The Vet’s Daughter
Summary
Description:
The Vet’s Daughter is a dark, surreal novel about Alice Rowlands, a young woman growing up in a troubled London household dominated by her cruel father, a veterinary surgeon, and her fragile, dying mother. Isolated and emotionally neglected, Alice struggles to escape her father’s oppressive control while witnessing the suffering that surrounds her. After her mother’s death, her circumstances become increasingly desperate, and the novel gradually moves from grim domestic realism into the grotesque and supernatural. Alice discovers an extraordinary ability that transforms her from a powerless victim into someone capable of astonishing feats, though this new power brings its own unsettling consequences. Through strange imagery, black humour, and fairy-tale-like elements, Comyns explores abuse, repression, female vulnerability, and the longing for liberation. The novel’s unsettling atmosphere highlights how an ordinary world can become deeply disturbing when viewed through the eyes of someone denied love, safety, and independence.
Reviews
Login to leave a review.
No reviews yet. Be the first!
You might also like
- Published
- 1959
- Author
- Barbara Comyns