By: Iain Reid
ISBN: 9781501127427
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: 9/4/2018
Format: Other
My Rating: 3.5 Stars A taut, psychological mind-bender from the bestselling author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
We don’t get visitors. Not out here. We never have.
In Iain Reid’s second haunting, philosophical puzzle of a novel, set in the near-future, Junior and Henrietta live a comfortable, solitary life on their farm, far from the city lights, but in close quarters with each other. One day, a stranger from the city arrives with alarming news: Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm...very far away.
The most unusual part?
Arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won't have a chance to miss him, because she won't be left alone—not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company.
Told in Reid’s sharp and evocative style, Foe examines the nature of domestic relationships, self-determination, and what it means to be (or not to be) a person. An eerily entrancing page-turner, it churns with unease and suspense from the first words to its shocking finale.
Praise
"Foe is a tale of implacably mounting peril that feels all the more terrifying for being told in such a quiet, elegantly stripped-down voice. Iain Reid knows how to do 'ominous' as well as anyone I’ve ever read."
–Scott Smith, author of The Ruins and A Simple Plan
“Reid is a master storyteller with a knack for absorbing prose. Most of the action takes place in the microcosm of the couple’s house, but Reid writes about the relationship so well that it becomes a universe full of questions and possibilities.”
–Los Angeles Review of Books
"Reid is remarkable for delivering hypnotic, twisty plots and taut prose in a short novel."
–New York Journal of Books
"Reid builds to a deeply unsettling climax. As much a surgical dissection of what makes a marriage as an expertly paced, sparsely detailed psychological thriller, this is one to read with the lights on."
–Kirkus Reviews
"Reid proves once again that he is a master of atmosphere and suspense. Readers won’t be able to put this one down."
–Publishers Weekly
“Reid is at it again, exploiting readers with plot twists, narrative unease, and explosive conclusions in his second novel... [he] has the rare ability to make readers both uncomfortable and engaged, and this drama will surely send them back to the beginning pages to track the clues he left to the surprise ending.”
–Booklist (starred review)
"An ingenious work of psychological horror, Foe will disturb and shock you with its eerie blend of existential dread and atmospheric thriller."
–Book Riot
“Such an ambitious work risks being muddied. Reid, however, brilliantly executes his vision… With Foe, Reid has written a page-turning novel that will entertain you and have you questioning the very foundation of your existence at the exact same time.”
–BookPage
"I couldn’t put it down. It infected my dreams. A creepy and brilliant book."
–Zoe Whittall, Giller shortlisted author of The Best Kind of People
"From the opening page, you’ll have an uneasy feeling as you settle in to Iain’s Reid’s brilliant new novel, Foe…. A masterful and breathtakingly unique read. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
–Amy Stuart, author of the #1 bestseller Still Mine and Still Water
"Spare, consuming, unforgettable. Foe is a dark arrow from a truly original mind. Page by eerie page, Iain Reid pulls the known world out from under you, and leaves you trapped inside a marriage’s most haunting question: can I be replaced? This is a book that seeps into your bloodstream––and crowns Iain Reid the king of deadpan, philosophical horror."
–Claudia Dey, author of Heartbreaker
"I’m not sure that humans have hackles, but something was creeping up my spine as I read this book, and I welcomed the shivers of shock and delight…. A mind-bending and genre-defying work of genius."
–Liz Nugent, author of Unraveling Oliver and Lying in Wait
EXCLUSIVE: Anonymous Content has acquired screen rights to Foe, the upcoming thriller novel by Iain Reid which drew other bids. Reid’s previous novel I’m Thinking Of Ending Things is in the works at Netflix with Charlie Kaufman attached to direct and write. Anonymous Content’s Kerry Kohansky-Roberts and Steve Golin will produce and the author will be exec producer. Read More
About the Author
Author Photo © Lucas Tingle
Iain Reid is the author of two critically acclaimed, award-winning books of nonfiction, One Bird’s Choice and The Truth About Luck, which was one of Globe and Mail’s best books of 2013. Reid’s work has appeared in a variety of publications throughout North America, including The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail, and the National Post. In 2015, he received the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is his first novel. Foe is his second novel. Follow him on Twitter @Reid_Iain.
