Oh dear. I read this book. I did not give up. But I read it hot on the heels of two very competent story tellers, Jodie Picoult and Julie Berry. In contrast the style was pedestrian and without surprise. No intellectual effort required. A book of clichés, the romance that will fail, the hard unbending Chapel mentality, the intertwining of two stories, then and now, the discovery of what really happened – except this was not too well handled. Not great literature, but then Chic Lit seldom is.
I loved the way the story is told in this book.
The book begins
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We came here by ship, you and I. I was a baby on my mother's knee, and you were a lisping, curly-headed boy playing at your mother's feet all through that weary voyage. Watching us, our mothers got on so well together that our fathers chose adjacent farm plots a mile from town, on the western fringe of a Roswell Station that was much smaller, then. I remember my mother telling tales of the trip when I was young. Now she never speaks of it at all. She said I spent the whole trip wide-eyed, watching you. |
The voice is haunting and the mind keeps searching for meaning, for sense. Who are "you and I"? I read, hoping that illumination would come. The chapters are short – often very short, so it is a quick read. And slowly all is revealed. But each time I anticipated what the story was, it was snatched away from me and a new possibility placed in front of me. The end though was satisfying. I really enjoyed the way the story was told. The reader is definitely part of the narrative, the reader has to engage with the story telling. Definitely a book worth reading.
Last week the news broke that the adultery website Ashley Madison had been hacked and its subscribers' details would be revealed unless certain demands were met. Large proportion of the population had little sympathy with the plight of those who were threatened with exposure. The revelations would be embarrassing to all concerned, and possible several marriages would fail. But for any woman who came from a more "conservative" background, such an outing may well be a death sentence. Should the clientele of Ashley Madison be afforded the same protection in law as anyone else?
In the Hanging, the same question is asked. But this time the stakes are higher. Now five men are found murdered, their mutilated bodies left hanging in a school hall. It transpires that these men were brutal paedophiles, and their murders were met with tacit approval of a large proportion of the Danish population and the near blanket approval of the press. Justice has been done. The police are not required.
Bit by bit, like the best of Scandinavian crime fiction, we are taken though the process of solving this case – in the face of public opposition. We are introduced to Konrad Simonsen who is in charge of the investigation. Simonsen is no pin up bow. He is overweight, diabetic, middle aged, smokes too much and there were times when I wondered if he would live to the end of the book. But he does. And he gets his man even if his methods are somewhat unusual.
It is a good read, but the reader needs to concentrate. There is a lot going on and the narrative can appear to be disjointed if your concentration falters.