Seizure: A Novel

by Erica Wagner

" Seizure is terrific."―Philip Pullman Raised by her father, Janet is shocked when she learns that she has inherited a house from her mother, long thought dead. The key in hand, Janet travels north to an old stone cottage at the sea's edge.Tom hides away in an old stone cottage at the sea's edge, waiting. He was raised by his mother, traveling from one place to another, his only stability the stories she told him―stories of shape-shifters, danger, impossible love....When Janet arrives, she is surprised to find Tom and to find herself mysteriously drawn to him.In Erica Wagner's "haunting debut novel" ( San Diego Union-Tribune ), lives and stories become so interwoven that, in the end, all distinctions are lost. Reading group guide included.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Erica Wagner is an American author and critic living in London. She is former literary editor of The Times.

She is the author of several books, including a collection of short stories, Gravity, and Ariel’s Gift: Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath and the Story of Birthday Letters, and the novel Seizure.

Her husband, Francis Gilbert, is author of I’m a Teacher, Get Me Out of Here!. She also reviews regularly for The New York Times. A judge for the Man Booker Prize in 2002 and 2014.

Reviews

[PMP · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book must be the result of a massive favour owed to Wagner that the publisher just couldn't get out of. A lot of tripe spun around an incestuous affair that is neither shocking nor sexy.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this one with high hopes, I was in the mood for something a bit 'lyrical and poetic' and at first it seemed to do well on this score: Two people with good initial character development, a here and now scene, a bit of the past, slow build-up ect.

However: A failing of mine as a reader (perhaps) is that I do not like it when characters behave stupidly with no explanation. Around page 60 or so the female character starts to behave in idiotic, incomprehensibly erratic ways that seem artificial in the extreme. It jolted me out of the pleasantness of the reading experience. So I put down the book for a couple of days and then tried again. Within five or ten pages I was flicking ahead to stay within one plotline because the transitions had become annoying. For about every two or three pages you would glean a single line of text that advanced the plot, the rest was perhaps lyric and poetic but also unfortunately tedious.

I gave up around page 110 I found myself completely uninterested in the characters and their experiences. I did not care what befell them. I did not even bother to flick to the end of the book to see how it ends. There are too many books in the world to bother reading bad ones.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually thought the writing was good. This was another 'read this book all day on the bus/train/etc' times. It was very literary writing - flashbacks and revealing things by inches and much inferring things - which takes me a while to get into but once I'm there I'm in. And the progression of the story really was horrifying and fascinating to me in equal measure. Supes disturbing, not very fun, defs fascinating. I don't know if I would recommend, but I'm not sorry I read it.

[Sunflower · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover photo is the best part of this book. When I first started this I thought the writing was clever, surreal even, but after a while for me that made it just plain confusing. I found it hard to tell which thread of the story I was trying to follow, as it was (deliberately, I think)not made clear. Managed to finish it, but only just.

[Deb]

No stars... didn't even finish it. Someone pointed out later that the reviews on amazon were pretty bad also. This was one of those books that the jacket is much more enticing than the actual story. I gave up about half way through because of the writing style and the lack of consistency.

[Ruby Soames · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an effort to read this and it felt like it might have been an effort to write it - with so many laboured images, adjectives, similes and long words...the writing obfuscated the story which just wasn't strong enough anyway. Just tries too hard and wasn't worth it.

[Ejiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite disturbing but mesmerizing, the words leap on to your tongue to tantalize you with its innocent wickedness. Brilliant...read it

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hated it. Finally just stopped reading it because I couldn't take anymore.

[Claire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd quite like to rate this zero, but then you would think that I simply hadn't rated it. Urgh, rubbish. It's not even the kind of book worth writing a review for.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not go into this book blind. I read many reviews beforehand. I've had this book sitting on my "to read shelf" for years and finally got around to it. Not a good book, but it was beautifully written sometimes. I skim read 90% of this, as alot of the time it was meaningless waffle.

[Amanda Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel was written very poetically and contained an elaborate storyline that was communicated through different time periods. Unfortunately, not a lot happened and there were large sections that I skimmed as they weren't relevant to the actual plot. Very predictable and super disturbing ending.

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, finished quickly. The narrative was engaging and clear despite three different time periods and stories. It was erotically disturbing. Issues of abandonment. Half brother and sister.

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn't finish. But I read enough of it to realize the whole meandering thing wasn't going to end, and I didn't care one way or the other. Stumbling along is no reward.

[Genna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stumped. Mostly well-written and super interesting, but dark & disturbing. Alot of holes that the reader is meant to fill in, but it mostly left me thinking "what the heck"...

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh good god this was awful!
Not much else to say.

[Cas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ended at page 106. I just couldn't get into this book. The characters seemed weren't interesting to me. The way the story jumped from person to person and back and forth in time didn't leave enough room for developing the characters. I am sure it all comes clear in the end, but I didn't care enough to stay and figure it all out. The author writes in an abstract way, with incomplete sentences conveying thoughts, and often the result was too vague to draw any conclusions. I wanted to know what was going on, but I felt like she spent so much time telling me how mysterious it was that there wasn't time left to tell me anything was actually happening. Also, at this far into the book, the seizures mentioned in the title did not figure significantly enough in the story.

[Malcolm Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another author with whom I've shared a stage - and my admiration for her stretches from her acapella performance of a Northumbrian song to her reflections on the recent death of her father and - oh goodness me - the beautiful and powerful prose of this book. I loved the way that the story unwrapped itself and I loved its dark landscape. I want her to write more!

[linnea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but there were some points that I would have liked to have seen differently. One of my favorites aspects of this book is the cover photograph. I know, i can jude a book by it cover...

[Donna Kirk · Rating 2 out of 5]

not my favorite style of writing. kind of jagged and poetic and surreal to the point where it steams off the page but you are never really sure if she is talking about being at a wedding or a hospital. the woman who turns into a seal is cool, though.

[Jewelz · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is about seizures but i didn't like it!

[Sherrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh - had to force myself to finish this. Icky subject matter!!

[Lindat16 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible book

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was ooookay, pretty weird but well-written. Not quite my taste in plot, though. Incest, shivers. :P

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

well, my bookmark is ready and waiting inside the cover - does that count as currently reading?

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully written, great narrative device, distasteful story.

[Tamara Epps]

Hard to read as there's nothing to keep you hooked except for a short section in the middle. Predictable and badly written.

[Alex Gibbons · Rating 2 out of 5]

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[Book Chatter-Cath · Rating 1 out of 5]

ummmm, wow, bad :(
lots and lots of words and not really any story... it's boring, flat, unappealing and kinda depressing.