Natchez Burning by
Greg Iles
2 Stars
Penn Cage is the mayor of Natchez, Mississippi. Tom, his
father, is the town’s doctor who is charged with the murder of Viola Turner, an
African-American woman who had been his nurse before leaving the community 40
years earlier. There is suspicion that their relationship in the 1960s had not
been solely professional. When Tom refuses to defend himself, his son sets out
to discover the truth; his search leads him to investigate unsolved crimes of
the civil rights era carried out by the Double Eagles, an ultra-violent KKK
splinter group. Penn is aided by Henry Sexton, an intrepid reporter who has
devoted his life to revealing the crimes of the Double Eagles, and by Caitlin
Masters, Penn’s fiancée and a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist.
What is uncovered is Natchez’s “secret history” of violence
against blacks. It is not an easy read; there are descriptions of savage
beatings and torture and “deaths by flaying, burning, drowning, and
crucifixion.” The horrors pile up. Caitlin mentions at one point, “But the sheer
weight of the horrors Henry had uncovered had begun to deaden her
sensibilities. The same thing could easily happen to the Examiner’s readers, so she had to choose her focus carefully.” Iles
has the same problem; instead of just being horrified at the extent of the
injustice and violence, the reader may be left wondering how the author is
going to outdo himself in the next confrontation between good and evil.
Some of the scenes seem to have been written with a film in
mind. The climactic scene is definitely one of these. In terms of dialogue and
suspense, it is tailor-made for a thriller. Unfortunately, it strains
credibility, as do many cinematic thrillers.
Characterization is problematic. There are many
stereotypical characters: a shady district attorney with a grudge, a crooked
sheriff, a criminal mastermind, an intrepid reporter, etc. So many of the
characters tend to be either totally good or totally evil. For example, Tom is
the noble doctor who “practiced family medicine for more than forty years,
treating some of the most underprivileged in our community with little thought
of financial reward. . . . If small towns still have saints, then he is surely
one of them.” Twice he is referred to as “Atticus Finch with a stethoscope.” In
the prologue, the reader is told that Penn discovers that his father may have a
chink in his armour and “tired feet of clay – or worse.” Nonetheless, there is
little to tarnish his image; questionable behaviour seems to be motivated by
love for family. On the other hand, the redneck villains have no redeeming
qualities or extenuating motivations.
Point of view alternates among characters, Penn’s chapters
being the only ones narrated in first person. Penn is supposedly the star of
the book, but I found him annoying. He makes many stupid decisions and drags
others in with him. He repeatedly mentions how dangerous the situation is, but
then does not take the precautions one would expect. I have not read the
previous three Penn Cage novels, but I cannot understand why everyone defers to
him. He withholds information from authorities who have proven to be
trustworthy.
The themes are clearly outlined in the prologue. The book
examines the effects of the past: “’The
past is never dead; it’s not even past. If it were, there would be no grief or
sorrow.’” It argues that there are no saints: “’Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the
stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something.’”
And, of course, it examines the conflict between loyalty to family versus
loyalty to truth/justice; Penn is forced to question the adage, “’If a man is
forced to choose between the truth and his father, only a fool chooses the
truth.’” Stating the themes so explicitly is almost an insult to the reader’s
intelligence.
There are a lot of loose ends, so the ending will not be
satisfactory for many people. What exactly happened when Viola died? What were
Tom and Walt hoping to accomplish when they set out? The fate of several
characters is not mentioned. This book is apparently the first of a trilogy, so
presumably these questions will be answered in the future books.
This book has had rave reviews, so I was rather
disappointed. It has a great deal of suspense so works as a thriller, but it is
too lengthy. There is considerable repetition. Whether or when I read the other
books in the series depends on what other books are on my to-read pile since I
did not find myself so invested in the characters that I can’t wait to see what
happens to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment