I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book through the Goodreads First reads giveaway programme. I had it in my "To Read" notebook already having read some of the reviews of the novel.I enjoyed it tremendously (though "enjoy" might not be the best word). There's a palpable feeling of dread throughout the book, even during positive moments, which makes you fear what you'll find out if you continue - but there's no way that you're going to stop reading. The characters are all very real and all damaged in their own way - just how damaged we find out gradually through the lens of the Greek plays Alex teaches her class of 5 difficult pupils. The Edinburgh setting is a great choice as it's alien but also familiar to Alex. Even when the sun shines the city still has an undercurrent of strangeness and menace.We hear the story through Alex's first person narrative, interspersed with diary extract and letters from someone else (can't say more for fear of spoilers) so we inhabit Alex's cold and isolated world, at first not knowing much about her. As we learn more we can only sympathise and begin to understand why she is as she is.The books denouement seems inevitable right from the start, not particularly in its exact form, but in its scale and consequences (those Greek plays again!)and when it arrives it has a car crash quality - we don't want to look too closely, but we need to know what has happened. I admired that the author doesn't go for an easy, pat way out (though she does give us a tiny glimmer of hope).I read it very quickly and very much past my bedtime, which is always a good sign, as is the fact that I find myself still thinking about it some days after finishing. A wonderful psychologically complex and emotional novel - definitely to be recommended. The premise? A young woman who has experienced life-changing loss ... and decides the best thing to do is become a teacher/mentor to troubled youth... *Pause.* Yeah... Exactly, this sounds like an excellent idea. Alex Morris flees from London to Edinburgh and the remnants of her successful life as a "promising" stage director following the death of her fiancé. There, despite her total lack of experience teaching, a former teacher who now heads up a school for "difficult" children, scores her a job. Still coping with her loss, Alex finds herself growing closer to her students than is probably appropriate... leading to a series of events that culminate in act of violence. Something of a hybrid of "Dangerous Minds" meets "Special Topics in Calamity Physics," it was intriguing enough to keep me reading. While I enjoyed the first two acts, I found the last third to be a little slow going. By that time in the novel you will have figured out what is going on and how it is going to end, so almost all of the momentum disappears. Alex's self pity also gets a little tiresome by the end.
What do You think about The Amber Fury (2014)?
All I have to say is I hope my first year of teaching doesn't turn out like this! Great story! 3.5
—Lisa
Couldn't get into it after 75 pages. Maybe it's me?
—albamedina54
