The Insult (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

Rating:
Summary: Subdued, dark character study in a damaged family history
Review: Martin Blom, victim of a random shooting, is rendered blind. As the story unwinds he finds he can see but only at night or in the dark. He begins to create a life around this odd existence. Moving slowly, narrating the story in 1st person, we are allowed to casually observe his meanderings and his eventual settling at a dingy hotel/brothel. Add to this neo-noir mix the beautiful mystery woman Nina, and her mildly twisted craving for Martin in his blindness. The later abrupt disappearance of Nina, coupled w/ suggested furtive movements by his ex-doctor, prompt Martin to head to remote locales in search of a family history which may explain Nina's whereabouts. The second part of the novel is the wistful recounting of Nina's grandmother's difficult life and how it eventually ties to Nina and threatens Blom himself. The style of narrative at the half-way point shifts to the grandmother, and it almost sounds like a different author. I found the story to be a similarly winding, round-about sort of mystery as Asylum by P. McGrath. The last hundred-plus pages were consumed in one sitting, as things began to rapidly unfold, I realized that Martin's story was now effectively secondary to the tragedy described by the grandmother. The tone and tragedy in this novel were subtle, and subdued. It did not produce a strong emotive response during the reading, one does not cheer for Martin, or feel for him in any way. He's a bit of an anti-hero, in the narrator vein of Poe's work. Every character here is broken in a way, which leads to a dulling moroseness in their interactions, which we watch in a detached clinical manner. Still, I found it an interesting work, to be read, if possible, on a rainy, grey day.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable in every way......
Review: This book is magical. Thompson lures you into a strange yet captivating world and floods it with stunning images that are hard to forget. This book is many things: suspenseful, smooth, crisp, steamy, tragic, cryptic and haunting. The author knows how to set the stage. He pays close attention to detail and weaves an incredibly intriguing plot. I have owned this book for many years. It's a worn paperback now and I go back to read it sometimes just because it is that kind of book. The one you go back to because it's that good.