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Web of Angels
Just as Jodi Picoult tackles controversial contemporary issues in her compelling domestic dramas, in Web of Angels bestselling novelist Lilian Nattel explores the vivid reality of what used to be called multiple personality disorder. A Vintage Canada trade paperback original.
On the surface of things, Sharon Lewis is a lot like any other happily married mother of 3: she is the beating heart of a house full of kids, cooking and chaos, the one who always knows the after-school practice schedule, where her husband put the car keys and who needs a little extra TLC. Her kids and husband think she's a little spooky, actually, the way she can anticipate the tensions of any situation--and maybe they love her all the more for the extra care she gives them.
Life is definitely good until the morning Heather Edwards, a pregnant teenaged friend of the family, kills herself. The reverberations of that act, and the ugly secrets that sparked it, prove deeply unsettling to the whole family, and stir up Sharon's own troubling secret: she has DID, or dissociative identity disorder. And the multiples inside the woman the world knows as Sharon seem to know what happened to Heather, and what may be happening to Heather's surviving sister. Will Sharon's need to protect the innocent cause her to finally come clean about her true nature with her family and friends, and not just in the anonymous chat rooms on the web where she's connected to others like herself? Will a woman with DID be able to persuade her quiet and respectable community that evil things can happen even in the nicest homes?
On the surface of things, Sharon Lewis is a lot like any other happily married mother of 3: she is the beating heart of a house full of kids, cooking and chaos, the one who always knows the after-school practice schedule, where her husband put the car keys and who needs a little extra TLC. Her kids and husband think she's a little spooky, actually, the way she can anticipate the tensions of any situation--and maybe they love her all the more for the extra care she gives them.
Life is definitely good until the morning Heather Edwards, a pregnant teenaged friend of the family, kills herself. The reverberations of that act, and the ugly secrets that sparked it, prove deeply unsettling to the whole family, and stir up Sharon's own troubling secret: she has DID, or dissociative identity disorder. And the multiples inside the woman the world knows as Sharon seem to know what happened to Heather, and what may be happening to Heather's surviving sister. Will Sharon's need to protect the innocent cause her to finally come clean about her true nature with her family and friends, and not just in the anonymous chat rooms on the web where she's connected to others like herself? Will a woman with DID be able to persuade her quiet and respectable community that evil things can happen even in the nicest homes?
368 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2012
12 people are currently reading
1405 people want to read
About the author
Lilian Nattel
7 books133 followersLilian Nattel's 5th novel is Only Sisters, the story of a good woman whose life unravels with a single lie: posing as her rebel sister on social media to give her elderly mother peace of mind. Lilian's other novels are: Girl at the Edge of Sky, about a WW2 female fighter pilot; Web of Angels, which deals with D.I.D., The River Midnight, about life in a shtetl with angels in the 19th century; and The Singing Fire, where ghosts and immigrant mothers mingle. Lilian was born in Montreal and decided to be a writer at the age of 10 when she realized that not all writers were dead. Later, she lived in a Toronto garret and temporarily became an accountant to pay for the accommodation. Ever since the publication of The River Midnight, which was published in 8 languages, she's written full time.
For more about Lilian, visit her website .
For more about Lilian, visit her website .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
July 20, 2012
This is a book that you have to concentrate on right from the start because the number of characters that you get introduced to can get a little confusing. But thats the beauty of the story. I can only assume that it can be difficult and confusing for people living with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) as is portrayed in this stunning novel. And strange how cycles of truth swirl around a person, I have also read "Secret Selves" by Jamie Johnson in the last year, which also deals with the issue of DID in Johnsons youngest son.
This novel is not for the faint of heart or those who would prefer to think of the world in terms of ice-cream, lollypops and happy ever afters. It tackles the painful,sickening world of child sexual abuse. There were points when the story was too painful and I found myself staring at my hand as if it were the most interesting thing in the world because my mind just wasnt ready to keep going with the story.I did, because the story is compelling, respectful and so beautifully written by Lilian Nattel. I know the story she tells is sadly real in our society and I wanted to know how Nattel brought it together at the end.
