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carlitos95 's review for:
In the Woods
by Tana French
This book, much like the characters themselves, is emotionally complex and frustrating. But in the best way.
Tana French is undoubtedly a beautiful writer, and although I wouldn't call her crime fiction character-driven, it is certainly character-focused. The protagonist here is somewhat unreliable, sympathetic, pathetic, annoyingly arrogant, interesting and tragic - all at once. And the same can be said for every character, even secondary ones. French has a real gift for painting rich and vivid characters that add a psychological complexity to this story - one that doesn't necessarily give us the most satisfying conclusions. But it's in that messiness that lies the real treasure of this book. Humans are messy and frustrating and complicated and rarely do the logical thing at all times. These murder investigations that we all enjoy reading about or watching unfold in our favourite Columbo specials or Poirot serials are really devastating to everyone involved and nobody walks away on top. There are no fist-pumping resolutions.
The closest thing that I can compare this book to is The Killing, one of my favourite TV shows: a deeply personal and psychological study of the effects of an investigation like this on everyone involved. Investigations where things do not resolve themselves neatly tied up with ribbons and a cherry on top. It's a shitshow, it's depressing, it's traumatic, people fuck up and one small mistake can lead to a cascade of small mistakes resulting in total calamity. That's what this book is about.
It's messy, it's frustrating, it's richly complex in its emotional weight and it's mildly unsatisfying by the end. And that's the point. I loved it.
There is a very interesting examination of toxic masculine behaviour, before that became a buzz word, and it really is a measured and intentional examination. Mainly through the voice of the narrator and of the father of the victim, we get to see how some men can do mental gymnastics and jump through hoops to justify certain behaviours. Both infantile and/or abhorrent behaviours at that. It challenges your emapthy in unexpected ways but also makes for quite uncomfortable reading at times. It's very intelligent writing - a huge step up from my last read.
Really glad to have finally tried Tana French. An instant favourite writer. Aside from the story itself, her prose is beautifully lyrical at times and her deep love of Irish (particularly Dublin) culture, sensibilities and humour in the face of tragedy is wonderful to behold. A gem of modern Irish literature.
Tana French is undoubtedly a beautiful writer, and although I wouldn't call her crime fiction character-driven, it is certainly character-focused. The protagonist here is somewhat unreliable, sympathetic, pathetic, annoyingly arrogant, interesting and tragic - all at once. And the same can be said for every character, even secondary ones. French has a real gift for painting rich and vivid characters that add a psychological complexity to this story - one that doesn't necessarily give us the most satisfying conclusions. But it's in that messiness that lies the real treasure of this book. Humans are messy and frustrating and complicated and rarely do the logical thing at all times. These murder investigations that we all enjoy reading about or watching unfold in our favourite Columbo specials or Poirot serials are really devastating to everyone involved and nobody walks away on top. There are no fist-pumping resolutions.
The closest thing that I can compare this book to is The Killing, one of my favourite TV shows: a deeply personal and psychological study of the effects of an investigation like this on everyone involved. Investigations where things do not resolve themselves neatly tied up with ribbons and a cherry on top. It's a shitshow, it's depressing, it's traumatic, people fuck up and one small mistake can lead to a cascade of small mistakes resulting in total calamity. That's what this book is about.
It's messy, it's frustrating, it's richly complex in its emotional weight and it's mildly unsatisfying by the end. And that's the point. I loved it.
There is a very interesting examination of toxic masculine behaviour, before that became a buzz word, and it really is a measured and intentional examination. Mainly through the voice of the narrator and of the father of the victim, we get to see how some men can do mental gymnastics and jump through hoops to justify certain behaviours. Both infantile and/or abhorrent behaviours at that. It challenges your emapthy in unexpected ways but also makes for quite uncomfortable reading at times. It's very intelligent writing - a huge step up from my last read.
Really glad to have finally tried Tana French. An instant favourite writer. Aside from the story itself, her prose is beautifully lyrical at times and her deep love of Irish (particularly Dublin) culture, sensibilities and humour in the face of tragedy is wonderful to behold. A gem of modern Irish literature.