I love Mark Haddon and this was completely a change of character from his usual work but I really enjoyed it. But given the influences and based on mythology I should have known I’d enjoy it, I loved the way the characters stories twisted together , a really enjoyable read

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review

This was not at all what I expected! It begins with the story of Maja, killed in a plane crash whilst heavily pregnant - her daughter survives and is raised by devastated father Philippe. Angelica's story is disturbing, and like other reviewers I was tempted to give up at this stage. The turning point is when The Porpoise comes into the story, and it becomes a retelling of the story of Pericles within Angelica's imagination. Pericles isn't a play I know at all, and I suspect it's one of the lesser known Shakespeare plays generally, so it felt a bit different! I really enjoyed this side of it. The modern day aspect I found thoroughly depressing, and wish there had been a different resolution for it.

My thanks to Penguin Random House UK and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Part of the description of this book on NetGalley was this:

“A newborn baby is the sole survivor of a terrifying plane crash.
She is raised in wealthy isolation by an overprotective father. She knows nothing of the rumours about a beautiful young woman, hidden from the world.

When a suitor visits, he understands far more than he should. Forced to run for his life, he escapes aboard The Porpoise, an assassin on his tail…”

Reading this, the book sounded pretty interesting, according to me, perhaps a retelling or modern version of the Tempest, but turns out I didn’t pay enough attention to the last part, and got the wrong Shakespeare play. This is a retelling or version of one, but the play in question is Pericles. But because of the wrong assumption I started with, my reading experience turned out to be a little strange (the book is a little strange actually), which started on an interesting note, then got to a point where I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue, and then ended with me actually pretty much enjoying the book quite a bit.

When the story starts, we meet Phillipe who loses his much beloved wife Maja in a plane accident, leaving behind their baby. Phillipe (who is very wealthy) is devastated and retreats from society with the child, but his affection for the baby, Angelique who reminds him of Maja takes a dark turn and he crosses all lines. [This was the point at which, despite my enjoying the writing, I was considering not continuing the story. But I am glad I did.] Then a young man, Darius, whose father was connected by business to Phillipe decides to visit them on the pretext of selling some art, but actually to catch a glimpse of Angelique whose beauty is much talked of in society. But when he realises that something is wrong in the household, he finds his own life in danger. Barely managing to escape he gets aboard a vessel, the Porpoise, suddenly Darius and the reader find that we’re transitioning into another story and another time, as we begin to follow Pericles as he lands at Tarsus, rescuing it, Dionyza, and Cleon from their troubles, only to be led on to Pentapolis where he meets (in this version) Chloe the daughter of Simonides, the king, their marriage, and child, how all three are separated and what befalls them then. Alongside we keep coming back to the present and to Angelique who finds her escape in books, and a third thread to the story is also introduced but I’ll leave you to find out what that is for yourself.

As I said, when I started the book, I was enjoying the writing but then when it got into aspects that were distasteful and disturbing for me to say the least, I was beginning to even consider giving up. But luckily I didn’t, and when it got on to Pericles’ tale, which really forms most part of the book, I began to enjoy the book quite a bit. Haddon has (as we can see from his sources at the end) gone into different versions of this story, a collaboration between George Wilkins and Shakespeare (in the Shakespeare version), and come up with his own. It was only when I got the Pericles connection and read up the basic plot of Pericles (I haven’t read the Shakespeare play), this began to make a little more sense to me (something like what happened with reading The Sisters of the Winter Wood last year, when I had the idea of Goblin Market in my mind, then the book began to make far more sense)—also I realised how the modern part of the story fits into the whole scheme (what it’s role was in the whole plot, even in the original, isn’t very clear). I also really liked the way Haddon ended the Pericles part of the story, very subtly done (and different from the Shakespeare version). The third thread, I am not very sure I understood the role of in the scheme of things, in a sense also is built around the aspect of justice, or having to face the Furies for the wrongs one has committed. I enjoyed the writing of the book for the most part, and the plot too kept me hooked because I wasn’t sure where the various threads would lead, and how the whole thing would shape up. So overall, it turned out to be a pretty interesting read, but it still loses a star from me one because of the disturbing plot aspects which made sense after I got the Pericles connection but didn’t become any the more acceptable (or less disturbing), and also because I really wasn’t able to make sense of the whole scheme of the plot (the third plot thread, and also another part of the story). But good reading if one can stick with it, or the subject matter doesn’t put you off too much (particularly since this is just a small part of the story).

I've decided to read the book because of the author and that should be the first point the other readers should know: don't expect this book to be like his other books. That is the first mistake you can do. The other one ist the cover description: I expected something completely different than I've got. The mixture of a present day story of a young girl and an ancient story of Pericles of Tyre mixed up with some Shakespeare, was not on my list. in general, I somehow like all of them (except of Shakespeare maybe), but the mixture was not my cup of tea. It was unclear till the very end, how do the stories connect what made it more difficult to enjoy. Maybe each of them separately would be a good idea, but together they were confusing and I couldn't enjoy them.
On the other hand the author's style is still remarkable and enjoyable, the ancient story interesting, so if you know what to expect, you could enjoy the book.

What an amazing book, it confuses and delights in equal measure. The author plays with your ideas of a story plot while urging you to solve the mystery of how the different parts of the story are connected.
You just have to keep reading!

The prose is absolutely beautiful in this meditation on the Pericles story, with its modern-day prologue woven through the text. The ending is absolutely heart breaking. #ThePorpoise #NetGalley

This was not an easy read. The central premise, of an abusive relationship between a father and his daughter, does not make for comfort. Not does that attitude of those surrounding them. The plot flitting around between classical times and the present day doesn't help, either. Having said that, I persisted. The writing is, as one would expect from Mark Haddon, challenging and rewarding. But not one I'd recommend.

This is a most unusual and multi-layered novel that uses the sinister and perverse relationship between a bereaved father and daughter as a frame into historical worlds and places. In many ways a novel where things don't quite come together until almost the very end, it also asks a lot of the reader since many of the themes, including incest, are challenging and depressing. The author's extensive research pays off since the historical sections are incredibly well-drawn. This will be a marmite novel which won't I imagine sit well with many people who will come to it on the basis of 'Curious Incident'.

When I started this book, it felt as if I was being dragged along (in a nice way) trying to keep up with the speed of the story and thought "wow, how on earth is it going to keep this up?". No worries there because, 20% of the way through, it was as if the story had run into a brick wall. Suddenly, it is the middle of the 5th Century BCE and I am wondering if, somehow, two books have been conflated. Alas no and the storyline kept moving between timelines for the rest of the book. Whilst the book kept me engaged to the last page, it did not quite cut it for me; hence a scant 3 stars.

A fascinating tale woven from modern life and Greek myths, this was a really interesting story covering all of humanity within its pages

In a world where books seem to leap onto the bandwagon of whatever trend is popular at the moment, Haddon is an author to cherish. From the ground-breaking Curious Incident, to the hilarious Spot of Bother then this lyric tale of a young girl trapped with an obsessive father as she imagines her hero in the tales of her books, everything he writes is different. The plot jumps about and can be difficult to follow in parts but this is a beautifully written novel to savour slowly. Not an easy, or pleasant read in parts, but well worth the effort.

The Porpoise explores the complexities of a young girl’s tormented mind through her love of literature. Having escaped not a plane crash which killed her mother, Marina is brought up by an over-protective father who, whilst indulging her every whim, cannot bear to allow her to be a part of a society outside of the suffocating world in which she is cocooned. With the realisation of her father’s transgressions, Marina seeks the sanctuary of escape.