Stitch and Bear

A long-running Irish blog with reviews of the best restaurants in Dublin and throughout Ireland. Some wine and cocktails thrown in for good measure!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Rapture - Liz Jensen

Gabrielle Fox is a therapist who is confined to a wheelchair following a tragic accident. She has found it hard to come to terms with what has happened to her but she has taken up a new posting at Oxsmith Adolescent Security Psychiatric Hospital. Here, she is assigned the case of Bethany Krall, an extremely troubled teen who killed her own mother with a screwdriver.

Bethany is very disturbed and has been violent as well as spewing disaster scenarios. She has been receiving ECT treatment, and appears to be making progress. While in Art Therapy with Bethany, Gabrielle begins to see portents and omens in Bethany's work and begins to wonder if there is more to this girl's story than appears to meet the eye.

The story is set in the near-future where evnironmental disasters are more frequent and where an oppressive and foreboding heat dominates the days, setting an intense, gothic atmosphere in the book. Environmentalists and evangelists are powerful figures on the political landscape and there is a fevered feel in the air. Against this backdrop, Gabrielle still struggles to deal with her lot in life and her burgeoning new relationship with physicist Frazer Melville.

This is a gripping story with a grim environmental message. It is also a story of dealing with one's past (both for Bethany and Gabrielle) and facing into a future that you don't want to see. It's an emotional ride, but one that's worth taking.
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