Book Review: Symbiosis by Guy Portman

 

Symbiosis

by

Guy Portman

 

Firstly I would like to give a huge thanks to the author of Symbiosis, Guy Portman for giving me a copy of his book for a honest read and review. I really appreciate this. For more information on Guy's other books and his blog you can visit www.guyportman.com

 

About this book (Taken from the cover):

 

Identical twins Talulah and Taliah have never been apart. Viewed as curiosities by children and adults alike, they coexist in an insular world with their own secret language. But being identical doesn’t necessarily mean being equal…

Soon a series of momentous events will send Talulah and Taliah spiralling out of control, setting them on a collision course with a society that views them as two parts of a whole. Will their symbiotic relationship survive?

Perceptive and poignant, Symbiosis explores our enduring fascination with twins and the complexities of twinship.

A valuable addition to the monozygotic canon…
Symbiosis demonstrates Portman’s ability to populate his worlds with peculiar yet plausible characters.
Moving and laconic, with impressive attention to psychological detail…

 

Review:

 

I went into this book with an open mind. I really did not know what to expect. The start of this book was a little confusing for me if I was to be honest, I felt it did not flow and it took me a good few pages to pick the story up. However Once it did and I got my bearings I felt this was a wonderful story. We can all try and think what it would be like to be a twin especially identical one's but we will never really know unless you are one. I think how Guy wrote Talulah & Taliah was great, they had this special bond which included the power to know what each other was thinking and came with their own secret language. The story follows the twins from a young age and continues through to their late teens. The book starts with the twins in a special school until they are around 16/17 then after a bad and traumatic event they end up in a psychiatric hospital. One of my favourite films is Girl, Interrupted which is a movie set in a women's psychiatric hospital in the sixties and in parts of this book it reminded me of that. The subject's in this book are quite harrowing and upsetting in a way but it was written with so much realism, you believe every single incident that happens because of this. It was also very interesting to read, Although it is a work of fiction the troubles of mental health are very serious and you learn lots in this book. I also found this book funny in places which helped lighten the mood perfectly.

 

The characters in this book were all different. The twins were the stars of the show but each child, teacher, doctor & nurse had a great supporting role to play. One of my favourite characters in Symbiosis was Siegfried a teenage German anarchist who was addicted to fire and taking drugs. He starts off very funny but then gets evil as the book goes on.

 

Did I guess the ending? nope failed again... I must say though that throughout this book I did have a good 10/12 idea's as to what could happen. Each time I changed my mind I crossed it off my imaginary list and went with my new one. I love books like this where it keeps you guessing all the way through, for me there is nothing better.  

 

Score:

 

I scored this book a 4.5 out of 5. I really enjoyed it and it only lost points for me at the beginning where I felt a bit confused. This may have just been me though. I will definitely be investing in Guy Portman's other books Necropolis & Charles Middleworth at some point.

 

I would love to know if anyone else has read this book and if so do you agree with me or not? Let me know.

 

Speak soon,

 

CBailey31