Post by Charlynn on Sept 28, 2012 11:39:29 GMT -5
Faithful Place by Tana French
Detective Francis Mackey works undercover. He doesn't handle murder cases, but, when a familiar suitcase is found hidden in a derelict house on the street he grew up on and left behind for what he thought was for good more than twenty years before, a suitcase belonging to his first love and girl he believed had run off on him rather than running away with him, he unwillingly goes back home. Soon after, the recovered suitcase leads to a recovered body – that of Frank's former girlfriend, and he finds himself not only caught in the middle of a murder investigation he has no jurisdiction over but once more swept up in the dysfunctionality of both his family and the place he grew up in as well – Faithful Place, a street ever reliable in its failures and its breakdown of society, in its loyalty to the Place and everyone who lives there despite the residents' many flaws.
Mackey and his undercover division are not new territories for French. Though not the focus of her previous novels, Mackey has made substantial appearances in the author's other works, but this is where Faithful Place makes it departure from French's usual modus operandi. While French's mysteries focus more on her characters' development and less on the scientific facts like other books in the genre, this – her third novel – truly is a character study. Whereas Frank is not undercover – neither for the audience nor the other characters he interact with, he does immerse himself in the intricacies of the Place's lifestyle again. After such a long absence, this forces him to play several different roles emotionally – traveling back and forth in time as he investigates off book as Detective Mackey but lives as Francis, just another resident of Faithful Place. He does this in order to unravel the truth behind not only his former girlfriend's murder but also a second death which is a direct result of the investigation.
The beauty of Faithful Place isn't the solving of the mystery but the process taken in order to arrive at the resolution. The journey Frank embarks on during the novel is fascinating. While he left the street he grew up on and his family behind in order to make a decent life for himself, there was always a small piece of him stuck in his past, wondering what if. From the shadows, it dictated his every decision and relationship, so it wasn't until he finally went home again and confronted all the complications he tried to wash his hands of – his alcoholic, abusive father; his enabling mother and siblings; his family's poverty; his guilt; and, of course, the girl he tried to forget but could never quite stop loving – that Frank was finally capable of moving forward, of finding peace... even if, in doing so, he had to tear apart everything and everyone around him before the rebuilding could begin. This is where the honesty of French's characters can be best seen, and the veracity of her writing is only further enhanced by what, to an American reader, is the work's unique Irish speech patterns and vocabulary. Faithful Place immerses readers into not only a different place but also a truly unique culture. It answers the question 'why' more so than it does 'who,' and that sets it apart from other mysteries. Consider this French's calling card.
Four out of Five Stars
Detective Francis Mackey works undercover. He doesn't handle murder cases, but, when a familiar suitcase is found hidden in a derelict house on the street he grew up on and left behind for what he thought was for good more than twenty years before, a suitcase belonging to his first love and girl he believed had run off on him rather than running away with him, he unwillingly goes back home. Soon after, the recovered suitcase leads to a recovered body – that of Frank's former girlfriend, and he finds himself not only caught in the middle of a murder investigation he has no jurisdiction over but once more swept up in the dysfunctionality of both his family and the place he grew up in as well – Faithful Place, a street ever reliable in its failures and its breakdown of society, in its loyalty to the Place and everyone who lives there despite the residents' many flaws.
Mackey and his undercover division are not new territories for French. Though not the focus of her previous novels, Mackey has made substantial appearances in the author's other works, but this is where Faithful Place makes it departure from French's usual modus operandi. While French's mysteries focus more on her characters' development and less on the scientific facts like other books in the genre, this – her third novel – truly is a character study. Whereas Frank is not undercover – neither for the audience nor the other characters he interact with, he does immerse himself in the intricacies of the Place's lifestyle again. After such a long absence, this forces him to play several different roles emotionally – traveling back and forth in time as he investigates off book as Detective Mackey but lives as Francis, just another resident of Faithful Place. He does this in order to unravel the truth behind not only his former girlfriend's murder but also a second death which is a direct result of the investigation.
The beauty of Faithful Place isn't the solving of the mystery but the process taken in order to arrive at the resolution. The journey Frank embarks on during the novel is fascinating. While he left the street he grew up on and his family behind in order to make a decent life for himself, there was always a small piece of him stuck in his past, wondering what if. From the shadows, it dictated his every decision and relationship, so it wasn't until he finally went home again and confronted all the complications he tried to wash his hands of – his alcoholic, abusive father; his enabling mother and siblings; his family's poverty; his guilt; and, of course, the girl he tried to forget but could never quite stop loving – that Frank was finally capable of moving forward, of finding peace... even if, in doing so, he had to tear apart everything and everyone around him before the rebuilding could begin. This is where the honesty of French's characters can be best seen, and the veracity of her writing is only further enhanced by what, to an American reader, is the work's unique Irish speech patterns and vocabulary. Faithful Place immerses readers into not only a different place but also a truly unique culture. It answers the question 'why' more so than it does 'who,' and that sets it apart from other mysteries. Consider this French's calling card.
Four out of Five Stars