Four old school friends have a pact: to meet up every year in the small town in Puglia they grew up in. Art, the charismatic leader of the group and creator of the pact, insists that the agreement must remain unshakable and enduring. But this year, he never shows up.
A visit to his house increases the friends' worry; Art is farming marijuana. In Southern Italy doing that kind of thing can be very dangerous. They can't go to the Carabinieri so must make enquiries of their own. This is how they come across the rumours about Art; bizarre and unbelievable rumours that he miraculously cured the local mafia boss's daughter of terminal leukaemia. And among the chaos of his house, they find a document written by Art, The Book of Hidden Things, which promises to reveal dark secrets and wonders beyond anything previously known.
***
[Sitting at the table next to me is an elderly German couple] ***(Titan Books, 19 June 2018, 400 pages, ebook, copy from publisher and voluntarily reviewed)
***
***
This is my first time reading the author.
I really enjoyed this book. It took ages to read simply because of my own intense schedule. Every time I sat down to read this book it was sheer pleasure. The Book of Hidden Things is the kind of book it's easy to get lost in. The blurb doesn't do this book justice. It's much, much better than the blurb sounds. The characters are unusual. I'd do no idea what to make of them at first. They're almost featureless, a blank canvas, not the kind of characters I get invested in and care so much about. The author worked some magic with them. This is a fantasy novel but unlike any I've read. At times I almost forgot this, especially when the character all come up with perfectly reasonable explanations for the weird crap they experience. I love the whole premise of the book; old friends meet up once a year. The possibilities of what could happen are endless and I really enjoy where the author chooses to go. The only thing that let the book down was the ending. It didn't make a lot of sense to me. It disappointed me. Nevertheless, The Book of Hidden Things is a great read.
