Tangerine: A Novel

What most drew me to Mangan’s novel, amid all the buzz about its being the psychological thriller of the year as well as an exploration of its concerns worthy of Graham Greene or Patricia Highsmith or perhaps even Robert Stone, was the strong narrative voice and superb writing, reminiscent on both counts of such stellar instances of the genre as Louise Doughty’s “Apple Tree Yard”, Ellen Feldman’s “The Unwitting” and Vendela Vida’s “The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty.” And indeed the voice and writing are such that I’d nominate Mangan’s novel as a model to be aspired to in any creative writing course in the land. On other counts I’m less enthusiastic, though, mostly for how the novel to my mind diffuses itself in trying to be three things at once -- a character study of two young college women in which one is dominated by the other, an expat drama in which Tangier, with an ever-increasing sense of menace, is as much a character as the two women or a psychological thriller slowly working its way toward a revelatory finale where the levers required to pull it off may have some readers scratching their heads. To be fair, though, a certain amount of what critics of the genre would call gimmickry is perhaps endemic to the genre, even in so accomplished an instance of the genre as “Apple Tree Yard,” where the movie version, absent the novel's good writing, made manifest some of my issues with the novel -- most pointedly for me, what exactly it was about her lover that so attracted the main character in the first place and why other than just to create reader suspense the prosecutor in the climactic court scene would have stretched out so long asking if the main character was familiar with Apple Tree Yard. It certainly made for a strong prologue, enough so that the prologue was apparently what sold the novel, but in a real courtroom you have to wonder if the prosecutor wouldn’t simply have moved things along. That’s lot of detail about “Apple Tree Yard,” admittedly, and its movie version, in a review of “Tangerine,” but of the works I’ve cited, “Apple” seems to me perhaps closest in technique and intent to what Mangan had in mind -- as well as good company indeed for a debut novelist. And with word of a movie version of “Tangerine” being in the works, it will be interesting to see how well that novel transfers to the screen -- and how exactly its final revelation will be handled in that medium. At any rate, Mangan’s novel, with its superb writing, is well worth the time spent reading it, and it will be interesting to see what this writer comes up with next.

I have always been a fan of old movies. From Humphrey Bogart to Paul Newman, from Ingrid Bergman to Grace Kelly, I have watched more old movies than new ones. Among some of my most favourite movies, are old classics like Gaslight, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Rebecca, Rear Window and North By Northwest to name a few.When I first got my hands on Tangerine, it reminded me of my love for old movies, particularly Hitchcock movies. I was really looking forward to losing myself in that old black and white world with mysterious characters who are all potential psychopaths. Sadly, I was quite disappointed with what I read.The book starts off promisingly enough, with the narrative shifting between two women; one, who seems flaky and disturbed, and one, who seems obsessed and psychotic. Soon, however, it starts dragging and being repetitive. It became so boring that I was seriously thinking of not finishing it at all.Halfway through, I had a fair idea of what was going to happen, and there were no surprises in the narrative. Everything was quite predictable, especially for thriller buffs like me.Alice Shipley is a young woman, who has moved to Tangier with her new husband, John, and is finding the whole experience, being married and in a new country, very overwhelming. She seems to be very high-strung and nervous in crowds. Her condition has put a strain on her married life, and her husband seems to be drifting away from her.When Lucy Mason, whom Alice hasn't seen in more than a year, rings her bell, Alice is shocked and at a loss. After all, the two were best friends and roommates in college, but things happened that caused a rift between them. Lucy, however, is eager to get their old camaraderie back; and Alice is thankful to have a familiar face in the strange new world she has stepped into.As Lucy starts to insinuate herself back in her life, Alice starts having the same uncomfortable feeling she used to have back in college. John, on the other hand, is becoming more and more distant. When he disappears without a trace, Alice starts having doubts about the reality of everything around her. Suddenly, she is not sure about anything; Tangier, Lucy or her own sanity.The best thing about this book is the setting which is reminiscent of old suspense movies, and it would have worked if the book had been narrated by one of the women. Having multiple narrators is a double-edged sword, especially for thrillers, where you don't want to give too much away, while keeping things interesting enough. In this instance, reading both perspectives leaves nothing to the imagination, and I was able to guess pretty much the whole story quite early on.I gave this book three stars because the story itself is interesting, and Tangier appears like a living thing in front of your eyes. Too bad these were the only good things in the book for me.

You know those tedious stories where descriptions drag on and on for pages, where a simple walk into a house yard bring back memory flashbacks dozens of pages long, and getting from point A to point B passes through experiences or recollections C, D, E, F, G... all very colourful and intense in emotions? Yeah, this book has one of those. I think I would have been better off if I read the full reviews or summaries only, or waited for some movie adaptation.

Interesting description of Tangers and life of expats of the time. The book also explores the complcatef relationship of the main characters maintaining the suspense until the end

Prédictible

Tangier filled with dusty roads , foreigners exploring pre-independent Africa , you’ll be kept at the edge of the seat as the story un folds... good book .

I bought the book only because it is set in Morocco, specifically Tangiers.I couldn't believe the first cpouple of pages - how badly written they were, anyway I am persevering (I haven't finished it yet) but although the idea is not bad, with the alternating narratives, the writing continues to be so clichéed and I doubt whether the author spent more than 1 day in Tangiers. She only quotes really well known places in the city 8e.g. Café Hafa and Café Tingis) and in the 1950s there were definitely no B&Bs in Chefchaouen....If it's been written as sort of a pastiche 1950s women's romance, well OK, but as literary fiction in 2018? No!