Saturday 16 January 2010

The Water's Edge


Quite a while ago, I was sent a review copy of the latest Karin Fossum title by Mike Stotter, editor of that excellent online crimezine Shots. I’ve read Fossum in the past – He Who Fears the Wolf, a book I thought pretty good – but it took me a long time to read The Water’s Edge.

This was, in part, due to pressure of work and other commitments, but it was also due in part to the subject matter, which is the mistreatment and murder of young boys. I find books which deal with the harming of children difficult to read, although I recognise that this is not only an entirely legitimate subject for crime fiction, but an important one. Well-written fiction can sometimes help to give us an insight into cruel or sociopathic behaviour that otherwise one finds inexplicable, as well as deeply offensive.

Fossum certainly is a skilled writer, and The Water’s Edge is a sensitively composed book. It begins, after a short italicised preamble, with a man walking through a wood, carrying a ‘burden’ which, it becomes plain, is the body of a child. But he is spotted by a couple who are taking a walk. Kristine and Reinhardt react in very different ways to their experience of seeing a child-killer, and the story of their disintegrating relationship is one of the most compelling strands of the whole book.

Once the body is found, the detective work is done, as usual, by Inspector Sejer, but soon he has another missing boy to contend with. The story is as dark as the heart of a Swedish forest. I can’t say that I found this one fun to read, but I did admire Fossum’s literary accomplishment and insights into human behaviour..

10 comments:

Dorte H said...

I have read nine novels by Fossum, and only one of them could be called ´fun´. She is not very graphic either, she is just preoccupied with the minds of the criminals and their victims.

´When the Devil Holds the Candle´ is the one that has made the greatest impression on me so far.

Ann Elle Altman said...

I have never heard of Karin Fossum before. But I will have a look on amazon for that title.

You're right, I don't like reading about murdered boys (I didn't like the movie Changling because of that) but sometimes it needs to be told.

ann

Deb said...

Like you, I generally do not care for mysteries where a child is murdered or in danger--particularly when there seems to be almost a relish on the part of the author in describing the harm done. Perhaps it's because I'm a mother that I shy away from that sort of material. I know there are evil people in the world who do terrible things to children. I don't want to have to read about them in the limited time I have for reading.

So I rarely go near any book which indicates that a child killer is involved. In fact, I had to leave unread an Elizabeth George mystery that begins with a child (still alive) being held in what appeared to be a coffin. She's usually one of my favorites, but I just couldn't read any further. However, once in a while the subject is handled in a way that makes it palatable. I just finished Danuta Reah's Listen to the Shadows, where a child is in danger; I thought Reah did a very good job of making that danger real without being gory, cruel, or clinically detailed.

Martin Edwards said...

Dorte, I think it is the absence of graphic nastiness plus the quality of the writing that makes me want to keep reading Fossum. Though not if I'm already in a gloomy mood!

Martin Edwards said...

Ann, yes, it is a tricky issue.

Martin Edwards said...

Deb, I haven't read the two books you mention, but I do share your anxiety about books with this subject matter.

Minnie said...

Oh yes, count me out of this subject matter. Couldn't read the otherwise excellent Peter Robinson on the theme, and there are a few others which I regret gritting teeth and reading (nightmares ...). No, a cruelty too far.

Minnie said...

PS An exception might be the wonderful, brave woman who blew the whistle on Wrexham/district child abuse in care homes scandal, and wrote several novels including one on the very subject. Jones ...? Anyone remember her name, which - disgracefully - escapes me.

Martin Edwards said...

Minnie, I'm pretty sure you are thinking of Alison Taylor. I once heard her speak at a conference, but she seems to have departed from the crime fiction scene, alas.

Minnie said...

Thank you so much for the correction, Martin. You're right: after a mere 2/3 excellent crime novels, Alison Taylor seems to have 'disappeared'. A great pity.