The author of The Singer’s Gun, Emily St. John Mandel, is a Canadian author best known for her bestselling dystopian novel of a global plague and community in the post-apocalyptic aftermath, Station Eleven (reviewed here). That novel was also turned into a popular mini-series on Max (formerly HBO).
I really enjoyed Station Eleven, and was very impressed with it, but I’ve been less enthusiastic about a couple of her more recent novels. Despite that, I discovered The Singer’s Gun, her second novel, on a bookshelf recently, and decided to give it a try. I’m very glad I did, because it has been one of the surprise treats of my fiction reading this spring.
And I do mean surprise, because it’s a little difficult to categorize what sort of novel this is. I didn’t know that much about it when I picked it up, but despite that it continued to intrigue and surprise me all the way through -- I never knew quite what to expect as I read along.
The book has been described as “noir”, and it definitely is that in terms of its mood, but it’s not a conventional murder mystery. It has aspects of a crime novel, and of a spy thriller, with a little dystopian flavor added from the realistic surveillance technology and lack of individual privacy which plays a part in the plot, and is recognizably creepy yet very true to contemporary life. Reading it, you immediately feel that the story, personalities and situations are believable, even as you pray you never find yourself in any situations like those of the main characters.
The hero of the story is Anton, an up-and-coming young professional in New York with a problem. Actually, he has several problems. One of them is Sophie, the girlfriend he is trying to marry, who has already cancelled their wedding once, and may or may not do it again, and really, he’s not even sure he loves her. But his biggest problem is that he has secrets from his early life growing up in a family of criminals. He very much wants to leave his own life of crime and dishonesty behind, but his family has issues with that, especially his sister, who is involved in something sinister, and is determined to get him to do one last job for her.
Meanwhile, there’s also Elena, a young Canadian woman who’s been Anton’s personal assistant at work for the past several years. She has her own set of problems, including her own spouse Caleb, who doesn’t seem to be a great fit for her, and a set of false papers for immigration she bought from Anton.
Into this situation of two basically nice and decent young people trapped by the lies and crimes of their past, and the bad choices they’ve made in their love lives, comes Broden, an investigator, leading an Orwellian investigation that slowly but inexorably pulls them each into its orbit. As the investigation deepens, and Anton’s final job for his criminal sister is repeatedly postponed, things begin to fall apart for both of them, and their desperation grows as each of their individual options for survival and freedom narrow.
The author does a wonderful job of developing her characters, and slowly but steadily ratcheting up the fear and tension as events move to their unexpected conclusion. I have to admit that I was so wrapped up in all their immediate problems as they unfolded, and their attempts to avoid the consequences of their past bad decisions, that I didn’t see the final dramatic developments coming. That just made the end of the story that much more satisfying and compelling.
I won’t say more about the plot details, but this is a very entertaining,
suspenseful and romantic novel with some thought-provoking social commentary embedded. It would be a fun book
for a book club to discuss, and would definitely make for an exciting movie plot if anyone ever
made one from it! Great summer beach reading too. Highly recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment