The house in One Folgate Street is controlled by technology and if you want to live in it, you have to give up everything you don’t think is essential, including books (I so couldn’t live in there), photographs, and half of your clothes because the wardrobe is very small. The lights, the temperature of the water, what you eat and what you can search online are all controlled by an electronic system and if you don’t submit to the monthly assessment, the system shuts down and you can’t even take a shower. Who would live in a place like this? Emma first, and Jane a few years later, after both experiencing a traumatic experience, move into this minimalistic house. It’s not only the house that takes control of their lives. They both fall in love with the architect who built the house and find themselves in his power unable to contradict him. And Jane is not even scared when she finds out that Emma died in mysterious circumstances inside the house. Nothing is what it seems in this novel. The author (aka Tony Strong) perfectly draws complex and unpredictable characters. You think you know what is going on and in surprising twists you find out you were completely mistaken. Dark, provocative and completely captivating, it is a story of obsession and power, but also of loss and love, one of those stories you are still thinking about long after you finished reading them. A movie directed by Ron Howard is in the works. (NP)
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