Book Review: Broken Harbour
An Irish seaside gated community in Brianstown, previously known as Broken Harbour, built during the height of housing boom turns into a chilling nightmare in this intense character-driven psychological drama written by Tana French. Called Ocean View, the 250 odd houses were meant to be the very place to raise a family if the advertising brochures were any anything to go by.
And for Patrick and Jennifer Spain, like any other normal married couple, the new house was their dream, a place they could call their own. Then came the financial crunch, taking away with it all their hopes and aspirations. Now left unfinished and abandoned, the estate is a grim reminder of desolation and shattered dreams. But things turn for the worse when an attack on the Spains leaves Pat and their two children dead, with Jenny fighting for her life.
As the Dublin Murder Squad begins to investigate the triple homicide, French paints a moving picture of the lives of people stuck in the aftermath of bubble burst. It would be unfair on my part to categorize the story as a typical murder mystery, although the obligatory 'twists and turns' are thrown in generous measure to keep you hooked till the end. At first, for Detective Scorcher Kennedy and his rookie sidekick Richie Curran, the solution seems to be obvious. The finger is pointed at Pat, who had lost his job a couple of months earlier. But soon evidence points to an outside intruder, whose arrival only raises more questions than answers.
French does a stellar job with the narrative, masterfully constructing the sequences, paving way for a heart-wrenching finale that's too distressing, emotionally draining, and needless to say, supremely impactful. In fact I found Broken Harbour similar to Gilian Flynn's Gone Girl in its psychological exploration of a much in love couple hit hard by the tidal wave of recession, ultimately wrecking their marital bliss in the process. French's unusual tactic of employing multiple protagonists from the Dublin Murder Squad allows her novels to be told from different viewpoints, and through the character of Detective Kennedy (he appears as a minor character in Faithful Place), who also doubles up as the narrator, she raises uncomfortable questions about us, humans, in general and the modern lives we lead today.
At one point Scorcher ruminates thus: I'm the least fanciful guy around, but on nights when I wonder whether there was any point to my day, I think about this: the first thing we ever did, when we started turning into humans, was draw a line across the cave door and say: "wild stays out." What I do is what the first men did. They built walls to keep back the sea. They fought the wolves for the hearth fire.
That Brianstown used to be a family holiday destination for Kennedy during his childhood adds a personal touch to the proceedings. The working relationship between him and Richie is well-explored, the detective often doling out advice on the dos and don'ts, and giving him enough scope to learn the tricks of the trade. Where the novel does falter is its length, which could have been done with some judicious editing. That aside, Broken Harbour is highly recommended. A tense, deeply unsettling read no less.
 |
| Broken harbour |
As the Dublin Murder Squad begins to investigate the triple homicide, French paints a moving picture of the lives of people stuck in the aftermath of bubble burst. It would be unfair on my part to categorize the story as a typical murder mystery, although the obligatory 'twists and turns' are thrown in generous measure to keep you hooked till the end. At first, for Detective Scorcher Kennedy and his rookie sidekick Richie Curran, the solution seems to be obvious. The finger is pointed at Pat, who had lost his job a couple of months earlier. But soon evidence points to an outside intruder, whose arrival only raises more questions than answers.
French does a stellar job with the narrative, masterfully constructing the sequences, paving way for a heart-wrenching finale that's too distressing, emotionally draining, and needless to say, supremely impactful. In fact I found Broken Harbour similar to Gilian Flynn's Gone Girl in its psychological exploration of a much in love couple hit hard by the tidal wave of recession, ultimately wrecking their marital bliss in the process. French's unusual tactic of employing multiple protagonists from the Dublin Murder Squad allows her novels to be told from different viewpoints, and through the character of Detective Kennedy (he appears as a minor character in Faithful Place), who also doubles up as the narrator, she raises uncomfortable questions about us, humans, in general and the modern lives we lead today.
At one point Scorcher ruminates thus: I'm the least fanciful guy around, but on nights when I wonder whether there was any point to my day, I think about this: the first thing we ever did, when we started turning into humans, was draw a line across the cave door and say: "wild stays out." What I do is what the first men did. They built walls to keep back the sea. They fought the wolves for the hearth fire.
That Brianstown used to be a family holiday destination for Kennedy during his childhood adds a personal touch to the proceedings. The working relationship between him and Richie is well-explored, the detective often doling out advice on the dos and don'ts, and giving him enough scope to learn the tricks of the trade. Where the novel does falter is its length, which could have been done with some judicious editing. That aside, Broken Harbour is highly recommended. A tense, deeply unsettling read no less.
I need to read Tana French still. I'm sure her debut is likely the best place to start. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteMarlene Detierro (Air Medical Transport)
Thanks! Her first novel In the Woods is equally good, if not better!
Delete