Non sono riuscita a finirlo. Non è un thriller ed è anche noioso. Peccato la copertina mi aveva attirata molto e anche il fatto che fosse nella categoria thriller.

Despite its repeated references to the novels of Patricia Highsmith, Agatha Christie and Georges Simenon I wouldn’t call CLAUSTROPHOBIA crime fiction and not just because I set myself a personal challenge to read outside my comfort zone a little more this year and am keen to allocate some reading to a column other than crime. Whatever you call it though CLAUSTROPHOBIA is a rather delicious novel.

It is the story of Pen (not Penny or Penelope) and Derrick Barber. A young couple living in Perth, Western Australia who both work at a private school for boys. Derrick is a teacher, Pen works in administration. Children have not happened for the couple and they have decided to renovate their house in response. Extra bedrooms will not be needed: better to remove them than leave a constant reminder of what might have been. But in the clean up Pen finds a letter that Derrick had written to an old lover which makes her re-think their entire relationship.

I know it’s against the rules but I chose this book because of its cover. I’ve been on a bit of a Mad Men binge lately and the cover reminded me of Betty, one of the key characters from the series. This book is set in modern Australia rather than 1960’s New York but even now that I’ve read it there are actually more similarities between the two women than this single image. They are both in need of something more than being defined by their husbands, though neither of them really understands this or is prepared for the consequences of breaking out.

In addition to living up to the promise of its cover, this novel also embodies its title. The first way it does this is with its limited cast of characters. There are really only three people who have any tangible impact on events and that gives the story its overall claustrophobic sensibility. It is a tight, cloying little world into which the reader is drawn. Relying on so few people can be a risky move but Ryan has made it work well; there is never any sense that something is missing.

Pen, from whose perspective the story unfolds, is living a pretty claustrophobic existence too. In the beginning she is almost entirely defined by her relationship with her husband whom she saw as a means to lift herself out of a life – an upbringing – she did not like. But when she embarks on her…adventure…she is almost immediately drawn into another relationship that soon develops a smothering sensibility. And after the final drama has taken place and Pen realises that she has tied herself inextricably to the whims of another human being I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her plight, even though I wasn’t overly fond of Pen and had gritted my teeth at some of her choices.

It is a book full of tension and the reader is never lulled with any sense that things will resolve in a certain way. We mistrust everyone, question their motives, their reliability, their veracity. It’s quite a ride. If I were giving points I’d allocate extra for the novel’s length: it is a rare delight to read a complete story told in under 300 pages these days. I recommend this one

Using a title like CLAUSTROPHOBIA obviously sets certain expectations for readers, which luckily, in this outing are uncomfortably well imagined. There's something incredibly claustrophobic about everything to do with this book. The enclosed, world that the two main characters Pen and her husband Derrick occupy. From their home life, working together at the same school, even when Pen finally breaks away to another job, albeit for reasons that Derrick doesn't know. It's not just circumstances though. Of course, with Pen as the main narrator of the book there is an inward focus, but even with that there's something locked down, controlled yet bubbling about everything that places the the reader in a claustrophobic, uncomfortable, almost voyeuristic position.

There's also something incredibly compelling about CLAUSTROPHOBIA. Not necessarily likeable, these characters are mesmerising. Right from the beginning when the book starts out in such a restrained manner, to the ending that came out of nowhere, in one hell of a rush, it's one of those stories that just gets in. That stays in your mind, becomes hard to put down while reading, and hard to forget afterwards. Partially it's the way that Pen steps out from the shadows of her husband, and over-bearing mother, and her motivation for doing that which gets in. Partially it's the unexpected path her steps lead her down. Mostly it's the idea that the reader is closely following a momentous occasion in the life of a woman who, with increasing confidence, for better or worse, takes control of her own life.

