The Radleys: A Novel Paperback – September 20, 2011

Matt Haig tells us right up front that "vampire" is "a provocative word, wrapped in too many clichés and girly novels." But for the very middle-class British Radleys, with their two children, the cliché is their life in hiding, a colorless droning buzz of hunger repressed and desires denied.Rowan Radley is an anemic teen with skin rashes, yearning for the courage to talk to his sister's friend Eva. Clara Radley's walls are covered with "Save the Whales" posters; she is a vegetarian whose only friend is the new girl at school, a beauty who she senses will probably not speak to her any more once she is fully accepted by the other students.Helen and Dr. Peter Radley are helpless to assist their children to fit in, any more than they can assimilate themselves. They are too busy hiding their nature, not only from the neighbors, but also from their children. They are Abstainers: vampires who refuse to drink blood.Despite years of residence in their quiet community, all four Radleys are simply existing day-to-day. Suffering, in a blunted, relentless way:"Everyone represses everything. Do you think any of these "normal" human beings really do exactly what they want to do all the time? 'Course not. It's just the same. We're middle-class and we're British. Repression is in our veins."In a single brutal event at an overnight party, Clara will open the gates for all of the Radleys to revert to their true nature. And the advent of Uncle Will, a long-practising blood-drinker with the power to cloud men's minds, will at first seem a blessing. He can help them divert the attention of the police:"It is another unsolved mystery in a world full of unsolved mysteries. Now stand up and walk out the way you came, and the moment that fresh air caresses your face, you will realize that that is what makes the world so beautiful. All those unsolved mysteries. And you won't ever want to interfere with that beauty again."As always, though, when long-held feelings are repressed, they eventually burst forth with explosive power. The secrets the Radleys have been hiding go far beyond blood-drinking. And when they are no longer suppressed, the results will change the Radleys and everyone involved with them irrevocably.It's an intense novel, about much more than the girly cliché of vampire romance. This story is about living the life you were born to live, rather than the one defined for you by society. It's worth the read."That is what the taste of blood does. It takes away the gap between thought and action. To think is to do. There is no unlived life inside you as the air speeds past your body, as you look down at the dreary villages and market towns..."

Just reread. The review is from the first visit but remains true.......An interesting take on a vampire tale. I never saw nor read the Twilight series .... and don't expect that to change. I stumbled upon this as a Midnight Library fan who also happened to want a book that began with R for a challenge.It's a relatively quick read. Vampirism can stand in for many other addictions (as someone w a history of binge eating, it seemed to be particularly familiar since it veered closer to a need (they could abstain, but going so far as veganism doesn't prove workable). Appreciated the various viewpoints of the family members as they figure out how to live with their truth. Didn't really need the few non-Radley protagonists (some other townsfolk take a turn, but most chapters are Radley-led, including an uncle who feels no need to abstain). Particularly interesting imagining in the picture of the relationship between the vampire world and law enforcement.Def be willing to read both sexual scenes and violent ones. Neither felt overdone to me ... worked w the context rather than for shock value or just "a sex/fight scene to have a sex/fight scene".I'm usually a character reader and I did appreciate these, but it's more plot driven...or maybe concept-driven is really a better description. Rare case where I'm really interested in seeing any film adaptation....often I dont want to lose my version of the characters (the Hermione effect?) but that's less of an issue when the idea is the truly unique part vs my usual character-driven favs4 stars.

So we've had "good" vampires (Twilight) and "bad" vampires (just about everyone else), and now we get vamps that are somewhere in between. The Radleys are a suburban British couple with a teenaged son and daughter. Peter is a physician and Helen is a housewife, with son Rowan and daughter Clara. The family is considered a bit odd, especially the two teens, who come in for some bullying by their classmates. All four have pale skin and tend to break out in a rash if exposed very long to the sun. Of course, the Radleys are vampires -- but only the adults know it. They've never told their kids why they have trouble sleeping and often just don't feel very well.A bloody incident changes all that. The kids learn the shocking truth, and Peter's bad-vamp brother, Will, arrives on the scene to clean up the mess. There's tension between him and Helen over an old secret they share and Peter isn't happy about having him there, either, but they need his help. And while most people don't know vampires exist, a special arm of the police force knows it very well, and tries to keep the bloodsuckers under control. Once the cops start nosing around, things go downhill fast.All of this makes for an interesting stew -- or perhaps blood pudding would be a more apt term. It takes normal village life and turns it on its head. Interspersed between chapters are tips from "The Abstainer's Handbook," a guide for vampires who choose not to drink blood.I found this novel enjoyable if not compelling. The pace seemed to drag at times. Still, it's a different way of looking at the vampire legend, which is saying something in this overcrowded field.

I know they made a movie of this and was going to watch it. I didn't know it was based on this book so read it instead. I really liked it. Read The Midnight Library a while ago, and the author can spin a yarn. Great characterization, solid plot and easy to get into.