Published 21st January 2021 by Viking Books/Penguin Paperback.
From the cover of the book:
Three brothers. One in a coffin. Which brother put him there? And why?
Three brothers are at the funeral. One lies in the coffin.Will, Brian and Luke grow up competing for their mother's unequal love. As men, the competition continues - for status, money, fame, women...
They each betray each other, over and over, until one of them is dead.
But which brother killed him?
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I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this many layered novel, which is ostensibly a psychological thriller, but with a great big dollop of domestic drama mixed in.
Welcome to the world of the Drumm brothers, for ever caught up in a cycle of one-upmanship that, over the years, has far reaching consequences for them and the other family members caught in their crossfire.
At the very start of the novel, we know that one of the Drumm brothers lies in his coffin, apparently the victim of some misadventure at the hands of one of his siblings. But whose funeral is it, and what happened to cause his death? I was hooked!
From the captivating beginning, Liz Nugent lays out this twisting story of sibling rivalry in the form of separate narratives from each of the brothers that jump backwards and forwards in time, relating episodes of their family history from their different perspectives. We start with William the eldest brother, who lays the foundations for the events we come to understand through the eyes of each of them. His narrative is followed by the point of view of the youngest, most troubled brother Luke, and then finally by that of the middle brother Brian. The denouement then comes as a quick-fire round, back and forth between the three brothers in the very recent past, leading up to the deed that is the undoing of one of the trio.
The whole thing is so beautifully choreographed. From the beginning, with William's side of the story, we think we know about what has gone on in this dysfunctional family to bring about the alienation between the brothers. But of course, we don't, because there is always more than one side to a story. With Luke's account, we begin to see that things are in fact more much complex and nuanced that we thought from William's way of looking at things, and the situation becomes increasingly more tangled when Brian's voice is added to the mix. Our understanding of the difficult and disturbing relationships in the Drumm family builds gradually, with each separative narrative adding another layer, filling in the gaps as we go along. I particularly enjoyed that we do not always see each and every episode directly through the accounts of the three, and sometimes we have to infer the truth of an event obliquely, which was a great storytelling device.
For a novel in which the three main players come to be so very unlikeable, with their antagonistic narratives full of jealousy and spite, it keeps you engrossed from start to finish. It has to be said, that none of the brothers come out of this tale well, and your allegiance swaps back and forth between them constantly as the book progresses, which keeps it all very interesting. It is impossible to tell until the very moment it happens who the victim of misdirected brotherly attention actually is, which I loved.
This tale throws up so much for you to pick over. The themes of difficult family relationships, unresolved trauma and mental health issues are ones which touch all our lives in some way and I think there is something that those of us with siblings can all relate to here in some small part, though I hope not in the same way as the Drumm brothers!
A cosy family tale this is not, but my word, it is compelling, and I thoroughly enjoyed every delicious morsel!
Our Little Cruelties is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer.
Thank you to Ellie Hudson at Viking/Penguin for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
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