More than literary fiction; also part thriller, part educational in regards to how multiples think of themselves.
As Nattel says in her acknowledgments; the perps lost, you see, for the cycle is broken and none of us is alone anymore. May such books help to break the cycle of silence so that we as a society and as individuals save the children who need to be saved.
Highly recommended.
This novel is not for the faint of heart or those who would prefer to think of the world in terms of ice-cream, lollypops and happy ever afters. It tackles the painful,sickening world of child sexual abuse. There were points when the story was too painful and I found myself staring at my hand as if it were the most interesting thing in the world because my mind just wasnt ready to keep going with the story.I did, because the story is compelling, respectful and so beautifully written by Lilian Nattel. I know the story she tells is sadly real in our society and I wanted to know how Nattel brought it together at the end.
More than literary fiction; also part thriller, part educational in regards to how multiples think of themselves.
As Nattel says in her acknowledgments; the perps lost, you see, for the cycle is broken and none of us is alone anymore. May such books help to break the cycle of silence so that we as a society and as individuals save the children who need to be saved.
Highly recommended.
January 9, 2013
This is a beautiful book and so very well-written. I didn't quite expect to be thrown in to the storyline so quickly, to be honest, the back of the book makes it sound much more gradual. Almost immediately you are thrown in to Sharon/Lyssa/Alec/Callisto/etc.'s world, trying to keep the personalities and characters straight. But it's wonderful to read, how Sharon deals with all of it and having to face her past and being a multiple, and how her family reacts in the face of dissociative identity disorder.
I know very little of DID, and I don't know if this is how it truly manifests in a person or if that part is fiction, but it makes me want to know. If it is true, then this book should act as an inspiration to those suffering and they should share it with their loved ones so they better understand themselves.
But the book is not just about DID, it is also about the importance of family and community support, not just for someone with DID, but for anyone who is need to help and support (to say more would mean spoilers).
I read this book quickly and enjoyed every page. A beautiful, uplifting book that I would strongly recommend.
I know very little of DID, and I don't know if this is how it truly manifests in a person or if that part is fiction, but it makes me want to know. If it is true, then this book should act as an inspiration to those suffering and they should share it with their loved ones so they better understand themselves.
But the book is not just about DID, it is also about the importance of family and community support, not just for someone with DID, but for anyone who is need to help and support (to say more would mean spoilers).
I read this book quickly and enjoyed every page. A beautiful, uplifting book that I would strongly recommend.
December 5, 2011
Right from the first sentence, Web of Angels is astonishing, shocking, loving. Lilian Nattel leads us in an exploration of how our communities cope with deep heartache, the loss of our young, and how we, as individuals, cope with trauma and the communities we carry within ourselves. Step into this novel and you will find yourself submerged; wake from it, and you will find yourself transformed. Web of Angels is a rare gift, perfectly named; within this novel, Lilian Nattel has offered us the work, the weave, of angels.
February 17, 2012
I have never met Lilian Nattel, but I feel I know her. The rink where she skates. The sound of her kids' laughter. The way she sees the world in which she lives. The photographs that thrill her. I read and loved her international sensation, The River Midnight. I celebrated when her new book, Web of Angels, was bought by Knopf Canada. I was honored, a few short weeks ago, when a copy showed up in my mailbox. I opened to the first page. I was stunned by the opening lines. I thought I knew Lilian Nattel. But new books teach us new things about a writer's powers.
I have never read a book like this one. You haven't either. It's brave, unblinking, categorically generous despite a most heartbreaking subject matter. With Web of Angels, Lilian isn't just exploring dissociative identity disorder—a condition that affects far more "ordinary" human beings than I had previously known. Lilian is inhabiting the mind of a woman in whom multiples live, which is to say that she is teaching us what it is like when several personalities—male and female, young and middle aged—argue for space inside the same body.
Sharon Lewis lives in a pleasant Canadian community called Seaton Grove. She is a mother of three, a loved wife, a friend. For years she has battled back the divisions in her own mind, but when a pregnant neighborhood teen kills herself and secrets begin to unravel, Sharon Lewis unravels, too. She blacks in and out of the familiar and strange. She struggles to save the dead girl's sister from a terrible and too-familiar haunting. To save the girl, she'll have to reveal her true selves. She'll have to rely on them to help her piece together truth.
