Havoc: a blistering tragicomedy from the author of I'm Sorry You Feel That Way
Autor Rebecca Waiten Limba Engleză Hardback – 3 iul 2025
'DELIRIOUS AND REWARDING' Guardian
'UNMISSABLE' Woman's Weekly
Fleeing Scotland in the wake of family disgrace, 16-year-old Ida Campbell secures a scholarship at a failing girls' boarding school on a remote part of the south English coast. Despite the eccentricities of her new Headmistress, who warns her of the dangers of the Cold War and the ever-present threat of the bomb, St Anne's seems like a refuge to Ida. But all this is about to change. For a start, her new room-mate is the infamous Louise Adler, potential arsonist and hardened outcast.
Meanwhile, the geography teacher Eleanor Alston, in her late thirties, a disastrous love affair in her wake, faces the new term with weary resignation. But the fragile ecosystem of the school is disrupted by the arrival of a new teacher, Matthew Langfield. Eleanor has an uneasy feeling he is not who he says he is.
And things only get worse when a mysterious sickness starts to spread throughout the school, causing strange limb jerks and seizures among the pupils. What is happening to the girls of St Anne's? Could there be a poisoner among them? Is Ida's scholarship really an escape, or is it instead a new nightmare?
READERS ARE LOVING HAVOC:
'Superb. Brilliantly funny, at times extremely poignant' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Another beautifully written book by Rebecca' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Utterly glorious, moving, enthralling and witty. I am so cross I have finished it' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I absolutely loved the humour in this book. Bonus points for the Cold War references' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Entertaining and humorous' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
| Toate formatele și edițiile | Preț | Express |
|---|---|---|
| Paperback (2) | 82.20 lei 3-5 săpt. | +51.12 lei 4-10 zile |
| Quercus Books – 3 iul 2025 | 82.20 lei 3-5 săpt. | +51.12 lei 4-10 zile |
| Quercus Books – 4 sep 2026 | 57.70 lei Precomandă | |
| Hardback (1) | 89.37 lei 3-5 săpt. | +58.05 lei 4-10 zile |
| Quercus Books – 3 iul 2025 | 89.37 lei 3-5 săpt. | +58.05 lei 4-10 zile |
Preț: 89.37 lei
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781529434453
ISBN-10: 1529434459
Pagini: 400
Dimensiuni: 162 x 234 x 36 mm
Greutate: 0.62 kg
Editura: Quercus Books
Colecția riverrun
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
ISBN-10: 1529434459
Pagini: 400
Dimensiuni: 162 x 234 x 36 mm
Greutate: 0.62 kg
Editura: Quercus Books
Colecția riverrun
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
Recenzii
Tragedy and comedy fuse together perfectly in a labyrinthine mystery of emotional and psychological complexity.
Havoc is a rich, wry delight of a read - as funny as it is thought-provoking, as evocative as it is page-turning. Rebecca Wait is a phenomenal storyteller. I can't wait to see what she writes next
SCREAMING, CRYING, THROWING UP! Havoc is a fever worth catching, a gloomy and gorgeous pleasure
Eerie and utterly absorbing . . . [Havoc] is a tragicomic triumph about adolescence, identity and how quickly order can unravel
A delight to return to [Rebecca's] witty, emotional, insightful writing
One of my favourite reads of the year!
Funny
Rebecca Wait has a glorious turn of phrase and a dazzling ability to go on peculiar tangents that never detract, but only ever add to a character's experience . . . Wait's writing is dry and droll, her characters twisty, thoughtful and highly specific, and Havoc is a total blast of a read, perfectly pinpointing where tragedy and wryness meet
A biting and savagely funny novel . . . Think dark academia meets The League of Gentlemen
Its boarding-school setting may well be decrepit, but the writing in Havoc is anything but. Sharp and compelling, Wait has - once again - created the most curious of characters, who made me both laugh and gasp aloud. In many ways extraordinary, I loved it
A master of zippy one-liners
A wonderfully droll English tragicomedy, with darkness and bite
Rebecca Wait has a glorious turn of phrase and a dazzling ability to go on peculiar tangents that never detract, but only ever add to a character's experience.
