The End of Mr Y is wonderfully different and hugely enjoyable, but it does take a little bit of getting into. To be honest, I almost gave up on this about half way through, but I am very glad I didn’t. I do tend to be an impatient reader and I often feel like screaming at the author, ‘Get on with it!’ So, perhaps the problem is with me as the reader and not with the book.
Ariel Manto is a student who finds an old copy of a book called ‘The End of Mr Y’ in a second-hand bookshop. She is aware that this is a very rare find and she knows about its author and his history and reputation.
Thomas Lumas was renowned in Victorian times as an eccentric scientist and there are only very few copies of this book in existence. It is said to harbour a curse and legend has it that everyone who has ever read the book has died because of the curse placed on it.
Ariel goes into a magical world after she tests out a mind changing potion, but to give away anymore detail about this would be to spoil the story for the prospective reader.
This is a thrilling adventure story involving romance, death and time travel. The author interweaves several different threads around her plot and keeps the tension going.
I actually thought that I had worked out the ending at the half way mark (when I almost stopped reading), but I hadn’t. There were several more twists to come.
The cover of a book is not usually high on my list when choosing reading material but I have to confess to picking this up because of its intriguing cover design. It’s red, moving through the spectrum to orange and yellow at the centre of the front cover, with black lettering. The pages are edged with black which gives the whole book a mysterious look and feel.
If you intend to read this one be ready for some surprises just when you think you’ve worked it out.