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Iain Reid

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Foe: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Iain Reid (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 2,518 ratings

Book 1 of 1: Foe

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

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*Now a major motion picture starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal*

A taut, psychological thriller from Iain Reid, “one of the most talented purveyors of weird, dark narratives in contemporary fiction” (Los Angeles Review of Books).

Severe climate change has ravaged the country, leaving behind a charred wasteland. Junior and Henrietta live a comfortable if solitary life on one of the last remaining farms. Their private existence is disturbed the day a stranger comes to the door with alarming news.

Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm, but the most unusual part is that arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won’t have a chance to miss him. She won’t be left alone—not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company.

Told in Iain Reid’s sparse, biting style, Foe is a “mind-bending and genre-defying work of genius” (Liz Nugent, author of Unraveling Oliver) that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Foe is a tale of implacably mounting peril that feels all the more terrifying for being told in such a quiet, elegantly stripped-down voice. Iain Reid knows how to do 'ominous' as well as anyone I’ve ever read." –Scott Smith, author of The Ruins and A Simple Plan

“Reid is a master storyteller with a knack for absorbing prose. Most of the action takes place in the microcosm of the couple’s house, but Reid writes about the relationship so well that it becomes a universe full of questions and possibilities.” –Los Angeles Review of Books

"Reid is remarkable for delivering hypnotic, twisty plots and taut prose in a short novel." –New York Journal of Books

"Reid builds to a deeply unsettling climax. As much a surgical dissection of what makes a marriage as an expertly paced, sparsely detailed psychological thriller, this is one to read with the lights on." –Kirkus Reviews

"Reid proves once again that he is a master of atmosphere and suspense. Readers won’t be able to put this one down." –Publishers Weekly

“Reid is at it again, exploiting readers with plot twists, narrative unease, and explosive conclusions in his second novel... [he] has the rare ability to make readers both uncomfortable and engaged, and this drama will surely send them back to the beginning pages to track the clues he left to the surprise ending.” –Booklist (starred review)

"An ingenious work of psychological horror, Foe will disturb and shock you with its eerie blend of existential dread and atmospheric thriller." –Book Riot

“Such an ambitious work risks being muddied. Reid, however, brilliantly executes his vision… With Foe, Reid has written a page-turning novel that will entertain you and have you questioning the very foundation of your existence at the exact same time.” –BookPage

"I couldn’t put it down. It infected my dreams. A creepy and brilliant book." –Zoe Whittall, Giller shortlisted author of The Best Kind of People

"From the opening page, you’ll have an uneasy feeling as you settle in to Iain’s Reid’s brilliant new novel, Foe…. A masterful and breathtakingly unique read. I can’t stop thinking about it.” –Amy Stuart, author of the #1 bestseller Still Mine and Still Water

"Spare, consuming, unforgettable. Foe is a dark arrow from a truly original mind. Page by eerie page, Iain Reid pulls the known world out from under you, and leaves you trapped inside a marriage’s most haunting question: can I be replaced? This is a book that seeps into your bloodstream––and crowns Iain Reid the king of deadpan, philosophical horror." –Claudia Dey, author of Heartbreaker

"I’m not sure that humans have hackles, but something was creeping up my spine as I read this book, and I welcomed the shivers of shock and delight…. A mind-bending and genre-defying work of genius." –Liz Nugent, author of Unraveling Oliver and Lying in Wait

About the Author

Iain Reid is the author of four previous books, including his New York Times bestselling debut novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things, which has been translated into more than twenty languages. Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman wrote and directed the film adaptation for Netflix. His second novel, Foe, is being adapted for film, starring Saoirse Ronan, with Reid cowriting the screenplay. His latest novel is We Spread. Reid lives in Ontario, Canada. Follow him on Twitter @Reid_Iain.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B075RRBSN5
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gallery/Scout Press; Reprint edition (September 4, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 4, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2242 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 286 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #180,076 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #290 in Psychological Literary Fiction
- #845 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction
- #2,983 in Psychological Thrillers (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 2,518 ratings

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Shannon Allen

Black Mirror vibes

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2023

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A first time read and I'm definitely adding his other books to my TBR. I went into this book blind. I had no idea what it was about when I started and didn't for a couple of chapters into the book lol. I thought it was kind of fun to guess. It started out a bit slow but picked up probably around 20%. I started kind of figuring out what was going on. It gave me black mirror vibes and I cannot tell you which specific episode without giving it away. If this were a Netflix series, it would definitely be binge-worthy! I really liked Hen's character and found her relatable, I understood her mopiness and need for more...a purpose of her own. What I couldn't figure out was why Junior was such a pushover. It annoyed me quite a bit. I wanted him to throw Terrence or whatever his name was out! Tell him off! Especially when he started showing interest in Hen. This book was a great read. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad I went into it blind. This book stuck with me, even if the name of a creepy character didn't. I think about it often. It was a subtle sort of creepy.

5 people found this helpful

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Briana

This is a quick, thought-provoking read with a really excellent ending!

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2024

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Foe by Iain Reid (Scifi/Psychological Thriller)
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎. 𝑼𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆. 𝑨 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒄𝒌, 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.”

