This is a fantastically written novel. It is about coming of age, trying to fit in, obsession, secrets, art, pretension and blackmail. It is about how you realise everyone wears a mask and presents a face to the world.
Ada travels to Italy, dreaming of fitting in with a different set to which she feels she belongs. She is thrown together with a group of largely unlikeable, pretentious, snobbish students. She wants the trip to be life changing and to stay in touch with these people and tries desperately to fit in with them to the chagrin of one of the group Oliver, who persistently tries to catch Ada out in a lie. He was my least favourite character, as he is meant to be, but gloriously annoying and I was urging Ada to get the better of him at every turn. The only character I really liked was the rich, naive, innocence of Mallory. I felt sorry for Ada, she was calculating but she was also naive and a bit silly.
When one of the group dies, Ada does ‘The Favour’ of the title and suddenly has the key to a new life in the ‘set’, she feels her life is as it should be but, things take a darker turn and it slowly begins to unravel. It is deliciously done but I did feel that in reality it is unlikely that the fall out from a death like this would be dealt with in such a way.
There are twists and turns plunging these people into uncertainty and turmoil. It is gorgeously tense and with a brilliant final twist which is juicily satisfying and is a fabulously psychological read which I would definitely recommend.
Ada travels to Italy, dreaming of fitting in with a different set to which she feels she belongs. She is thrown together with a group of largely unlikeable, pretentious, snobbish students. She wants the trip to be life changing and to stay in touch with these people and tries desperately to fit in with them to the chagrin of one of the group Oliver, who persistently tries to catch Ada out in a lie. He was my least favourite character, as he is meant to be, but gloriously annoying and I was urging Ada to get the better of him at every turn. The only character I really liked was the rich, naive, innocence of Mallory. I felt sorry for Ada, she was calculating but she was also naive and a bit silly.
When one of the group dies, Ada does ‘The Favour’ of the title and suddenly has the key to a new life in the ‘set’, she feels her life is as it should be but, things take a darker turn and it slowly begins to unravel. It is deliciously done but I did feel that in reality it is unlikely that the fall out from a death like this would be dealt with in such a way.
There are twists and turns plunging these people into uncertainty and turmoil. It is gorgeously tense and with a brilliant final twist which is juicily satisfying and is a fabulously psychological read which I would definitely recommend.