The Behaviour of Moths is one of those books that you come across now and again that feels truly unique, unlike anything you've read before, and even more enjoyable for that reason.
It's the story of two sisters, told from the perspective of Ginny - one of the sisters who is in her later years - as she rambles aimlessly and alone around her crumbling deserted gothic mansion. Her sister Vivi has been long gone, for more than 40 years, and the reasons for this departure are revealed torturously slowly through flashbacks and very furtive reveals from Ginny as she relects on her life and family.
Throughout the story the motif of moths, an academic speciality of Ginny's, illustrates the various peaks and valleys of the sisters' relationships and emotions.
Alternately claustrophic and spacious, haunting and subtle, menacing and gentle, this novel is dripping with atmosphere. It's dark, grim, at times gruesome but always intriguing and through it all, remarkably addictive and strangely beautiful.
I simply loved every single word of this novel and would urge anyone to pick it up and read it, it's immensely engrossing and satisfying and one of my favourite reads so far this year.
