The Wish House

By: Celia Rees

Narrated by: Christopher Cazenove

It's the start of summer vacation, and 15-year-old Richard has discovered that a family has taken up residence in the usually deserted Wish House. Richard is intrigued by both the house and the bohemian family now living there. The father, Jethro Dalton, is an internationally renowned painter; his seemingly licentious wife is fascinated by herbs and cures.

But it's their beautiful and vibrant daughter, Clio, the muse for Jethro's paintings, who draws Richard utterly into the Daltons' world. Soon Richard finds himself so captivated by Clio that he steals off to the woods to spend days and nights with her, meanwhile struggling to understand and fit in with her eccentric clan. How could he know that some mysteries are best left alone, and that some betrayals can never be forgiven?

©2006 Celia Rees (P)2006 Random House Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"This sinister and intense novel will surely appeal to teens eager to follow the twists and turns of a tangled, yet affecting tale." (School Library Journal)
"Rees is a master at evoking both a sense of place and atmosphere, techniques she uses to effectively imply situations and emotions, rather than explicitly state them. This beautifully written novel will disturb many...with its implication of incest, strangely blended and overlapping families, and voyeurism. As such, it will challenge your most adventurous teen[s] and twentysomething[s]." (Booklist)

zzz....

A good bed time story. It is dull enough to put you to sleep.

Interesting

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I usually don't like to contradict, but I found this one to be highly interesting. The way the author weaves in little snippets of the present with the past and the very visual way she describes the artwork that's peppered in makes this book a unique read (listen). I do agree that parts of it are kinda slow but they all tie up in the end.

didn't get very far.

Would you try another book from Celia Rees and/or Christopher Cazenove?

I have listened to a lot of books by Celia rees, yes, I would typically recommend her. I didn't get very far so can't say anything about Cazenove.

Any additional comments?

As I said I have read many books by Rees I think I only have two or three left to hear but I just couldn't get jnto this one. I listened for about 20 mins then zoned out. .t device said I am at 1h 25m but I could jot tell you why happened. It was unengageing and that's all I. An say because I don't remember enough to say it was boring or well written or what. I was dissapointed.