I won’t say any more in terms of the novel’s plot, but this particular novel is very well worth reading. This is one of the books that I would recommend for open discussions within book clubs. When I read the past reviews from creditable publications such as Kirkus Reviews this book really peaked my interest, and I felt honored to write a review for this book. Harris’ style of writing isn’t just clever and witty but so vividly detailed and evocative that the setting, its descriptions of the scenes, not to mention the inclusion of two old maps of 19th Century Glasgow (which gave me a few clues to the setting of the story overall) easily hooked me to the story. With an open mind and patience, Gillespie and I would really pull you in to deep contemplation, particularly regarding to the “I” from the title.
The book reminded me a lot of two other books (written by English authors in fact) that I truly enjoyed reading: Ian McEwan’s Atonement and Kate Summerscale’s non-fiction The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House. I also read from the previous reviews that Harris’ debut novel The Observations also has a similar feel and tone to her second. Gillespie and I is actually the very first novel that I’ve read by Harris, and because I found this book enjoyable I look forward to reading The Observations in the near future. Just with Gillespie and I alone, the name of Jane Harris should be added alongside mystery greats such as Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Arthur Conan Doyle.
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