Name: Idle Hands
ISBN: 9781913099640

Cassondra Windwalker

Idle Hands

Narah Quinn

I am honestly not 100% sure what I expected of this when I started reading it, but I am pretty sure that it was not this. 

After escaping her abusive husband , Perdie and her 3 kids finally settle, and while things are not easy, they end up being good for the most part. 
But when tragedy strikes, Perdie is convinced that her decision to leave is the reason that things have happened as they have and that if she had only stayed then things would have been better. 
As the reader - we know that is not the case. We see the damage done, we see the emotional trauma and how despite some sadness in the other 'version' the kids were happy. Perdie was happy. 

I did not expect to relate most closely to 'Ella' in this. The view of people, the spiritual, the physical, and the nature of the world we live in is so very on point its scary and the one thing - more than anything else - that struck me given the current worldwide coronavirus pandemic, was the following: 

"Certainly you'd rather die of the plague and take everyone you can with you before going without your requisite morning latte or those sun-dried tomatoes at your favourite market."

A quick read - scarily insightful - and definitely recommended.

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[domestic violence (hide spoiler)]

This book is sensational. Haunting, unique and a little weird.

Idle Hands is told from the perspective of Ella, someone that you might as the Adversary or the Devil. The story is a commentary of sorts, on 'good' and 'evil' and the paths someone chooses in life. 

Perdie has three children and a victim of domestic abuse. She must make a choice of where her life will lead. 

With an all-seeing narrator, the concept of choosing a "path" in life isn't a new one. But the way this story is woven in thought-provoking and deliciously complex and consuming despite it's small size. For anyone who has read and loved Propser's Demon - this is the next book for you to pick up. 

A novella that will stick with you for a long, long time.


  Note: Review copy received via NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.


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Happy reading! ❤