Book Review: The Opposite of Life by Narrelle M. Harris
‘I remember screaming very loudly. In TV shows, that’s where the ad break comes in, while some ninny is screaming her head off. No ad breaks in life, though.’
Lissa Wilison has seen more than enough death in her family, so when people start being savagely killed whenever she has a night out in Melbourne with her beautiful new boyfriend, she’s determined to investigate and make the killing stop. Even when she realizes the murders must be the work of a vampire.
…She finds herself teaming up with the painfully awkward Gary to get to the undead hear of the matter. But there are more challenges in store than Gary’s appalling fashion sense.
The idea of living forever can be a big temptation for someone who has lost so much…
For me, there are three kinds of books: books I don’t like, books I like and books I like so much that I can’t wait to push them on my friends saying, “You HAVE to read this!” The Opposite of Life? Well, that goes in the last category.
I’ve put off sending an overseas package because one of my friends has to read this book.
I’m not usually a vampire novel kind of woman, but when a wonderfully sweet man sitting at the Pulp Fiction Press table at Conflux talked about Narrelle M. Harris and her book, I couldn’t help but pick up a copy. And I am so glad I did.
From the very beginning, I was sucked into Lissa’s world and nearly finished the book in one sitting. Her straight-forward – slightly babbling in the beginning – way of talking to the reader amused me and immediately made me feel relaxed with her as the person I’d be spending the next 200+ pages with.
I love that Narrelle explores the temptation of eternal life without making it too sappy or romanticized. Lissa’s temptation is real. Her doubts and back-and-forth mindset were true to life and only made me identify with her more. Her thoughts are gritty, spattered with doubt, a bit sassy a times and utterly the thoughts of someone I feel I could meet in reality. She has done a superb job in not only her creation of Lissa but of Gary and other characters as well.
I have a soft spot for stories set in Melbourne because I’ve been to the suburbs and around the city. However, Narrelle keeps a good setting exactly where it should be – the background. The setting enriches the story but never overwhelms it.
I highly recommend this book to everyone – even if you’re not a vampire books fan. Narrelle’s approach to everything from vampire biology to dispelling common vampire myths is refreshing.
November 7th, 2008 at 1:52 am
Yet another book to add my never ending ‘to read’ list.
November 8th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Haha. Don’t you just love it when that happens?