Read this for:
🪲 a twisty mind-bender that reads like an episode of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone
🌾 simple, short, and unsettling sci-fi at its purest
🧠 clever narrative puzzle that will have you thinking about it for days

Somewhere in the near future, Junior and Henrietta are living a comfortable, solitary life on a farm in the heartlands when a stranger in the night arrives to let them know that Junior has been selected for a journey to space… From there, we spend the rest of the novel uncovering what that means for these characters as they prepare for Junior’s departure.

This is a quick, thought-provoking read with a really excellent ending! More psychological sci-fi than traditional space/dystopia/ futuristic sci-fi, Foe is an uneasy portrait of a marriage.

Overall, this was tense and eerie in a really fun way. I enjoyed trying to unravel the subtle narrative hints to figure out what was going on, and the end was really rewarding. Go in blind- don’t even read the back of the book! I went in blind and I’m glad I did.

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023

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Good story. Wasn't super impressed. Kinda predictable to be honest. Plane on watching the movie. Not expecting much honestly. We'll see.

2 people found this helpful

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Amanda

Such a fantastic twist

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2023

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This was my first Iain Reid book and I am now obsessed!
The writing style is addicting and makes reading this book really fun. I finished it in under two days because the plot was so gripping and I just had to find out how it all ended. I’ve been recommending this book to everyone I can as it was my favorite read of 2022!
Recently finished We Spread by Iain Reid and it’s another awesome book by him! Would recommend it if you also enjoyed Foe.

2 people found this helpful

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23 Dreams

original

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2024

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I kind of liked this book. Nothing is laid out simply for you and it leaves a lot to interpretation.

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Yatcru

Strange but compelling

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2024

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I cannot wait to see the movie.

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2023

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I went from moments of gobbling up chapters to slogging through others. I enjoyed the twist at the 3/4 point but then the finale became predictable. I did not hate the book but didn’t truly like it either. My rating much like this novel is a very introspective meh.

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Elle G.

Standalone | Psychological Suspense

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2019

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I finished reading FOE a few days ago so I hope my memory serves me well. Here goes. For the most part, I found Foe to be a captivating read in a slow and unsettling way. It’s complex, but the complexities are not easily identifiable until you finish the story. It’s haunting, but not in a way that will truly scare you. It’s more like thinking about how the future will be and if new technology will affect you in ways like it does within the story. Also, it’s memorable. You won’t forget this novel for a long time after reading and I don’t doubt that many will read it more than once.

While it doesn’t compare (in my eyes) to his debut; I’m Thinking of Ending Things, I do find myself agreeing with the critics when they say this is a “taut, philosophical mind-bender". The ending was very unexpected for me. The delivery of the story was slow, but it also made me really think about everything that happened in the story up until that point. It also saddened me in ways I can’t comprehend, and I truly felt for the characters within the pages. In the beginning I didn’t like them much- you don’t learn a whole lot about them so finding any kind of connection to them is difficult- however once I finished the book, I felt extremely connected to them at a level I wasn’t expecting. I can see why many readers will read the book and then have another go at it immediately after. Many have said this about Reid’s first novel, and I think a lot will do the same with FOE.

That being said, don’t go into this book expecting action and suspense. You won’t find it here. As I mentioned this is a slow-paced read, and not a lot of stuff happens TO the characters. However, once you FINISH, you’ll realize that internally (for the characters) a lot of stuff DID happen. We just didn’t know WHY or HOW until the end.

I think it’s good to sit on a review of this book for a few days and really think about the story. I found myself liking it even more than I did when reading it. I may even want to do a re-read of both his novels in the future because they really get to the core of people’s emotions and actions.

Would I recommend this book? Yes! I do think you need to have a certain mindset when reading and a lot of patience though. Trust me, it all comes together in the end!

31 people found this helpful

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Katharina

sehrgut

Reviewed in Germany on April 16, 2024

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1

Lisa

Impression Amazon

Reviewed in France on January 25, 2024

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Attention, impression faite par Amazon, donc couverture qui retiens le gras et douce. Cependant l’impression est de qualité, quoique le papier un peu épais.
Pour ce qui est du livre en lui même, très bonne lecture pour le moment !

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TheA

I loved it

Reviewed in Italy on October 8, 2023

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Very nice book!

Emily Tenhave

Had to finish in one sitting!

Reviewed in Canada on August 28, 2018

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Heard about the book from an interview on CBC. It intrigued me that the author said he likes to write a story that can be read in one sitting, or maybe an evening and the next morning. I sat on my patio one afternoon and didn’t move until I finished Foe. What a great read. And the ending is superb! I can’t wait for the movie.

One person found this helpful

Mugdha

Prime focus of book is relationship not sci-fi

Reviewed in India on February 25, 2019

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*this review may contain spoilers*
This is Sci-fi novel with central focus on couple relationship.
Story is about couple Junior and Henrietta who lives peaceful life on farm far away from City. One day stranger arrives with a news that Junior is chosen for space journey but his wife will remain on Earth not alone but with duplicate Junior who has feelings and emotions even memories of real Junior.
With that pretty book cover I thought this book is going to be as good as cover but prime focus of book is relationship like the way Henrietta has to deal with duplicate Junior.
Similarly Junior's emotions, his love for Henrietta even when he is duplicate.
This book is not much sci fi and this is what I was hoping for.

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