There are big themes in this book. Big ideas. But what makes the whole so spectacular is how Lilian cushions the ugly things inside a beautiful, resilient domestic world. As awful as the secrets are, Web of Angels thrives because of the way that Lilian tells the tale. Those searing household details. Those absolutely true snatches of conversation that happen among kids, between adults, inside the quiet of a therapist's room. It's not just the first page of this book that is so beautifully written. It's every page.
For example:
The baby's eyes were unfocused, her gaze not following theirs but open, large, taking in the light around objects as much as the objects themselves, for she was still closer to the source of life than the material world.
I know you want more. I will satisfy your craving:
Pipes rattled upstairs as water flushed down, flowing into larger pipes laid underground a hundred years ago when Seaton Grove's bylaws stipulated that no whole sheep or hogs or geese were allowed to run free in the streets on pain of a ten-cent fine. Before that the roots of a forest intertwined and Garrison Creek flowed between ferns. Now pipes connected the houses on either side, across the street, around the corner, their sewage led far away. That was how civilized people handled sh*t: pipe it; bury it. And they sacrificed the creeks, the streams, the living waters in order to do it, their land dry and quiet except for the sound of the sprinklers.
Web of Angels is due to be released in just a few weeks. I urge you to consider spending time with this novel, and while you wait, please spend time here, on Lilian's web site, where I learned a lot listening to Lilian talk about this real and painful disorder.
I have never read a book like this one. You haven't either. It's brave, unblinking, categorically generous despite a most heartbreaking subject matter. With Web of Angels, Lilian isn't just exploring dissociative identity disorder—a condition that affects far more "ordinary" human beings than I had previously known. Lilian is inhabiting the mind of a woman in whom multiples live, which is to say that she is teaching us what it is like when several personalities—male and female, young and middle aged—argue for space inside the same body.
Sharon Lewis lives in a pleasant Canadian community called Seaton Grove. She is a mother of three, a loved wife, a friend. For years she has battled back the divisions in her own mind, but when a pregnant neighborhood teen kills herself and secrets begin to unravel, Sharon Lewis unravels, too. She blacks in and out of the familiar and strange. She struggles to save the dead girl's sister from a terrible and too-familiar haunting. To save the girl, she'll have to reveal her true selves. She'll have to rely on them to help her piece together truth.
There are big themes in this book. Big ideas. But what makes the whole so spectacular is how Lilian cushions the ugly things inside a beautiful, resilient domestic world. As awful as the secrets are, Web of Angels thrives because of the way that Lilian tells the tale. Those searing household details. Those absolutely true snatches of conversation that happen among kids, between adults, inside the quiet of a therapist's room. It's not just the first page of this book that is so beautifully written. It's every page.
For example:
The baby's eyes were unfocused, her gaze not following theirs but open, large, taking in the light around objects as much as the objects themselves, for she was still closer to the source of life than the material world.
I know you want more. I will satisfy your craving:
Pipes rattled upstairs as water flushed down, flowing into larger pipes laid underground a hundred years ago when Seaton Grove's bylaws stipulated that no whole sheep or hogs or geese were allowed to run free in the streets on pain of a ten-cent fine. Before that the roots of a forest intertwined and Garrison Creek flowed between ferns. Now pipes connected the houses on either side, across the street, around the corner, their sewage led far away. That was how civilized people handled sh*t: pipe it; bury it. And they sacrificed the creeks, the streams, the living waters in order to do it, their land dry and quiet except for the sound of the sprinklers.
Web of Angels is due to be released in just a few weeks. I urge you to consider spending time with this novel, and while you wait, please spend time here, on Lilian's web site, where I learned a lot listening to Lilian talk about this real and painful disorder.
June 28, 2012
Before I read this novel, I knew nothing about a mental illness called DID or multiple. I feel sympathetic toward people with this illness, but at the same time, I am curious if this may actually be just another example of the western society’s apparent penchant for creating new mental illnesses by giving new names to human phenomena that are merely idiosyncratic parts of certain people’s personalities, rather than really being a disease.
