I don’t even know where to begin in Megan Hunter’s The Harpy.

What I might have said initially changed by the ending, but I can’t tell you the ending as it will wreck the rest of the book.

So I will say The Harpy is the first “adult” book I read in a long time that held my attention, which seems be lacking these days. I started and finished the book in an evening. I will agree with The Guardian book reviewer who said: “Hunter writes with delicacy and precision.” I will go a step further and say her writing was amazing, and her thought process pretty interesting. I loved how the book was written. At the end of each chapter, we get a look inside what the main character is thinking.

Actually, originally, I was going to say “Wow”. I am still going to say wow.

“Lucy and Jake live in a house by a field where the sun burns like a ball of fire.” Lucy set aside her career to raise their children in a house that gets her. The pair have been together since their early 20s and know everything about each other. Then one afternoon, Lucy receives a phone call from a man who informs her Jake has been having an affair with his wife.

The couple decide to stay together, with Jake suggesting to even the score, Lucy gets to hurt him three times.

“As the couple submit to a delicate game of crime and punishment, Lucy herself begins to change, surrendering to a transformation of mind and body from which there is no return.”

So the idea of hurting someone who hurt you doesn’t really sit well with me. I can’t imagine the hurt she inflicts offers the same type of betrayal that cheating does, but I guess I am not Jake, nor Lucy so maybe I can’t make that call.

I will be reading The Harpy again. Now that I know the ending, re-reading the rest will offer an interesting look.

The Harpy costs $38.95 is from PGC Books and Grove Press.

A copy of The Harpy is courtesy of PGC Books for an honest review.
The opinions are my own.