< i>Angelica</i>
Arthur Phillips
Angelica is a Victorian ghost story with some very dark disturbing psychological themes.
The title character is a little girl who seems to be the focus of hauntings by an evil entity who wishes to harm her and take her innocence.
Thr hauntings are tied to the conjugal relationship of her parents; the overwrought emotions of her mother and the suppressed emotions and urges of her father.
Narrated in turn by four of the key characters at the center of the hauntings, the story is revealed one piece at a time, like a paneled mural - each panel complete in itself, yet each revealing only part of the whole.
I'm left, at the end of this book, definitely not feeling enthusiastic about it. On the other hand, I liked it well enough to finish it.
I'm very glad that my next planned read is something entirely different. Angelica left me feeling the need for a complete change of pace.
