A review by beckyjc
The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

What to say about this novel! I have found the past international Booker winners to be interesting reads so was keen to give this a try, but only had a vague understanding of the premise when I started it. Be warned: this book goes to some very dark and unsettling places.

The narrator is a 10 year old girl who lives on a farm in the Netherlands with her extremely religious family. In the early pages of the novel her eldest brother dies in an ice skating accident and this event sends the family members spiraling into grief in different ways, none of which involve honestly expressing how they feel with each other. This leads to some destructive, disturbing and downright bizarre behaviour on the part of the remaining children, who are effectively left to their own devices by their devastated, emotionally repressed parents. They each plot to escape the stifling and loveless environment of the farm - through violent and sexually abusive outlets, as well as literal distancing - and this culminates in an ending that shocked me.
I had reached a bit of a saturation point for shock by this stage, but still didn't really expect her to kill herself at the end. I'm not sure why because in retrospect, Jas clearly felt there was no way out and the second half of the novel is definitely an escalation of desperation, but perhaps my foolish hope would not let me come to that conclusion?!
 

The subject matter is of course very sad, but the unflinching writing style, brutal and sparse, and bleak imagery didn't really encourage my empathy - despite it being autobiographical. I felt like an alarmed observer watching with mounting unease (and downright disgust at points!) as the family comes apart at their greatest time of need.
The foot-and-mouth outbreak and the catastrophic impact this had on farming communities, which I remember well from my own adolescence, adds yet another layer of oppressive loss.
I do find the concept of disgust an interesting one to unpack - that we can be repulsed by our bodies and what they are capable of, that we inflict guilt and shame through religious bigotry on ourselves and others - and this book does a fine job of exploring that alongside a child's interpretation of death and mortality. This is a tale of deprivation in all its forms and the effect this has on our sense of security and belonging. It is vividly drawn but left me feeling cold and in need of a hug! Time for something a bit more upbeat next!
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