Strange Sally Diamond: A BBC Between the Covers Book Club Pick

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This is undeniably a harrowing, emotionally draining novel. There are chilling echoes of Emma Donoghue’s Room and John Fowles’ The Collector here. Nugent explores the awful consequences of a horrendous kidnapping, a tortuous, violent captivity. Although this was not a light read, and had plenty of trigger warnings you cannot but root for Sally. A central character who was socially awkward and intriguing, but it was her past present and hopeful future along with some lighter moments and even humour that blew me away. In the end O wanted joy and I always had hope for Sally.

But then the day arrives and when Sally finds her father has stopped breathing- the reclusive and “Socially Deficient” Strange Sally Diamond does just that-attracting the attention of an entire town!

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The book opens with Sally Diamond and her adoptive father laughing about putting him out with the trash when he dies. Sally thinks the joke is that her father says she’ll be crying her eyes out, but she never cries, so har har. This “ haunting and poignant tale, one that won’t be easy to forget any time soon” ( Mystery and Suspense Magazine), follows an enigmatic woman confronting her unknown past—from internationally bestselling author Liz Nugent. Liz Nugent: "People have accused me of being brave, but what is namebrave about surviving?" ". www.irishtimes.com . Retrieved 16 May 2020. Reclusive Sally Diamond causes outrage by trying to incinerate her dead father. Now she’s the centre of attention, not only from the hungry media, but also a sinister voice from a past she does not remember. Nugent, you thrilled me! But this was not a delightful story. It was dark. It was disturbing. It was compelling. And Sally. What an authentic character.

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Featured Reviews

Sally Diamond — the first of two narrators here — is different though. She is not so much unreliable as eccentric — “strange “. With characteristic subtlety Nugent explores how her unusual personality is rooted in the horrors of her childhood. She is a fascinating, even magnetic character — endearing yet exasperating, well-intentioned yet still potentially dangerous.

Chapters narrated by Peter, fill us in on what Sally and her mother endured (heartbreaking) but I was most captivated by Sally in the present day, as you cannot help but root for her to succeed. (heartwarming). Probably the most startling of all, this opening belies the title, because wherever this is set, it’s far from paradise. Someone is shooting girls, and is prioritising their executions by their colour. How many girls will follow? Who is doing the shooting, and why? Is this the norm for the society the reader is about to inhabit or is this the a terrible one-off? In six words, Toni Morrison has grabbed us by the throat. In Sally Diamond, Nugent has given us an astounding creation with a singular voice . . . an absorbing, twisty, compulsive psychological thriller with surprising humour and pathos' Sunday IndependentBut as Sally discovers WHY she “IS AS SHE IS” and steps out into the World for the first time, at age 44, she will actually come into her own despite the traumatic events of her earliest years, AND the man on the other side of the World who knows her as “Mary”. As she begins to discover the horrors of her early childhood, Sally steps into the world for the first time - making new friends and big decisions, and learning that people don’t always mean what they say. So begins the book, where Sally Diamond takes these instructions literally and indeed tries to incinerate her oul da after he dies. She doesn't see what the fuss is about, as she was just following his wishes. This results in a lot of headlines, and a light is shone on Sally's past, resulting in a media frenzy. Childhood Sally hasn’t had anything to do with the outside world, she finds it impossible to have a conversation with strangers, and hates people touching her. After her mother died, it was just her and her psychiatrist father in an isolated house in Ireland, and he was quite happy for her to stay home. However, after it’s discovered what she did with him after his death, the world’s media turn up at her door together with the local guards (police) and for a time her name is on everyone’s lips. Then messages start to turn up from a stranger, who seems to know a lot more about her than she does herself, because Sally has no memories of her life before 7 years of age, when her mother and father adopted her, but she’s about to find out, and her life will be completely turned upside down.

Her first novel began life as a short story called Alice which made the shortlist of the RTÉ Francis McManus Short Story Competition in 2006. [1] Further exploration into the main character produced her first best-selling novel Unravelling Oliver. She is published by Penguin Sandycove in Ireland and the UK, [3] and by Scout Press ( Simon & Schuster) in the US. [4] Bibliography [ edit ]In parallel, we have Steve’s story whose life will becomes entwined with Sally’s. He too has a past!!! And once again with his story we ask ourselves – are some truths too damaging and traumatic to be revealed and healed? This books explores that notion. I think readers who enjoy authors like Will Dean , Michael Robotham or Lisa Jewell should add this one to their reading lists. This is her most elusive, most mysterious novel yet, one that poses a myriad of tantalising questions. There are no throwaway lines here, everything counts in the end.