Gleefully macabre . . . Wait mines the rich seam of girls' school fiction to delirious and rewarding effect. There are welcome echoes of St Trinian's [and] abundant Ealing comedy in the madcap chases through school corridors and machinations in the lighting gallery during the school play. Yet beneath the comedy lies a distinctly unsettling undertone: the girls experience a convincingly visceral terror that edges towards Shirley Jackson territory and gives their hysteria an extra dimension. This, along with a genuine unexpectedness in the characterisation and a lot of very funny dialogue, loosens things up and brings real originality to the game. Combined with excellent pacing, a plot so deliciously thick you could stand a spoon up in it, and the boldness required to splice a darker thread into the narrative, it all adds up to a thoroughly satisfying contribution to a happily capacious genre.
[Rebecca Wait] perfectly balances dark humour with a sense of encroaching threat. Her keen ear for dialogue and astute social observations make for a highly enjoyable and multi-layered novel
Unmissable . . . [Wait] combines a propulsive plot with unforgettable characters and laugh-out-loud funny dialogue
Wry, compelling, and far funnier than a book about a mysterious contagion has any right to be, Havoc is an ode to the beautiful and complicated shambles of girlhood and the tender uncertainty of adulthood. With clear-eyed control and a keen wit, Rebecca Wait has created an unforgettable cast of characters so richly drawn you'd swear you went to school with them yourself. At once a mystery, a comedy, and a coming-of-age tale, Havoc defies easy categorisation beyond what it is at its heart: a deft and thoughtful page-turner that will satisfy anyone who appreciates a good story.
Rebecca Wait excels at tragicomedy . . . [Havoc] is St Trinian's on steroids.
Havoc is a rich, wry delight of a read - as funny as it is thought-provoking, as evocative as it is page-turning. Rebecca Wait is a phenomenal storyteller. I can't wait to see what she writes next
SCREAMING, CRYING, THROWING UP! Havoc is a fever worth catching, a gloomy and gorgeous pleasure
Eerie and utterly absorbing . . . [Havoc] is a tragicomic triumph about adolescence, identity and how quickly order can unravel
A delight to return to [Rebecca's] witty, emotional, insightful writing
One of my favourite reads of the year!
Funny
Rebecca Wait has a glorious turn of phrase and a dazzling ability to go on peculiar tangents that never detract, but only ever add to a character's experience . . . Wait's writing is dry and droll, her characters twisty, thoughtful and highly specific, and Havoc is a total blast of a read, perfectly pinpointing where tragedy and wryness meet
A biting and savagely funny novel . . . Think dark academia meets The League of Gentlemen
Its boarding-school setting may well be decrepit, but the writing in Havoc is anything but. Sharp and compelling, Wait has - once again - created the most curious of characters, who made me both laugh and gasp aloud. In many ways extraordinary, I loved it
A master of zippy one-liners
A wonderfully droll English tragicomedy, with darkness and bite
Rebecca Wait has a glorious turn of phrase and a dazzling ability to go on peculiar tangents that never detract, but only ever add to a character's experience.
Gleefully macabre . . . Wait mines the rich seam of girls' school fiction to delirious and rewarding effect. There are welcome echoes of St Trinian's [and] abundant Ealing comedy in the madcap chases through school corridors and machinations in the lighting gallery during the school play. Yet beneath the comedy lies a distinctly unsettling undertone: the girls experience a convincingly visceral terror that edges towards Shirley Jackson territory and gives their hysteria an extra dimension. This, along with a genuine unexpectedness in the characterisation and a lot of very funny dialogue, loosens things up and brings real originality to the game. Combined with excellent pacing, a plot so deliciously thick you could stand a spoon up in it, and the boldness required to splice a darker thread into the narrative, it all adds up to a thoroughly satisfying contribution to a happily capacious genre.
[Rebecca Wait] perfectly balances dark humour with a sense of encroaching threat. Her keen ear for dialogue and astute social observations make for a highly enjoyable and multi-layered novel
Unmissable . . . [Wait] combines a propulsive plot with unforgettable characters and laugh-out-loud funny dialogue
Wry, compelling, and far funnier than a book about a mysterious contagion has any right to be, Havoc is an ode to the beautiful and complicated shambles of girlhood and the tender uncertainty of adulthood. With clear-eyed control and a keen wit, Rebecca Wait has created an unforgettable cast of characters so richly drawn you'd swear you went to school with them yourself. At once a mystery, a comedy, and a coming-of-age tale, Havoc defies easy categorisation beyond what it is at its heart: a deft and thoughtful page-turner that will satisfy anyone who appreciates a good story.
Rebecca Wait excels at tragicomedy . . . [Havoc] is St Trinian's on steroids.