The geography of Perth plays into this feeling of movement, of separation - somewhere between Pen and Derrick's quiet, uneventful life in the Perth Hills and the brash city with its University Campus and night life, Pen changes. Not just her perception of her own life, but her sense of ability, of empowerment. And about then in the book you know that definitely somebody, somewhere is going to get hurt. Who that is, how it happens and who does what is a mystery right up until that out of nowhere ending. And at that point, as a reader you're likely to be just a little bit torn. Whether you liked Pen up until that point, whether you had any sympathy, or even found her compelling, suddenly there's a moral dilemma you're going to have to do a bit of thinking about. Which is exactly what a psychological thriller of this kind should do.

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You may think that I chose Claustrophobia by Tracy Ryan simply for the cover. It’s slightly retro, giving the idea of a Thelma and Louise type escape, yet the woman is still tightly wrapped up in her scarf. The cover is symbolic of what’s to come, as the protagonist tries to investigate suspected infidelity, and then falls in love. Whatever she does, she can’t escape the confines of her life and her actions.

The novel centres around Pen (don’t call her Penelope), who lives a quiet life with her husband in Perth’s Hills region. She works at the school in administration; he’s a teacher with ambitions. Children don’t seem to be on the agenda for the couple, so they’ve decided to renovate their house instead. While cleaning up, Pen finds a letter her husband wrote to his former lover, a lecturer at his university while he was a student. It was this relationship that landed him in hospital after a breakdown and led him to meet Pen, who was working in a lunch bar near the hospital. Pen doesn’t like the tone of the letter as it insinuates that she is Derrick’s second (and poorer) choice. She decides that she’s going to track down Kathleen, which is easy. She’s working at the university in central Perth, so Pen organises to attend one of her extension classes for the general public. Then she gets a job at the university library. Then she might be falling in love…

This novel starts off quietly, but ends with a roar. It’s a book that seeps into your skin and I simply couldn’t stop thinking about it. I initially thought it would be a tale of quiet domesticity laced with betrayal, but it’s so much more. It’s the blossoming of Pen as a person in her own right, from Derrick’s wife and henpecked daughter to a woman capable of forming a tangled web of lies. It’s about exploration of sexuality, gaining independence and how a marriage can be suffocating for one party and not the other. This is a cleverly plotted novel with a fantastic twist at the end that puts Claustrophobia up there with The Talented Mr Ripley (and a few shades of Carol [or The Price of Salt], also by Patricia Highsmith). I also love how the novel ties in the strange coincidences that tend to happen in Perth – even though the city is growing, no individual seems to be one or two degrees away from the other (it’s highly likely that you’ll open your social media account to find that two people from different parts of your social sphere know each other well). Pen knows that, and it makes her lying and plotting to keep Kathleen and Derrick separate all the more risky. When she goes ‘down south’ (to the south west region of Western Australia) with Kathleen, she’s petrified that she’ll see someone, that there will be some record of her being there. Pen’s desperation to remove all evidence might seem excessive, but there’s probably someone she knows in the same area!

I loved the descriptions of Perth and the Hills area as separate entities, because they are seen that way locally (I’m not going to go into the details, things could get heated!). As Pen comes down the hill to town, she shakes off the shackles that define her as wife. She’s an entirely different person by the time she’s driving by the river to the university (the descriptions are of the University of Western Australia, and yes, there are peacocks). Perth seems to offer both opportunity and freedom to Pen – wouldn’t you feel the same way, driving between the river and native bushland? It also appears to be her own territory, compared to the Hills, which belongs to Derrick. Derrick belongs firmly on the sidelines for most of the book – there’s a subplot of an incident at the school, which is handled with disbelief and shock, but is quickly swept under the carpet. It’s at the conclusion of the novel that he shows his true colours – will they be for or against Pen?

The finale will have you on the edge of your seat. It’s so different to the rest of the book –frenetic and full of feeling. At the end, you’ll be wondering what happens next for Pen and the secrets each individual hides in this town. Part love story and part psychological thriller, Claustrophobia is a book that shouldn’t be missed.

Thank you to Quikmark Media and Transit Lounge for the copy of this book.

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