Part Huck Finn coming-of-age story, part psycho-thriller, Donna Tartt justifies her decade-long break from the writing trade by unleashing another magnum opus on the world. If you felt The Secret History was a little too top-heavy on the Greek philosophy, too arcane to be accessible, then The Little Friend will no doubt appeal more from a lay perspective.
In lieu of a strong plotline (which is something that, arguably, favours The Secret History as a better representation of Tartt's work), The Little Friend has strong characterisations to offer. Harriet and Hely, the quasi-protagonists turned gunslingers, have a Mark Twain feel to them; they ooze with personality, anchoring the disparate lives of the other characters together, who, at times, seem to solely serve as plot filler.
Throughout, the story tracks two parallel families, as Harriet slowly inches closer to finding out who killed her brother Robin 11 years ago; as the tale of the other family, helmed by Farish, a reformed mental patient, slowly converges, we see the tragic toll income inequality exacts on its victims.
The tale begins as a simple retributive mission; it slowly worms its way into the minds of two equally ruthless individuals, who, at the end of the novel, are close to indistinguishable in the level of manipulation they exact on their followers. Just like Hely, Harriet's loyal sidekick, Farish is well-endowned with grovelling family members; just like Hely, who ultimately sells her out for a pittance - almost, Farish is ultimately felled by one of his own kind.
I give this a 8.5 out of 10 - at 620 pages, it's not my idea of a ravishing holiday read, but with time, a little patience, and unlike A Secret History, no specialist knowledge of obscure Greek rituals, you will make it. Again, one of those books that is a convincing argument AGAINST the yearly Grisham/Clancy/Patterson machine output.
No comments:
Post a Comment