Foe: A Novel
Foe: A Novel book cover

Foe: A Novel

Hardcover – September 4, 2018

Price
$38.53
Format
Hardcover
Pages
272
Publisher
Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1501127427
Dimensions
5.5 x 0.9 x 8.38 inches
Weight
12.8 ounces

Description

" Foe is a tale of implacably mounting peril that feels all the more terrifying for being told in such a quiet, elegantly stripped-down voice. Iain Reid knows how to do 'ominous'xa0as well as anyone I’ve ever read." –Scott Smith,xa0author of The Ruins and A Simple Plan “Reid is a master storyteller with a knack for absorbing prose. Most of the action takes place in the microcosm of the couple’s house, but Reid writes about the relationship so well that it becomes a universe full of questions and possibilities.” – Los Angeles Review of Books "Reid is remarkable for delivering hypnotic, twisty plots and taut prose in a short novel." – New York Journal of Books "Reid builds to a deeply unsettling climax. As much a surgical dissection of what makes a marriage as an expertly paced, sparsely detailed psychological thriller, this is one to read with the lights on." – Kirkus Reviews "Reid proves once again that he is a master of atmosphere and suspense. Readers won’t be able to put this one down." – Publishers Weekly “Reid is at it again, exploiting readers with plot twists, narrative unease, and explosive conclusions in his second novel... [he] has the rare ability to make readers both uncomfortable and engaged, and this drama will surely send them back to the beginning pages to track the clues he left to the surprise ending.” – Booklist (starred review) "An ingenious work of psychological horror, Foe will disturb and shock you with its eerie blend of existential dread and atmospheric thriller." – Book Riot “Such an ambitious work risks being muddied. Reid, however, brilliantly executes his vision… With Foe , Reid has written a page-turning novel that will entertain you and have you questioning the very foundation of your existence at the exact same time.” – BookPage "I couldn’t put it down. It infected my dreams. A creepy and brilliant book." –Zoe Whittall, Giller shortlisted author of The Best Kind of People "From the opening page, you’ll have an uneasy feeling as you settle in to Iain’s Reid’s brilliant new novel, Foe …. A masterful and breathtakingly unique read. I can’t stop thinking about it.” –Amy Stuart, author of the #1 bestseller Still Mine and Still Water "Spare, consuming, unforgettable. Foe is a dark arrow from a truly original mind. Page by eerie page, Iain Reid pulls the known world out from under you, and leaves you trapped inside a marriage’s most haunting question: can I be replaced? This is a book that seeps into your bloodstream––and crowns Iain Reid the king of deadpan, philosophical horror." –Claudia Dey, author of Heartbreaker "I’m not sure that humans have hackles, but something was creeping up my spine as I read this book, and I welcomed the shivers of shock and delight…. A mind-bending and genre-defying work of genius." –Liz Nugent, author of Unraveling Oliver and Lying in Wait Iain Reid is the author of four previous books, including his New York Times bestselling debut novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things , which has been translated into more than twenty languages. Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman wrote and directed the film adaptation for Netflix. His second novel, Foe , is being adapted for film, starring Saoirse Ronan, with Reid cowriting the screenplay. His latest novel is We Spread . Reid lives in Ontario, Canada. Follow him on Twitter @Reid_Iain.

Features & Highlights

  • A taut, psychological mind-bender from the bestselling author of
  • I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
  • We don’t get visitors. Not out here. We never have.
  • In Iain Reid’s second haunting, philosophical puzzle of a novel, set in the near-future, Junior and Henrietta live a comfortable, solitary life on their farm, far from the city lights, but in close quarters with each other. One day, a stranger from the city arrives with alarming news: Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm...very far away. The most unusual part? Arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won't have a chance to miss him, because she won't be left alone—not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company. Told in Reid’s sharp and evocative style,
  • Foe
  • examines the nature of domestic relationships, self-determination, and what it means to be (or not to be) a person. An eerily entrancing page-turner, it churns with unease and suspense from the first words to its shocking finale.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(473)
★★★★
25%
(395)
★★★
15%
(237)
★★
7%
(110)
23%
(363)

Most Helpful Reviews

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A little too long

I don't actually know how I feel about this book.

I really enjoyed his previous book, so I was very excited for Foe. Even made it my book club selection. And, although, the book is interesting and has some great moments... in the end, it just left me feeling a little empty.

The observations on relationships and consciousness were insightful, but kind of got lost in a book that is a few pages too long.
5 people found this helpful
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Rarely do I not finish a novel, but I couldn't finish this one.

I’ll never know what the writer was building up to in this story. Whatever it was it was, I lost patience and interest before ever getting hooked. The same dialogue over and over and over, leading nowhere. I couldn’t even finish the book. I tried skipping forward and that didn't even work, just more of the same. I finally threw in the towel after getting halfway through....and I’m glad that I’m done with it.
3 people found this helpful
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What an odd, unsettling read.

It’s been about a week since I finished “Foe” by Iain Reid and I’m still on the fence about whether or not I enjoyed it.

One evening in a desolate, isolated part of town, a pair of mysterious green headlights appear, forever changing one couple’s marriage and the way they view their lives and the other person. Junior, the husband, has been selected for a secret mission that will take place far, far away, leaving behind Hen, his wife, who won’t have a chance to miss him. Arrangements have already been made for Junior’s departure and his replacement. Hen won’t have opportunity to miss him since someone else will easily slide into the role of being her husband.

