Aurora, US, 1975. A small, American city, an (un)famous 35-years old writer seeking inspiration for his next book and a 15-years old cute girl. A love affair between the two and a murder. Should I say more? This book presents a taboo subject, the love of 35-years old Harry Quebert and underage Nola Kellergan, who is found 33-years later buried in Quebert’s yard.
Quebert is of course accused for the murder, but his good friend and ex-student, Marcus Goldman, helps him to prove his innocence. He investigates the details of the murder together with Gahalowood, a police detective. The two men wander around the city and interview whoever might have known Nola 33 years ago. As they start putting pieces of her life together, they discover that sweet little Nola might not have been the innocent girl that everyone thought. Through Quebert and Gahalowood’s investigations we encounter a wide range of personalities that are typical of an American province: sheriffs, motel and diner owners, millionaires and their drivers, religious sects and a reverend, Nola’s father. All characters have a rich background, and the details of their inter-personal relationships are obscure. Their secret motives lead them to conceal long buried secrets, either because they are too proud and do not want to admit hurtful truths, or because they try to protect the ones they love.
This book seems to have it all: quick and smart plot, lively characters and even some literature/cultural background. It is quite different from your typical crime novel though, as it devotes a large part in describing the two writers’ lives. The difficulty of writing a book and the beauty of holding in your hands your own words printed in paper is well-explored in this novel. The lack of inspiration, all the moments of self-doubt, people’s admiration and the editors’ constant pressure are also elaborated here.
The novel is fresh, written originally in French by a very young Swiss author, Joel Dicker. Dicker’s lively and simple writing overwhelms you from the very first page, but sometimes I got the feeling that the novel lacks maturity. Yes, it does handle very mature topics, but often only superficially without getting to the bone. Also, life in the US is presented from a very European point-of view, full with all the clichés we hear about in Europe: people are deeply religious, to the point of stupidity, under-educated and often have an over-simplified thinking and obviously low intellect. Despite such obvious weak points, “The truth about the Harry Quebert affair” managed to keep my interest till the very end, which says a lot, as the french version is more than 800 pages long. I hope it will keep yours too!
NeuroLit 