Book Review: The Radleys
The Radleys: A Novel by Matt Haig
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Peter and Helen Radley are abstainers – vampires who don’t consume blood. They live by The Abstainers Handbook and haven’t even told their two teenage children that they are vampires. One night their daughter Clara accidentally gives in to her natural instincts (that she didn’t even know she had) and Peter and Helen are forced to explain the truth to her and her brother Rowan. Peter calls on his brother Will, a practicing vampire, to help them out with the police investigation that follows. Having Will around turns their life into chaos and they have to decide which lies are worth keeping and which truths are worth telling.
The Radleys has vampires in it but it’s not really a “vampire book”. And it’s definitely nothing like the smutty vampire books I usually read! This is a “thinking person’s” vampire book. It’s more about family relationships – the Radleys are dysfunctional in very human ways. Rowan, shy and unsure of himself, is bullied by the kids at school and has a crush on his sister’s best friend. Peter and Helen have hit a rough patch in their marriage and Peter may be going through a mid-life crisis of sorts. Will finds himself growing restless and killing more indiscriminately lately, causing the larger vampire community to grow impatient with him. Okay, that last one may be more of a vampire-only problem!
The Radleys were all flawed but likable and surprisingly relatable considering they were vampires. I think most everyone has felt like they don’t fit in at some time in their lives like the Radleys. Also, most everyone has probably tried to overcome something in their lives the way the Radleys are trying to overcome the compulsion to drink blood, whether it’s overeating, smoking or something else. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone, not just vampire fans.
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