Scan barcode
A review by laerugo
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
5.0
this book hit me in a way i haven’t been hit in a long time, because this is the first book in the cormoran strike series in which strike’s role in the story is finally, equally balanced by his detective partner robin’s. she has equal weight and jkr spends just as much – possibly more – time in her head than strike’s, and this is important, because robin to me is the main character of this book, considering her background gives her a relationship with the killer that strike can't relate to. i'm gonna end up probably talking more about her character in this review because she's really the heart of this book and i hope the trend of her sharing the spotlight with strike continues.
jkr's prose remains, as always, top-notch, and her appreciation for detail and internal monologue continues to inspire and impress me, but what meant more to me than the other two books combined was that in 'career of evil,' she tackled a very sensitive subject matter with honesty and the type of respect that i don't trust to come from other (male) writers in mainstream media these days.
this is a very gendered story. i feel safe in saying it was probably – though not exclusively, but probably – written to find head-nods amongst female audiences. the killer is a grotesque, horrifically sexist, perverse monster of a man, but jkr dives into his head too. though the killer is beyond most people’s definition of a “normal guy,” and, to me, a bit stereotypical at times, he’s still real, because people like him do exist. while i stand by my initial thoughts that he feels often like a cardboard cutout of a villain more than an actual person, this feeling left me as the fear he stirs up in robin affects her personal life. she imagines rapists and assaulters in every strange man she runs into. she grows deeply, almost recklessly protective of the women and children she discovers are in contact with the suspects. strike, the male protagonist, does not. this is an important distinction, and jkr's pointed choice of writing it the way she does means a lot to me.
i am tired of this love triangle, tired of matthew so obviously being a poor choice of husband for robin as he insults and mocks her career goals, tired of strike's jealousy, yada yada. all of it mattered less to me in this book, 'cause robin (after three books) stood for something close to her and took a case into her own hands against strike's own agenda to do the right thing. robin isn't just a character mouthpiece or a female character quota jkr is ticking off her mental list; she's just as developed as strike, this was her book, and i can't wait to see where else she goes.
jkr's prose remains, as always, top-notch, and her appreciation for detail and internal monologue continues to inspire and impress me, but what meant more to me than the other two books combined was that in 'career of evil,' she tackled a very sensitive subject matter with honesty and the type of respect that i don't trust to come from other (male) writers in mainstream media these days.
this is a very gendered story. i feel safe in saying it was probably – though not exclusively, but probably – written to find head-nods amongst female audiences. the killer is a grotesque, horrifically sexist, perverse monster of a man, but jkr dives into his head too. though the killer is beyond most people’s definition of a “normal guy,” and, to me, a bit stereotypical at times, he’s still real, because people like him do exist. while i stand by my initial thoughts that he feels often like a cardboard cutout of a villain more than an actual person, this feeling left me as the fear he stirs up in robin affects her personal life. she imagines rapists and assaulters in every strange man she runs into. she grows deeply, almost recklessly protective of the women and children she discovers are in contact with the suspects. strike, the male protagonist, does not. this is an important distinction, and jkr's pointed choice of writing it the way she does means a lot to me.
i am tired of this love triangle, tired of matthew so obviously being a poor choice of husband for robin as he insults and mocks her career goals, tired of strike's jealousy, yada yada. all of it mattered less to me in this book, 'cause robin (after three books) stood for something close to her and took a case into her own hands against strike's own agenda to do the right thing. robin isn't just a character mouthpiece or a female character quota jkr is ticking off her mental list; she's just as developed as strike, this was her book, and i can't wait to see where else she goes.