Regardless of whether this illness is legitimate, I think Nattel wanted to raise awareness that there are people suffering from this, and that there are pedophiles like Cathy’s parents, Debra & Rick, who seem normal from the outside but then are actually creeps who hide behind their computers and commit sexual crimes. But it was not very credible that Debra was a pediatrician and Rick was a university professor, because, in reality, I don’t think highly educated people, let alone highly educated couples, are very likely to be pedophiles, though I acknowledge that it can be anyone and such things don't necessarily have strong correlations with appearance, social status, occupation, and so on. The novel also seems to illustrate the tragic consequences that sexual abuse can have on victims' lives, which is nothing new, however.
I have long been wondering why pedophiles exist. If the answer is that they have been sexually molested themselves in their own childhood, then this can’t be the only possible cause because then what should be the cause for the history's very first pedophile? So there must be other possible causes. And I wonder if the current law set against pedophiles are justified or fair, because I felt some of them are just ridiculous. For example, in the novel, pedophiles, once convicted, are disallowed from going near or even touching children for certain period of time, if not for their entire lifetime. I wonder how much, if at all, the law sees such perpetrators as victims themselves, rather than just giving them a harsh treatment as if they’re monsters or criminals. Or perhaps they shouldn't be seen as victims or criminals in the first place, but rather this may just have to do with their individual personality which shouldn't be considered abnormal, though I find it difficult to understand how one can become sexually excited by children, who have very little or no sexual traits developed in the first place.
Overall, I didn’t like the novel. The characters & events were not very credible & realistic, the plot was uninteresting, and the subject matter was not something that was dear to my heart, at least at this point in time of my life.
Regardless of whether this illness is legitimate, I think Nattel wanted to raise awareness that there are people suffering from this, and that there are pedophiles like Cathy’s parents, Debra & Rick, who seem normal from the outside but then are actually creeps who hide behind their computers and commit sexual crimes. But it was not very credible that Debra was a pediatrician and Rick was a university professor, because, in reality, I don’t think highly educated people, let alone highly educated couples, are very likely to be pedophiles, though I acknowledge that it can be anyone and such things don't necessarily have strong correlations with appearance, social status, occupation, and so on. The novel also seems to illustrate the tragic consequences that sexual abuse can have on victims' lives, which is nothing new, however.
I have long been wondering why pedophiles exist. If the answer is that they have been sexually molested themselves in their own childhood, then this can’t be the only possible cause because then what should be the cause for the history's very first pedophile? So there must be other possible causes. And I wonder if the current law set against pedophiles are justified or fair, because I felt some of them are just ridiculous. For example, in the novel, pedophiles, once convicted, are disallowed from going near or even touching children for certain period of time, if not for their entire lifetime. I wonder how much, if at all, the law sees such perpetrators as victims themselves, rather than just giving them a harsh treatment as if they’re monsters or criminals. Or perhaps they shouldn't be seen as victims or criminals in the first place, but rather this may just have to do with their individual personality which shouldn't be considered abnormal, though I find it difficult to understand how one can become sexually excited by children, who have very little or no sexual traits developed in the first place.
Overall, I didn’t like the novel. The characters & events were not very credible & realistic, the plot was uninteresting, and the subject matter was not something that was dear to my heart, at least at this point in time of my life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2012
Dissociative identity disorder (DID, also known as Multiple Personality Disorder in the ICD-10), is a psychiatric diagnosis. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) one of the essential features of Dissociative Identity Disorder is that at least two of these identities or personality states recurrently take control of the person's behavior (switching), between distinct personality states. These dissociated states routinely control behavior, and are often limited to state dependent memory.
This novel grabs you from the start and keeps you motivated right on through to the end. Not particularly a page turner but the author successfully brings you inside this whole multiple personality disorder thing through one Sharon Lewis, a happily married mother of three.
Without fanfare or shock treatment the reader is fascinated with the integration of these ‘multiples’ within everyday suburban middle class life. Sure there was some big trauma at childhood but the author doesn’t focus on even that, nor has to. The whole effort and inconvenience of Sharon dealing with this ‘fact of her life’ draws us in as we become familiar with the multiples and gain quite an understanding and sense of what it is to cope with this mysterious psychological disorder.
