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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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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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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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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