The following people, and their honesty, played a great role in the authenticity of this novel: Lyndal Stuart, Mayleen Vincent, Leanne Renken, Kate Remas, Gail Schimmel, Sarah Anderson Wilson, Hayley Alfers and Dominique Le Grange.
I am grateful to Liesl Sadie and Pamela Power for not only reading the earliest drafts of this novel, but giving such important and relevant editorial feedback. Liesl, all our years of friendship mean the world to me, and it gives me the greatest joy to know that you see parts of me, and of us, in this story.
Thank you to Simon Pridmore and Josh Mason for being my first American readers, and checking that none of my rogue South African phrases and words made it onto the page.
This book was written on very little sleep, during the first year of Zach’s life, in stolen moments at the coffee shop down the road. I am so grateful to Kate and Anna at Love Books for your kind words, bookish chats and encouragement, as well as the assurance that I would one day sleep again. Thank you to my family, Rosie, Mom and Dad, for being so supportive, and to my friends. Emma, your daily voice notes/podcasts were a constant source of humour and strength.
Zach, thank you for splitting my heart open, so that suddenly love stories and happy (ish) endings are weaving their way into my previously dark fiction. And finally Rhys, my love, what would I do without you! Thank you for teaching me what true love is, looking after me when I forget, and reminding me to take my vitamins.
And finally, I am grateful to every reader who picks this up, who engages with the characters and discusses this book with a friend. Your imagination brings my characters to life, and your support keeps me writing.
A Conversation with Amy Heydenrych
What was your inspiration for The Pact?
When I was much younger, in fact, in my first job, I was bullied at work. As a result, I made a silly mistake, something that I regret, even to this day. It wasn’t a mistake nearly as severe as Freya’s but the experience always lived with me, this possibility that a person can be innately good, but crack under pressure and do the wrong thing.
Why do you think office bullying is such an important issue?
When I asked for stories about office bullying on social media, I was sent a deluge of stories. People that I saw as strong and successful told me stories about their ongoing harassment, pain and anxiety as a result of someone at work.
Office bullying, no matter how small or petty it may seem, is an epidemic that affects everybody. And in a changing economic climate where dream jobs are scarce, people sometimes feel forced to put up with unhealthy relationships and unfair treatment. What came up time and time again is that this conversation goes beyond #MeToo, but extends to woman-on-woman emotional abuse as well.
Why was the theme of female friendship so important in writing this book?
I wanted to capture the intense loyalty and complexity of female relationships. Most of the time, this fierce loyalty is a beautiful thing and results in women lifting one another up and protecting each other. However, this intensity can have a dark side, in which women see each other as competition. In the context of the #MeToo discussion, internalized misogyny and how it plays out in female friendships and office relationships is an important part of dismantling the patriarchy.
How does The Pact relate to your previous novel, Shame on You?
In Shame on You, I looked at what happens when someone in the spotlight makes a grave mistake online. With The Pact, I wanted to explore what happens when someone like you or I shares the wrong information online and the consequences we may suffer. I think it’s a fear for everyone at the moment – share the wrong thing and it lives online forever.
What is your writing process like?
I start off each novel with a broad idea of the plot, and a lot of room for the characters and the story to breathe. I then get the first draft down as quickly as possible so I can really see what the story is about. As many writers will mention, it is the editing process where the magic happens, as difficult as that can be. In this book, the editing not only allowed me to explore important aspects of the story, but showed me who the actual murderer was!
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal, and everything I can get my hands on by Shaun Tan.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Write the best book you can write, and don’t rush the process. Everything you write, if it is true and has been edited with care, will find a home when it is meant to. And when your writing is ready, let it go. It is no longer yours but exists in the imaginations of those who read it.
Reading group discussion points for The Pact
1. Nicole is found murdered in her apartment, and her neighbors heard nothing but laughter and a single loud noise. What was your first instinct as to what happened?
2. Freya thinks that she has started her dream job. What signs are there that her dream job will turn into a nightmare?
3. How much would you tolerate to stay in your dream job? If you were Freya, when would you have left?
4. Isla is frustrated with the way female victims of crime are portrayed in the media, as she believes they are objectified. Have you seen examples of this in actual media coverage?
5. Julian is open about researching Freya online. Do you think it is flattering or unsettling when employers look up job applicants on social media before they are hired?
6. Early on, we meet Freya’s close friends. Throughout the novel, we find out the history of their friendship. Do you trust all of them?
7. Nicole seems intent on bullying Freya from day one. Why do you think this is?
8. It is clear from the outset that Isla and Simon share a history. When in the novel did you suspect that Isla’s interest in Simon went beyond friendship?
9. Which of Freya’s friends is your favorite, and why?
10. Nicole and Freya are more similar than they think. What similarities did you notice?
11. What was your first impression of Freya and Jay’s relationship? How did that impression change during the course of the novel?
12. We learn that Isla initially didn’t want to report her sexual assault. Why do you think women hesitate to report sexual assault?
13. How does the novel capture the feeling of the modern workplace in the wake of the global economic recession? Do you think that the cutthroat tension between Freya and Nicole is emblematic of today’s working environments?
14. As you read more about Nicole’s history and her struggle with her mental health, do you feel more empathy for her?
15. After months of office bullying, Freya acts out and plays a prank on Nicole. Do you think she was justified in doing this?
16. Isla has her guard up against love. Why do you think this is?
17. Freya’s pregnancy is a source of tension in her personal and working life. She believes that it has the potential to ruin her career. What impact do you think motherhood has on a mother’s career, and is that impact equal to that experienced by the father?
18. Later in the novel, we discover the dark side of Julian when a group of women come forward to report their experiences of sexual harassment. How does this reflect the reality of the #MeToo movement?
19. Discuss the narrative strategy of telling the story through the eyes of Freya and Isla? Why do you think the author chose these two characters? How does it add to the novel when, at the end of the book, there is one chapter written in Nicole’s perspective?
20. Were you satisfied with the ending of the novel?
About the Author
Amy Heydenrych is a writer and book blogger based in South Africa. She has been shortlisted twice for the acclaimed Miles Morland African Writing Scholarship. Her short stories and poems have published in multiple anthologies including Brittle Paper, The Kalahari Review and the Short Sharp Stories anthologies. When she is not writing her own fiction, she ghost-writes books and columns for global tech and financial companies.
Als
o by Amy Heydenrych
Shame on You
SURELY WE ALL LIE A LITTLE BIT ONLINE . . . DON’T WE?
Have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself?
Have you ever lied about who you are to get more likes?
Have you ever followed someone online who you think is perfect?
Meet Holly.
Social media sensation. The face of clean eating.
Everyone loves her. Everyone wants to be her.
But when Holly is attacked by a man she’s only just met, her life starts to spiral out of control. He seemed to know her - but she doesn’t know him.
What if Holly isn’t who she seems to be? What if Holly’s living a lie?
Available now
First published in Great Britain in 2019 by Zaffre
This ebook edition published in 2019 by
ZAFFRE
80-81 Wimpole St, London, W1G 9RE
Copyright © Amy Heydenrych, 2019
The moral right of Amy Heydenrych to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978–1–78577–099–9
Paperback ISBN: 978–1–78577–098–2
This ebook was produced by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd
Zaffre is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK
www.bonnierbooks.co.uk
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