Part revenge tale, part fairytale, The Harpy is an electrifying story of marriage, infidelity and power by the author of the #1 Indie Next Pick, The End We Start From, Megan Hunter Lucy and Jake live in a house by a field where the sun burns like a ball of fire. Lucy has set her career aside in order to devote her life to the children, to their finely tuned routine, and to the house itself, which … which comforts her like an old, sly friend. But then a man calls one afternoon with a shattering message: his wife has been having an affair with Lucy’s husband, Jake. The revelation marks a turning point: Lucy and Jake decide to stay together, but make a special arrangement designed to even the score and save their marriage—she will hurt him three times. As the couple submit to a delicate game of crime and punishment, Lucy herself begins to change, surrendering to a transformation of both mind and body from which there is no return. Told in dazzling, musical prose, The Harpy is a dark, staggering fairy tale, at once mythical and otherworldly and fiercely contemporary. It is a novel of love, marriage and its failures, of power, control and revenge, of metamorphosis and renewal.
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This is a sad and unsettling story. Hunter’s writing is absolutely beautiful and has a dreamlike quality to it which means it could be set anywhere. A Harpy is a mythical creature with a bird’s body and a woman’s face, but its role is questionable – is she a monster, a symbol of storms, or does she punish men for the things they do? I love one of its nicknames; the Stench. Also, it is super ominous that the harpy is an expert at stealing things… Lucy has been cheated on by her husband Jake and the hurt she feels she, in turn, wants to inflict upon him. As penance, he allows her to punish him three times, although he won’t know when or where these events will occur.
I love Hunter’s insights into motherhood and the sacrifices made, including the abandonment of her PhD. Mundane routines, coupled with ghastly trips to the supermarket where your children’s behaviour will be judged as a direct reflection of your capabilities as a parent. The obligatory chopping of cucumber and carrots for the children’s party, all the while, daydreaming of an escape to a B&B for a bit of peace and quiet. It rings very true.
Lucy is taught that ‘to forgive is divine’ but throughout the novel we are given insights into how her parents’ relationship has irrevocably tainted her judgement.
I was haunted and horrified by Lucy in equal measures. A clever and disturbing read.
I will update this with a longer review in a few days, but I could not put this book down. I actually opened it by accident on my kindle, originally planning to tackle this book next month, but within a few paragraphs, I was “allowing” myself to read a few more and then a few more until I had to stay in the book. This is utterly quotable and completely original while dealing with an unoriginal premise.
I don’t often read books with this level of poetic language and before this would have said it wasn’t my thing or that it would be too difficult to be sucked into but that would be false. The beauty of the writing is precisely what captivates you. We’ve all read books about scorned women but none with this mythological manifestation behind it.
The Harpy morphs in and out of reality with ease and I cannot wait to make design boards. It could be the most talked-about indie art film of an era if the images in my mind were captured. The strong sense of symbolism is so present, I would almost say Lucy’s revenge that builds through the book is way more than a woman scorned or a hurt woman boiling over, she represents women in general who stuff their pain deep inside until a creature of revenge and anger manifests with an uncontrollable rage.
I look forward to discussing this book with my friends when it’s published. There is so much to discuss.