Still Life

Joy Fielding has crafted a suspenseful novel in Still Life. I loved how the protagonist, even though mute, motionless and to all outwardly appearance manages to carry this story forward. The interplay between all the characters gives us the feeling of being the proverbial “fly on the wall”. The conversations and behaviors observed by Casey when others think she is essentially a “still life” carving of her, are telling. Casey’s friends and family are not what she has always believed them to be and during her extended coma, she comes to understand who her real friends are, and whom she can’t really trust.

The story is handled flawlessly. At first I thought the book would become dull, how long can a character remain comatose and show more still be an important part of a book, I wondered. I was quickly proven wrong, the book is a real page-turner and I found myself picking it up whenever I had even a few extra minutes to read. Pick up Still Life! If you enjoy a good suspense novel, you’ll love this one! show less

This quick suspense read has a good premise: Casey Marshall, a 32-year old successful, happily married woman is injured in a hit and run goes into a coma. (No, that's not the good premise! That comes next!) She can’t see, she can’t move, she can’t talk, and yet she can hear. No one knows this however. And soon, from the conversations by her bedside, she discovers her injury was no accident, and her loved ones not who she thought they were.

This book was quite entertaining. Frankly, I was surprised it wasn’t more “pulpy.” In spite of Casey's dire circumstances, she retains a droll sense of humor about her situation. I also liked Casey’s attempts to match voices she hears of people she doesn't know (like doctors and nurses) show more with their appearances as she imagines them. And you even get to hear some of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, since one of Casey’s friends reads from it to her on hospital visits. You suspect what might happen, and yet there are still some surprises at the end after a suspenseful build-up.

Evaluation: Just right for an airport, a readathon, or a beach book. show less

When Casey is run down in a parkade, the driver of the car speeds away. Casey later “wakes up” in a hospital, but in a coma. She can hear what’s going on around her, but she can’t move, see, speak, or communicate in any way. Casey remains in this state for months and people visit and talk around her, where she is privy to things she may or may not want to hear, including about her accident, which of course, was not an accident.

I really liked this. How awful to be stuck in that state, but it made for intriguing reading (in all likelihood, in real life a state like this is more likely to be very very boring, I would think).

Still Life by Joy Fielding

Imagine being hit by a car, almost every bone in your body broken, bleeding in the brain, you are in a coma. Now imagine that you awake but nobody knows it. You are trapped inside your own body, you can’t see, move, feel or even catch a scent; but you can hear. Oh yes you can hear everything said around you. Imagine not knowing if what you are hearing is real or your dreams. You hear the Dr’s making their rounds, you hear your friends, your loved ones, the police, your enemies and your husband or wife talking about you as if you weren’t there. You are aware of it all and there is not a single thing you can do about it. Chilling, horrifying, terrifying. Now imagine that one of these people had deliberately show more done this to you.

This is exactly what happens to Casey Marshall, a happily married, wealthy, successful business woman. One day as she is leaving lunch she had just shared with her friends she is run over while walking to her car. While In a coma she finds out that not all is as it seems. Locked inside her own brain she begins to have doubts about everyone around her and she even has doubts about her own sanity.

As Casey starts getting better, she realizes that her days are numbered. The would-be killer also knows that she is slowly recovering and the killer’s time is swiftly running out.

Ms Fielding writes this so vividly and expertly that I have to wonder how she did her research. Through Ms Fielding’s expert writing and vivid descriptions, I physically felt Casey’s panic at being transferred out of the safety of the hospital and into the hands of the assassin. The author’s ability to keep the tension going right through to the exciting conclusion was brilliant.

Thank you Ms Fielding. I’ve never read anything by you until Still Life, but believe me when I say I’ll be stocking up on some of your other books now!
If you know anything about the late Martha “Sunny” von Bulow, this will be right up your alley; and fans of the classic movie Gaslight will enjoy this too. show less

Interesting premise - coma patient fully aware of what's happening but unable to make contact, finds out that the hit-and-run that put her in the hospital wasn't an accident. Casey's a bit too good to be true and the story drags at spots, but still a good read.

Casey Marshall survives a hit and run accident, but she is in a coma... or so the doctors think. In reality, Casey can't see, move or speak, but she can hear everything that goes on around her. What Casey hears is enough to put anyone in shock.

Interesting premise that could have been quite suspenseful, but the author reveals the bad guy way too soon, ruining the best thing this novel had going. Because Casey was bereft of her senses for so long, the author was handicapped in the point of view available since this story is told mainly from Casey's perspective, which leads to a lack of detail in the story. At first, I was going to rate this novel 4 stars, but decided that the revelation of the evil character at the early point and the show more lack of interesting details would have meant that I was over-rating this novel... so three stars it is.

Yes, I'll recommend Still Life to those who don't watch too much television... and maybe to the author's rabid fans... but those looking for something REALLY interesting to read need to look elsewhere. Still Life is a pleasant time-waster, but not much more than that.

This review has been simultaneously published on Dragon Views and Library Thing. show less

Joy Fielding is quite a story teller! Casey Marshall has a life that would be envied by nearly anyone. She is young, healthy, beautiful, successful, wealthy and happily married. After a lunch with her two best friends, while walking to her Lexus, she is struck and nearly killed by a speeding SUV.

So much for the perfect life. Fielding brings the horror of being trapped helpless in your own body a new twist. While lying in a hospital bed, Casey can hear all that is said around her, and has no way to communicate to anyone that she is able to do so.

Her younger, and very troubled sister Drew visits, as do her two friends. Janine and Gail. They continue their visits throughout the months that Casey lies unable to connect with them in any show more way. Her husband Warren makes the decision that Casey would be happier if she were to be taken to her own home, and cared for by professionals he hires.

This really is a wonderful, yet horrifying and suspenseful read. It is a book that you will not want to put down, and I didn't. I have never read anything by this author before, but I absolutely will. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good suspenseful story with a lot of believable twists and turns. show less