A future movie version will never be on ‘Nightmare Theatre’ or ‘Comedy Central’ but there is some humour between the pages too. Essentially I found this novel fascinating and easy to follow along without confusion of too many players in the game.
All the latter can be accredited to the outstanding writing of our Canadian author to which I shall be definitely looking into some of her earlier works.
By John Archibald, July 2012
This novel grabs you from the start and keeps you motivated right on through to the end. Not particularly a page turner but the author successfully brings you inside this whole multiple personality disorder thing through one Sharon Lewis, a happily married mother of three.
Without fanfare or shock treatment the reader is fascinated with the integration of these ‘multiples’ within everyday suburban middle class life. Sure there was some big trauma at childhood but the author doesn’t focus on even that, nor has to. The whole effort and inconvenience of Sharon dealing with this ‘fact of her life’ draws us in as we become familiar with the multiples and gain quite an understanding and sense of what it is to cope with this mysterious psychological disorder.
A future movie version will never be on ‘Nightmare Theatre’ or ‘Comedy Central’ but there is some humour between the pages too. Essentially I found this novel fascinating and easy to follow along without confusion of too many players in the game.
All the latter can be accredited to the outstanding writing of our Canadian author to which I shall be definitely looking into some of her earlier works.
By John Archibald, July 2012
Read
April 16, 2025DNF at p 104
May 25, 2013
I picked this book up on a whim, I thought the book was about loss & death and was intrigued. Well, after buying it and reading some reviews, I discovered that it was about a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder, "DID" - a subject that I only know about from a high school psychology course & watching "The United States of Tara" (which is not exactly a lot of education on the subject). This book took a little while to get into, you do have to pay attention to it and I wasn't instantly "hooked" into reading it.
I really enjoyed reading this; this book was well developed and was told in such an incredibly realistic story that I could easily believe this happening in any small suburb. As the book continued, more was revealed about each character, and I feel like the DID was well explained and it was understand the main character and her stories.
I feel like this book is the definition of a "mature" book, although it obviously has an interesting story, it truly is about adults and this particular situation, which was partly why it was so realistic.
What Type of Read Was It (One Word)? Realistic
Who would Enjoy this book? If you're curious on the subject of DID, I would absolutely recommend this book.
Will I read it again? Maybe.
Overall Review: 5 out of 5.
Questions:
Have you read Web of Angels? What about did you like/ didn't like?
Which do you prefer, a realistic book or a book that's a bit outlandish?
Http://weektoread.blogspot.ca
I really enjoyed reading this; this book was well developed and was told in such an incredibly realistic story that I could easily believe this happening in any small suburb. As the book continued, more was revealed about each character, and I feel like the DID was well explained and it was understand the main character and her stories.
I feel like this book is the definition of a "mature" book, although it obviously has an interesting story, it truly is about adults and this particular situation, which was partly why it was so realistic.
What Type of Read Was It (One Word)? Realistic
Who would Enjoy this book? If you're curious on the subject of DID, I would absolutely recommend this book.
Will I read it again? Maybe.
Overall Review: 5 out of 5.
Questions:
Have you read Web of Angels? What about did you like/ didn't like?
Which do you prefer, a realistic book or a book that's a bit outlandish?
Http://weektoread.blogspot.ca
March 3, 2012
4.5 stars, but I am rounding up!
This was a powerful story about a woman with dissociative identity disorder. I was amazed at how all her multiples worked together, and how and when she switched. It was really interesting to me that most people that Sharon knew did not know that she had DID, and how she was able to function and interact so that she seemed like her 'normal' self to other people.
This book became even more interesting when Sharon was finding out about Heather and Cathy's situation. I was intrigued that even though Sharon had her own worries and challenges that she kept trying to help Cathy.
I felt it was good that I read this book because I ended up being so curious about DID (and Heather and Cathy's situation) that I spent a fair bit of time reading about these topics on the internet. I asked a couple close friends what they thought about it, and we had some great discussions. I liked that the book gave me some food for thought, and stayed with me after I had finished it.
