Review: Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent

Unravelling Oliver  by Liz Nugent

Published March 6th 2014

“I expected more of a reaction the first time I hit her.”

So begins Liz Nugent’s astonishing debut novel—a chilling, elegantly crafted, and psychologically astute exploration of the nature of evil.

Oliver Ryan, handsome, charismatic, and successful, has long been married to his devoted wife, Alice. Together they write and illustrate award-winning children’s books; their life together one of enviable privilege and ease—until, one evening after a delightful dinner, Oliver delivers a blow to Alice that renders her unconscious, and subsequently beats her into a coma.

In the aftermath of such an unthinkable event, as Alice hovers between life and death, the couple’s friends, neighbors, and acquaintances try to understand what could have driven Oliver to commit such a horrific act. As his story unfolds, layers are peeled away to reveal a life of shame, envy, deception, and masterful manipulation.

An unsolicited copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher

This book wasn’t for me and in my opinion, it was a complete mess. From a horribly sexist main character with no redeemable characteristics to random racist characters that are completely pointless to the story to an overall messy writing style, this book was truly terrible. I always strive for positivity in my reviews even if I personally didn’t like it but I can’t think of one good thing about this book.
I know the main character was written to be unlikable but I was left infuriated by every character in this book and I actually threw the book away from me at some points because it made me so angry.
This book was a waste of my time and I wish I had just put the book aside after the first few chapters and not finished it.