Foe – Iain Reid (2018) Book Review

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“You can hold beliefs and not always believe in them.”

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Iain Reid’s Foe is a strange, unsettling psychological thriller that takes a simple premise and steadily morphs it into something considerably more complex. Set in a bleak near-future where Earth is increasingly becoming difficult to inhabit, the novel orbits around a married couple, Hen and Junior, as they live an isolated existence on their remote farm until a mysterious stranger arrives with an extraordinary proposition. Foe soon descends into a tense depiction of relationships, identity, and what it really means to be human. Reid keeps the story intentionally claustrophobic, slowly introducing questions and uncertainties that make it tough to shake the feeling that something is very, very wrong. But is Foe as disturbing as its premise suggests? And does its compelling setup ultimately deliver? Join us at What We Reading as we delve into our Foe book review and put Iain Reid’s bestseller under the microscope! 

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Date Published: 2018

Author: Iain Reid

Genre: Horror, Science Fiction

Pages: 261

Goodreads Rating: 3.68/5

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Foe Summary

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 their door with alarming news. 

Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm, but the most unusual part is that the arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won’t have a chance to miss him. She won’t be alone – not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company. Foe examines the nature of domestic relationships, self-determination, and what it means to be (or not to be) a person. An eerily entrancing page-turner, it churns with unease and suspense from the first words to its shocking finale. 

What Worked

From the very get-go, I loved the character-fuelled, psychologically intense premise of Foe. The claustrophobic environment, the constant, nerve-shredding ambiguity surrounding Terrance and his arrivals, and the steadily building suspense all make for a seriously compelling read. 

There is a persistent feeling throughout Foe that something is just off, and that sense of unease makes the novel a genuine page-turner. 

I also really enjoyed the philosophical elements of the story. They’re not especially subtle – you don’t need to read between the lines to find Reid’s commentary on identity and what it means to be human – but they’re nevertheless interesting and, given the novel’s subject matter, surprisingly timely. 

Foe reminded me at times of books like Never Let Me Go and We Used to Live Here, which similarly use speculative concepts to explore questions about identity, humanity, and our relationships with one another. 

The stripped-back nature of the premise also gives us an incredibly intimate view of Hen and Junior’s relationship. Regardless of what we ultimately make of the reality of their relationship, Reid does a stellar job of capturing the imperfections, frustrations, and comforts that come with spending years alongside another person. Their interactions feel authentic, with Reid creating a convincing sense of history between them without feeling the need to spell everything out for us. 

Finally, Foe is an enjoyable and accessible read. The snappy chapters keep the story churning at a brisk pace, while Reid’s stylistic choices – including the lack of dialogue tags for Junior – add an interesting layer to the writing without ever becoming distracting. It’s an absorbing book that is so easy to fly through, which feels especially appropriate for a story built around suspense and uncertainty.

What Didn’t

For all the things Foe does well, there are a few things that ultimately hold it back from being a truly great novel. 

The first is its genre classification. I’ve seen Foe labelled as both horror and science fiction, but I’m not convinced that it fits either label especially comfortably. There are certainly futuristic technologies and some interesting worldbuilding surrounding resource scarcity and the dystopian landscape beyond Junior and Hen’s farm, but there’s not a huge amount of traditional hard sci-fi to write about. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for me – I’m not a massive sci-fi guy – but anyone picking up Foe expecting that could be easily disappointed. 

The same thing is true for horror, a genre I’m far more invested in. I went into Foe expecting a creeping sense of dread and some genuinely unsettling moments but, again, there really isn’t a whole lot here. The novel certainly evokes an unsettling vibe, but it rarely produces the kind of outright horror I was expecting. In hindsight, Foe works much better if you approach it as a philosophical literary thriller with elements of dystopian sci-fi rather than a horror novel. 

The biggest issue, though, is the predictability. I’m infamous for being terrible at guessing twists in books, and I’m not really someone who tries to work out each and every reveal before they happen. Unfortunately, the central twist in Foe is so glaring that even I got it by the first third. Come the end of the story, it feels less like a reveal and more of a confirmation of what we already knew. 

I’m still not completely sure whether this was an intentional choice by Reid. Perhaps the tension is meant to come from watching Hen and Junior move towards a finale that the reader has already anticipated. But regardless of the intention, I imagine the predictability will frustrate plenty of readers. For a novel that spends so much time building suspense around its central mystery, revealing the answer quite so early on takes away much of the impact from the eventual payoff. 

Verdict

Ultimately, Foe is a fascinating and undeniably compelling novel that probably doesn’t quite do its potential justice. Iain Reid creates an intimate story around Hen and Junior, while the claustrophobic setting and constant feeling that something isn’t quite right make the book so easy to fly through. Its exploration of identity, humanity and relationships also gives you plenty to think about once you’ve turned the final page. 

Unfortunately, the lack of genuine horror and the novel’s surprisingly predictable central twist stop Foe from being as effective as it could have been. I was hoping for something a little more disturbing, and while I enjoyed the journey, the destination never quite came with the punch it could have. 

Still, there’s plenty to have good fun with. If you go into Foe expecting a philosophical psychological thriller rather than an out-and-out horror or sci-fi tale, there’s a lot to enjoy. It might not have totally nailed the landing for me, but the strange, unsettling atmosphere and intimate character work make it a book that’s tough to put down. 

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Our Rating: 3.5/5

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