The Vet’s Daughter - such an underrated book

Submitted by pagetwenty t3_zvuptv in books

I just finished Barbara Comyn’s “The Vet’s Daughter” for a second time and was shocked at how few ratings there were on Goodreads when I went to mark the book as complete. This is a wonderful, gothic novel and fans of Stephen King and Shirley Jackson may want to check this out. Interested to see if others have read this too and if so, what did you think?

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KatJen76 t1_j1r8d03 wrote

I haven't read it, but now I want to!

Curious, is the "vet" a veterinarian, or a veteran?

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pagetwenty OP t1_j1raknh wrote

good question- -vet stands for veterinarian

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TwilightZone1751 t1_j1t6g9f wrote

Does it involve animals getting hurt or dying, particularly dogs? I can’t read anything where something bad happens to dogs or other animals.

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pagetwenty OP t1_j1uhxeg wrote

the story really does not center around the vet, but there are elements of animal cruelty so i’d avoid

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Antfarm1918 t1_j1rfh7f wrote

I had never heard of Comyns discovered this book entirely by accident and absolutely loved it! Like you I can’t believe how uncelebrated it is. Published in 1959 but it sort of reminds me of Angela Carter with its realism with a gothic tinge (which I mean as VERY high praise!). I have found a couple of her other novels since but TBH wasn’t struck by them.

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FencingHummingbird t1_j1th9p4 wrote

One of my absolute favorites. Discovered this on listening to my favorite literary podcast, Backlisted, which everyone should absolutely listen to for recommendations of books that are wonderful and in many cases have largely been forgotten. Also check out her Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead for a similar feel.

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pagetwenty OP t1_j1ud8uu wrote

That sounds like an awesome podcast, thank you for the rec!

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Timballist0 t1_j1shn8m wrote

The Occupation's Relation

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CrushedByTime t1_j1tfz7w wrote

This is tangentially related, but what is it with these novels about people’s daughters? I’ve seen quite a few floating around.

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