THE OTHERS

MARK BRANDI HACHETTE, RRP $33

Jacob is living with his dad off grid, in harsh conditions made even worse by drought. They are in hiding from “the others”, though Jacob has no clear idea of who they are, or why he should be afraid of them. All he really knows about his past is that they once lived in a commune, and that his mother is dead. On his 11th birthday, his dad gives him a journal and encourages him to use it every day to improve his writing. He records everyday stuff, but also the strange things that happen – like the first time he hears a voice in the night that is not his dad’s. It becomes a record of his increasing fear and uncertainty about what’s out there, and of what his dad might be doing. Brandi has a keen interest in crime, but his books don’t follow a traditional crime structure – and they are all the stronger for that. This one verges on horror at times – there are elements reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Emma Donaghue’s Room. It’s both a very slow burn, and a can’t-bear-to-put-it-down read.

CORINNA HENTE VERDICT: Compulsive