The only problem that I had with the book is likely just a 'me' thing. I found it could be difficult to follow when there was the Inside dialog. I appreciated the headings in the book so I would know it was happening, but I ended up reading those parts several times to try and figure them out.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thank you!
This was a powerful story about a woman with dissociative identity disorder. I was amazed at how all her multiples worked together, and how and when she switched. It was really interesting to me that most people that Sharon knew did not know that she had DID, and how she was able to function and interact so that she seemed like her 'normal' self to other people.
This book became even more interesting when Sharon was finding out about Heather and Cathy's situation. I was intrigued that even though Sharon had her own worries and challenges that she kept trying to help Cathy.
I felt it was good that I read this book because I ended up being so curious about DID (and Heather and Cathy's situation) that I spent a fair bit of time reading about these topics on the internet. I asked a couple close friends what they thought about it, and we had some great discussions. I liked that the book gave me some food for thought, and stayed with me after I had finished it.
The only problem that I had with the book is likely just a 'me' thing. I found it could be difficult to follow when there was the Inside dialog. I appreciated the headings in the book so I would know it was happening, but I ended up reading those parts several times to try and figure them out.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Thank you!
November 30, 2013
Web of Angels by Lilian Nattel is a fascinating and well-researched novel about Sharon, a seemingly normal mother-of-three who happens to have DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder, or what many think of as multiple personalities. The suicide of a young girl, Heather, who is known to the family, causes Sharon's multiple personalities to emerge as the story unfolds. Slowly Sharon's alternate personalities reveal that Heather's sister, Cathy, may also be in danger. Sharon must confront the reality of her DID and reveal her condition to her family, if she is to have any hope of saving Cathy.
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Not only is it a dramatic and engrossing story, with a satisfying and believable ending, but Nattel describes DID so vividly and realistically that I felt like I understood how it would feel to have DID. Nattel has been compared to Jodi Picard, and Web of Angels does have the deep character involvement and page-turning intensity of Picard, but Nattel goes beyond Picard. I put the book down feeling that I had learned something and gained a deeper perspective on life by seeing it from an entirely new perspective. When I finished reading, I felt as spoiled as if I'd eaten chocolate and as virtuous as if I'd had a work-out.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes superb writing, fascinating characters and excellent story-telling.
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Not only is it a dramatic and engrossing story, with a satisfying and believable ending, but Nattel describes DID so vividly and realistically that I felt like I understood how it would feel to have DID. Nattel has been compared to Jodi Picard, and Web of Angels does have the deep character involvement and page-turning intensity of Picard, but Nattel goes beyond Picard. I put the book down feeling that I had learned something and gained a deeper perspective on life by seeing it from an entirely new perspective. When I finished reading, I felt as spoiled as if I'd eaten chocolate and as virtuous as if I'd had a work-out.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes superb writing, fascinating characters and excellent story-telling.
December 1, 2012
Borrowed this book from my mother before she had the chance to read it. The book still had it's book shop sticker on it.
After I read about 5 pages, I didn't want to give it back to her. I was haunted. I did not want her to read this book.
At points, the prose is clumsy. I felt as though I knew what was coming in this story long before the author had actually gotten to the impetus for the events of the story as they are told. I was expecting it, and I was prepared for the depravity. I think I might've preferred not to be suspecting something horrifying coming.
Placing the 'big reveal' at the conclusion of the book does not allow the reader enough time for emotional resolution of their own feelings for (and of) this book. Months later, I am haunted by the images produced as a result of this writing. I wish that I'd been afforded the opportunity to realize the characters' health and wellness beyond being horrified.
After I read about 5 pages, I didn't want to give it back to her. I was haunted. I did not want her to read this book.
At points, the prose is clumsy. I felt as though I knew what was coming in this story long before the author had actually gotten to the impetus for the events of the story as they are told. I was expecting it, and I was prepared for the depravity. I think I might've preferred not to be suspecting something horrifying coming.
