I'm torn on this. The idea is original, the language is beautiful. The structure is interesting, and the ending is powerful, though not perhaps as shockingly twisty as it thinks it is.

Yet it's very much a book of two halves. "Gretel and the Dark" alternates chapters, telling two different stories that come to a connection in the end. The problem with this type of story-telling is that the author runs the very great risk of having their reader find one story that much more interesting than the other. Half the story is set around a young girl called Krysta, and this is beautiful and tragic and fascinating, extremely subtle work. Unfortunately it's constantly followed by disappointment, as I consistently finish Krysta's chapters and groan at the thought of more time spent with Josef.

Josef is, to be frank, a tiresome old lecher. Sadly, the writing - so luminous with Krysta - doesn't seem to have the same spark when it comes to her counterpart.

I'm sure there are people who have the opposite preference; people who prefer his chapters. Even people who like them both the same. Fair enough, tastes differ and all that. But for me, it made the book uneven. It actually took me several weeks to finish it, because every time I'd come to Josef I'd put the book down and walk away. I'd have to force myself to continue so that I'd eventually get back to Krysta.

In summary, I found this book an exercise in frustration, albeit one shot through with some startlingly lovely work.