve read a novel in which the prose was as beautiful as The Bellwether Revivals. Wood’s words are more than beautiful, they’re enchanting and brought me so deeply into the story that I forgot the time of day. I loved the mix of not knowing whether there was a supernatural element or whether there was just paranoia and delusion. The unreliable narrator of Oscar Lowe, coupled with the psychoanalysis provided by Dr. Herbert Cress, I was on my toes the whole time trying to figure out what would happen next. Honestly, if you only read one book this summ
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About the author

Benjamin Wood was born in 1981 and grew up in northwest England. He received his MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. He is currently a lecturer in creative writing at Birkbeck, University of London. This is his first novel.

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