Gone to the Forest by Katie Kitamura

Gone to the Forest

Katie Kitamura

The setting of the novel is a farm in an unknown country but you can substitute any one where civil unrest and atrocities abound. We meet Tom, the quiet, indecisive and browbeat son, his father - a tyrannical and vulgar individual and Carine, a manipulative and selfish woman who plays both men to get just what she wants. Don't let these characters put you off - the story is excellent, gruesome in parts but a real page-turner!

Extract
They enter the village. An army jeep has been overtutned in the middle of the road. It lies on its side like a dead animal. The glass has been shattered and the driver hangs limp from the half open door. He has been shot in the head and his mouth is wrenched open in protest and his palms are spread into the dust.
Around the jeep are dead soldiers - real Government soldiers this time. They are sprawled across the road like they have been flung there by way of explosion. Their torsos are slashed and entrails spill onto the dusty road, viscera sit in the dirt. The rebels have stripped the soldiers of their jackets and boots. Their feet are coated in a layer of fine dust. They have also taken all the guns.
Parallels
  • The Longshot by Katie Kitamura
  • Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones