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NEXT OF KIN
by John Boyne
Penguin, October 2006
512 pages
6.99 GBP
ISBN: 0141018798


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

It’s 1936 and Owen Montignac is what you might call financially embarrassed. He owes club owner Nicholas Delfy £50,000 and if he doesn't pay up soon, he's likely to start losing limbs at the very least.

Owen's not worried, though, as he's set to inherit his uncle's fortune. But when the will bucks Montignac family tradition and leaves everything to Owen's cousin Stella, he has to make money fast – and he's not terribly choosy about how he does so. And he soon pulls the likes of idle young judge's son Gareth Bentley into his orbit.

NEXT OF KIN will inevitably draw comparisons with Patricia Highsmith's Ripley series. And while Owen is a very promising creation, author John Boyne isn't quite in Highsmith's league yet.

The book is set in 1936 London amidst the Edward and Mrs Simpson scandal. It paints a picture of idle rich young men and women, frittering their time and money away in clubs and pubs. Boyne is pretty strong on the period feeling, but some of his dialogue has a very modern feel to it – someone being described as a drama queen catapulted me back to the 21st century.

Boyne's a confident story-teller, although views might differ on his technique for doling out information. I felt at times that the book verged too much on the tell rather than show – several key incidents take place off-stage, or are recounted later when the action has moved on and the reader's attention is elsewhere.

The time span for the book is slightly confusing, although I'm not sure if that's down to at least one error where a character makes a reference to the outcome of a key court case which I thought had happened at the time, but the text says weeks ago. In fact there are several noticeable errors in the book – at one point we're told that Stella's fiancé Raymond has two brothers; later he says he has none.

It's obvious that the book spans several months as Owen struggles to get the money together. He's a fascinating central character, lacking the presence of a Tom Ripley, but one who has been affected by family history. In fact, much of the book is taken up with an examination of the pressures of family and of tradition.

NEXT OF KIN is a strong offering and one that kept me turning the pages to see the fate of the flawed Owen.

Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, November 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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