Why Sally is definitely not another Eleanor Oliphant
Strange Sally – the blurb
Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do, to put him out with the rubbish when he died.
Now Sally is the center of attention, not only from the hungry media and police detectives, but also a sinister voice from a past she cannot remember. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don’t always mean what they say.
But who is the man observing Sally from the other side of the world? And why does her neighbor seem to be obsessed with her? Sally’s trust issues are about to be severely challenged . . .
3 days to read before book club
I was passed this book 3 days before my book club meeting (and yes Sally WAS the book we were reviewing). It was a hardback and I didn’t think there was a chance I would get it read prior to the meeting but I gave it a go so at least I would have something to talk about. Read it all however I did. It’s chapters propel you as twists and turns and back story are slowly revealed. I think I was expecting a kind of saccharine Eleanor Oliphant, but boy was I wrong. Whereas I loved Eleanor, the numerous copycats that have appeared in her wake have left me rather jaded. The book certainly starts off with similar vibes and almost could have ended at her party with feel good ‘doesn’t she fit in perfectly now’ smugness. I’ll warn you now however that Sally is not Eleanor and it does get a bit harrowing, a bit sick and there are triggers all over the place. But I did enjoy it.
It dawned on me half way through that I wasn’t very sure if I liked anyone in the book, yes even Sally. Whilst this is usually a put off, Nugent carried me through with story interesting enough for me not to care. It was the ending though (without giving anything away) that got me the most and I think those at book club too. This is where blogging gets hard as I REALLY want to talk about the ending. But I won’t – just go and read it and message me about it!
Surprising, unpredictable and definitely not one to cosy up with over a cup of tea, Sally will stay with me for a while yet.