Placing the 'big reveal' at the conclusion of the book does not allow the reader enough time for emotional resolution of their own feelings for (and of) this book. Months later, I am haunted by the images produced as a result of this writing. I wish that I'd been afforded the opportunity to realize the characters' health and wellness beyond being horrified.
September 27, 2012
I read this book on the plane today. The flight seemed too short as I was do engrossed with it. It is a tough book to read in some parts , dealing as it does with childhood abuse. However, the author handles it with both honesty and grace so you don't feel it exploits the pain of the children. Her depiction of DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) is not sensationalized. Once you get used to the characters, inside and outside, it becomes quite easy to tell who is who by their style of speaking and their actions. I was on edge right until the very end if the book. I was inspired to buy this book after hearing Lilian Nattel read from it at the Eden Mills Writers Festival.
July 25, 2012
I found the beginning I this book a bit hard to concentrate on because of the many characters of sharon but, once they were developed it was a lot easier to follow. I found it harder and harder to put down because it talks about very disturbing issues in real life. I cried for every innocent child that has ever or will ever be hurt in this way! It takes a strong person to be able to write about these issues and I gave the author a hell of a lot of credit to captivate the readers!
April 17, 2012
I found this book really difficult to read. It didn't keep my attention at all. Tough read.
July 9, 2012
LOVED this book!
August 21, 2012
to hard to get into gave up! Can't keep my interest long enough to want to keep going!
September 23, 2012
Couldn't get into it... I gave up.
November 24, 2015
I don't know why Web of Angels didn't win more prizes than it did. A thoughtful, sophisticated mystery. Hard to put it down.
July 15, 2019
While the praise for this book is excessive and waaaay too generous, I enjoyed it. This was another mom book of epic proportions, with far too many references to Christie Pits park and other landmarks in Toronto and a touch too much sentimentality. However, even with those elements, it was the perfect type of cottage read that keeps you interested enough to keep going. Knowing nothing about DID, it was interesting to get a bit of a perspective on that and the big reveal was a bit shocking, to say the least. Was it a bit trite? Sure, but that doesn't change that I didn't really see it coming.
For a mom book, it wasn't bad. As a book overall, not a favourite.
For a mom book, it wasn't bad. As a book overall, not a favourite.
December 16, 2023
This is an exciting and emotionally involving thriller, and it doesn't try to humanize its villains, though it does remind us that villains look and act like you and me until the basement door closes. I read it fast, the way you binge a tv series, but ultimately, I found the ending disappointing and, though the story bravely confronts some of the most heinous behavior humans are capable of, a little too neat,
January 1, 2022
Great novel that accurately shows the reality of living with DID, while neither being clinical nor the classic 'Hollywood serial killer with multiple personalities' entertainment. Despite having nightmares last night about the truly horrifying monsters in this world, I love what the author communicates with the story.
August 16, 2017
Not the easiest book to read. Looks at child abuse resulting in multiple personality disorder. Seemed somewhat contrived at times. I loved the first book I've read by this author and have another one to try. Not all books by the same author are alike.
April 6, 2020
**Trigger warning (spoiler)**
Rape and child molestation
Not the dark turn I was expecting. Pretty disturbing content.
I also found I wasn’t in the right head space to follow all the characters that were introduced, you really have to be following closely.
Rape and child molestation
Not the dark turn I was expecting. Pretty disturbing content.
I also found I wasn’t in the right head space to follow all the characters that were introduced, you really have to be following closely.
July 15, 2021
The insights that this book delivers with regard to “multiples” and the demons that not only created them but broke them have brought to my forefront the evil that preys on innocents. I could not put this book down and applaud loudly Nattel for bringing this sensitive subject to light.
June 29, 2020
A very difficult read and confusing. I finally gave up.
October 3, 2022
Very difficult read that stays with you for a long time.
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January 13, 2023This book.... I read this book a long time ago and I still remember every word. Triggers galore but eye opening and really well written.
May 16, 2024
Such an interesting story about multiple personality disorders with a touching twist.
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October 27, 2025Strange book, not a fan.
June 30, 2020
At first struggling as it seemed so out of touch. Almost didn’t finish reading it. Sad how one can have different personalities and still survive with what they go through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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