Dimensions
129 x 198 x 19mm
The Monroes' house has been abandoned for as long as Haddie can remember. Before she was born, her sister's dead body was found on the flagstone path and no one is sure how she fell. Like the House of Atreus, this tragic event will have repercussions which effect all the characters in this strange story and, as Haddie attempts to figure out the clues to the mystery of her sister's death, 'The Great Ideas' takes the form of an epistemological search. Haddie trawls the encyclopedia looking for clues, reads Plato, Aristotle, Boethius. Woven into her quest is an abundance of serendipitous details that come at you one after the other: after fortune telling, floating paper boats, what it feels like to forget; how to yawn with your mouth closed, flirt, levitate and charm a snake. Slowly, as it arcs towards its tragic climax, its mixture of curiosity and knowledge will delight anyone with an enquiring mind.
Shortlisted for the Whitbread Book Of the Year 1999 Award for First Novel
