If your husband is handsome and capable too, more glitter falls on you. If you don't have it, you are deemed unworthy, different and possibly wrong. Without the love of a good man, any man, you are spoiled fruit, lacking an essential stamp of approval. Never mind if you are ill suited for it and would have been much better off alone. Never mind if your inclinations are such that living with another human being is difficult and even harmful. Live with another you must, or face eternal shame and disgrace. Forever be second-class. No stamp of approval for you."
You Let Me In is an extraordinary novel. Part fairy-tale, part psychological drama, it weaves together two very different strands of the same story. I have never read a novel like this one before. Its weird and wonderful and very, very strange. Its a difficult one to review without giving anything away, but it has been such a great reading experience that I had to share it.
It tells the story of Cassandra, a young girl who has a magical friend called Pepper-Man. Lost in her own little world, she makes friends with this faerie being and he introduces her to other faeries. When she is excluded from her sister's birthday party for bad behaviour, Pepper-Man comes along and whisks her away to a fairy revel at midnight, where she feasts and dances with the fey. In this respect, it is a lovely fairy-tale, of a blossoming friendship between an unhappy human child and the magical, whimsical world of the fey.
Yet the second strand of the tale tells a completely different story. In this version, Cassie is ill and her faerie friends are all imaginary. Her therapist says that these fairy-tales are her form of escape, a coping mechanism for her mental illness.
But which story is the truth? As the novel plays out, it is difficult to guess at what the author wants you to believe. I found myself swinging between the two narratives, being first sucked into the fairy-tale and reading the book as a fantasy novel, then changing my mind and thinking that yes, the therapist is quite right and its all imaginary.
As the two strands weave closer and closer together, it becomes apparent that the fey characters are real, though not in the way that they appear to be. I remember feeling quite nauseous when I realized who Pepper-Man might actually be, and why he was so central to the storyline and why Cassie is so defensive of him, and at the same time so distrusting and resentful.
This is a very dark tale, one which deals with difficult issues such as child abuse and parental cruelty. It illustrates how it might feel to be the black sheep of the family, or to be singled out for all the wrong reasons. Cassandra is the family scapegoat, while her sister is the golden child. It makes for a very unsettling read.
As a psychotherapist, I was utterly beguiled by this Freudian novel. I have never read anything like it before, although I greatly enjoyed the author's second novel The Witch in the Well. However, You Let Me In really is a unique story and one that makes you consider the immense power of the human mind, what it is capable of and how it works to protect us, with or without our consent.
This is a fantastic book, though it is rather disturbing at times. Its not your standard fantasy novel, but if you like a psychological twist to your tales, then you will probably love this one. I have certainly enjoyed reading it. Give it a go and see what you think.
BB Marie x
AD; this book is available now in all formats.
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