What an odd, unsettling book. I breezed through it, making my way through the pages quickly but not much happens until the last third of the book. In many respects, it was a slow burn. There was something about the characters and the plot that didn’t hook me. I’d read an interview with the author who explained he’d wanted to show the disintegration of marriage but not necessarily by an act, just the slow breakdown of two characters who no longer wanted to be together. While reading the novel, I could see that but like many other things in the book, it was subtle, almost too subtle. I think that drove me crazy. all the deliberate mystery and secrets. Another point of annoyance was the lack of quotation marks. There were instances where I couldn’t discern whether the narrator was speaking or if we were privy to his thoughts.

A lot of readers have compared this book to an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” I’ve never watched the program so I can’t agree/disagree but for readers that have, perhaps it’s a good barometer of the book’s style. This book was published by Simon & Schuster in August 2018.
3 people found this helpful
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A great take on an overworked theme

If you read sci-fi or fantasy, you'll twig, right away, to what is happening. He doesn't bring much new to the theme, but the writing is exceptional, and the characters are alive and pull you into the story. But that's not enough to give it five stars. this is a marvellous writer at the beginning of his career. I'll buy whatever he writes, because I think the signs are there that he'll just get better and better.
2 people found this helpful
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SPOILER

SPOILER Question: I understand the first big twist in the book, but can somebody please help me understand the second twist at the end...was Hen a replacement?
2 people found this helpful
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A simplified and sometimes shallow thought experiment

A million or so years ago when I was a fledgling writer on the fast track to becoming an unsuccessful writer, I wrote a story with this exact theme, so I suspect my perspective is a little tainted on this novel. For one, I knew exactly what was going to happen pretty much right out the gate, so there was no re-frame required at the end. Additionally, the subtext is thin, so thin that calling it 'philosophy' is an injustice to the word philosophy. (The jacket copy calls it a "taut, philosophical mind-bender").

The premise of Foe (2.75 stars) is really just a thought experiment that allows Iain Reid to comment on the primary characters' decaying marriage (and perhaps marriage in general). Junior has been selected to go on a long mission and rather than leave his wife Henrietta alone, he will be replaced by a double. Criticisms aside, the book is short and well written. There are moments I really liked, and I think some readers might really like this book and find it thought provoking. Also, I can't imagine many people actively disliking the book. If anything, the worst case scenario is a solid 'meh'. I enjoyed my short time with it, and found myself only moderately annoyed at what ultimately I found to be an oversimplification of an extremely complex subject with a handful of moments that just struck me as totally inauthentic and kind of 'cheap-shot' -ish.

Thanks so much Simon & Schuster and good reads for supplying me with an ARC. I enjoyed my experience with Foe even if my final assessment was medium cool.
2 people found this helpful
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Ingenious

*3-3.5 stars = good

Junior and Henrietta live in a remote, rustic farmhouse surrounded by Big-Ag owned canola fields. Late one evening a man in a self-driving government car shows up at their door. He says his name is Terrance and he works for OuterMore, a space exploration firm with one leg in the government. He tells Junior he is SO lucky--he has been picked, lottery-style, to go to space to help with 'the Installation,' the first phase in a planned space resettlement station.

Because Junior will be gone for years, they will be providing Henrietta with someone to keep her company, keep her safe. Soon Terrance has moved in with them and is interviewing Junior, taking measurements and affixing monitors. What is all this for?

Junior is becoming suspicious...the reader probably always was. But in a very neat plot twist, Iain Reid turns everything on its head.

This was a very quick read. To me, it seemed to be an ingenious short story idea that was stretched to novel length.

I received an arc of this new book from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest opinion. Many thanks.
2 people found this helpful
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Pay attention, or you'll miss it.

Dude. This book. I really feel like I need to get together with a group of other people who've read it and talk about it. The English major in me came out while reading this. My goal is to write a nice review without analyzing aspects of the text that I thought were AMAZING!

Junior and Henrietta "Hen" live in a rural farm town a good distance from the city in this near-future psychological story. A visitor arrives one evening at Junior and Hen's farm, something so rare it hadn't happened before. The visitor tells Junior he's been selected to go on a once-in-a-lifetime journey far from home. Not only that, arrangements have been made so that Hen won't have to be alone while Junior's gone - she'll have a very familiar visitor. 

Reid did an amazing job with this book. Even though I predicted part of the end, there were so many questions that I couldn't figure out how the ending I predicted could happen. Which was exciting! Then the ending? WOW! If you pay attention to the signs you might figure it out, too. Honestly, if you don't figure out the ending, then you are legit missing the BEST part of the story. 
2 people found this helpful
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Tremendous Story!

Think space travel versus dystopian versus dust bowl and you have this story. It’s inventive, tricky and fabulous to read. The punctuation is interesting.
1 people found this helpful
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An important thinker!

It’s a thinker man. I finished and I thought about it and I had to give it five stars. I was thinking four for quite a while, but those last 35 pages really sealed the deal.
Let’s be clear, normally I hate slow burns. But this was a slow burn and was just ratcheting up the suspense and the confusion and I dug it big time! And that ending. That ending did it for me in a big way. Authors can tend to sh*t the bed at the ending after a great book, this one was not that.
1 people found this helpful