Michael Collins (1) (1964–)

I get it, I really do - why Michael Collins novel drenched in the underbelly of American life was shortlisted for the booker prize, however I had to wait to the final chapters and the 'big reveal' to be convinced. It is one of those novels where I wish I had known the ending long before I got there, so that I could have appreciated what the author was really writing about. On the surface it appears to be a well written crime novel where a struggling middle aged man tries to come to terms with the guilt he feels following the death of his parents in a fire at their home, when he was a young boy and which he probably caused.

It is written in the first person; Frank reads in a newspaper that his uncle who raised him has been murdered. He immediately thinks that there may be something in it for him as the sale of old farm house should be split between him and his half brother as there are no other claimants. As he says to himself "where there is a will there is a relative". He telephones his brother and is told in no uncertain terms to stay away. Frank is in a new relationship with Honey whose ex (Ken) is currently awaiting execution on death row, Honey had two children with Ken; the 14 year old and difficult boy Robert Lee and the five year old Ernie. Honey is still in love with Ken, but is persuaded by Frank to hitch her wagon with him in a journey to near the Canadian border to the small town where Frank was born. Frank is broke he has to steal cars to make the journey and looks for an opportunity to steal money to support his new family, while he argues over his rights under Uncle Ward's Will. When Frank arrives in the freezing north the pressures that made him leave his home town are still in evidence, people treat him with suspicion and he becomes a suspect in the murder of his Uncle Ward. The major part of the novel is the unveiling of the story of his parents death. Frank admits that he is un unreliable witness, having been committed to a mental institution some time ago, where he underwent electric-shock therapy and life in his home town is complicated with the needs of Honey and Robert Lee.

There are no likeable characters in this inverted world of the American Dream. Frank himself is not above committing horrible crimes, Robert Lee is a teenager full of angst, Norman; Franks brother is a simple soul bored with his life as a farmer and his wife is not above framing Frank for murder. Frank's new work colleague Baxter is an alcoholic, bent on cheating his way to more money with a Donald Trumpian attitude to women. Their boss is busily putting into practice some of the worst aspects of Dale Carnegie's advice in "How to win friends and influence people" and the psychiatrist who treated Frank as an adolescent is creepy. Everybody in town seems to be inured in the low-life and everybody seems to watch trashy day time TV. Franks efforts to uncover the mystery of his parents death are getting nowhere until the murder of another suspect and so much of the story in the meantime, is about Franks efforts to keep his new family together and to become a useful citizen in his new environment, there are relapses and no assistance. The story is set in the late seventies: America is coming to terms with Vietnam, there are plenty of veterans around, the cold war is still in full swing and Watergate and political scandals have soured any respect for political leaders. Jim Jones mass suicide is a daily feature on TV and the shocks seem to keep on coming. Michael Collins has set his story as a reflection on American trauma at this time and this is the strength of this novel. Franks struggles are indicative of the loss of the American dream for many people. It is more difficult to survive for somebody like Frank and when the final pieces of his story are put into place one can appreciate better all of what has gone before. 4 stars.… (més)

A strange story, strangely told.

Robert Pendleton, professor at a midwestern college, is bitter about his fate as a writer. He is hosting a visiting writer, Allen Horowitz, who had been a fellow student when they were young. The visitor is wildly successful, while Pendleton's works have faded into oblivion.

Because Pendleton has lately been phoning in his lectures, creating dissatisfaction among his students and the faculty, his boss insists that he bring along a graduate student to help greet the visitor. The grad student is Adi Wiltshire. A fan of Horowitz's, she has been working on her thesis for a long time and has a reputation for providing extra benefits to visiting professors.

Pendleton has more than a little difficulty with his hosting job. Ultimately, he loses it, and lands in the hospital, where Adi visits. In her wanderings around his house, Adi discovers a book by Pendleton that she had not seen before. She reads it and is enthralled.

At the heart of the book is the murder of a child. The circumstances of the crime are similar to a real murder committed some years before. She works with Horowitz to get the book republished and it is a sensation. But a sensation with a dark secret.

The narration is omniscient, shifting from person to person. It's difficult knowing who is the protagonist. Although he is out of it for much of the book, I kept pulling for the professor, whom I didn't even particularly like. I didn't much like any of the characters, which is why I kept wondering if I even liked the book. It's ingenious and it did keep me reading.… (més)