Review of A MOTHER'S LOVE by Sara Blædel (New Release)

 3 Stars

When I requested an advance reading copy of this book, I was unaware that it is in fact the eleventh book in the Louise Rick / Camilla Lind series. Fortunately, though I was obviously missing information about previous events in the characters’ personal lives, there is sufficient explanation that the novel can be read as a standalone.

Dorthe, a widowed innkeeper, is found murdered. In the course of the investigation into her death, a search of the inn reveals a concealed nursery in which a child obviously lived. Since Dorthe was childless, who is the child and where is s/he? The search for a murderer also becomes a search for a child whose identity is unknown.

The investigation is lead by Detective Louise Rick, head of the recently created Mobile Task Unit charged with assisting with difficult cases across Denmark. Besides having to work with a hastily cobbled together team of officers she has never met, Louise finds herself having to work with Eik, her ex-fiancé. Louise does receive help from her friend, crime reporter Camilla Lind.

I had difficulty understanding the relationship between Louise and Camilla, though the suggestion is that they are best friends. In this novel, they have little interaction other than phone calls and texts. When they do communicate, Louise is brusque and churlish. Though Camilla repeats that she is taking a break from work, Louise insists she do some research for her. After demanding her help, Louise later rudely snaps at Camilla, accusing her of pumping her for information about the investigation.

There are a lot of twists in the plot to keep the reader entertained. I did find, however, that the events in the church at the end seem to have been included just to add suspense by prolonging the conclusion. Those events are not only unnecessary but also far-fetched. The suicide of a troubled individual is understandable but the other actions taken by that person make little sense.

There are other things that make no sense. How can two people (a killer and a victim) leave the same location at the same time and both arrive at a second location at the same time when the killer stops en route to pick up the murder weapon? How can someone who is hiding a young child in his/her house be absent for extended periods from home? There is no suggestion of that child being drugged. At one point Louise “went to join [Melvin and Jonas] in the living room” though Melvin had left for his own apartment and Jonas “disappeared into his room”? Then there’s the fact that the investigation is in a small town where it’s usual for people to know a lot about each others’ activities, yet there are so many secrets and secret locations? The number of evil characters totally lacking in humanity also requires some suspension of disbelief.

Despite the twists, I identified the murderer early on. There’s the title, of course, and then a definite focus on a subplot – both clues that a regular reader of crime fiction cannot miss.

This is an entertaining though not exceptional book because of the plot holes. Readers who have followed the series from the beginning may be interested in the developments in Louise and Camilla’s personal lives.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of 33 PLACE BRUGMANN by Alice Austen (New Release)

 3.5 Stars

This novel, set during World War II, focuses on the residents of an apartment building in Brussels. They are a diverse group of people of different ages and from different backgrounds. There’s a Jewish family, the Raphaëls, who disappear one night, leaving everything behind but their valuable art collection. There’s a Russian immigrant and a widowed war veteran. There are a number of students, including Charlotte, a colour-blind art student. There are professionals: an architect, an art dealer, an attorney, and a notary. There’s a nosy busybody. Once the Nazis occupy the city and life becomes more difficult with restrictions on movement and food rationing, each resident must choose whether to submit to the regime or resist. Some people make sacrifices and endanger themselves to save others and some people betray others to save themselves.

There are multiple points of view. At least one person from each apartment provides his/her perspective. This narrative technique provides an opportunity for the reader to encounter the thoughts of the best and worst of people, both heroes and cowards. Though they are not narrators, the Nazis are also represented, and even there, we see differences – a Nazi officer who shows compassion more than once and a collaborator who shows none to either human or animal.

There’s a disjointed feeling to the novel because of the constant shifts between so many narrators. What also affects the narrative flow is the insertion of dreams and visions, sometimes in stream-of-consciousness passages. Charlotte, for instance, at the beginning of the novel sees that “blood is seeping out under [the massive church doors], too, flowing from the church and flooding the square. Blood is everywhere. The passersby wade through blood, and it spatters their pant legs and skirts, but they take no notice.” This vision obviously symbolically foreshadows what is to come, but others are less clear.

What is also less clear is the philosophical musings. There are repeated references to Wittgenstein and I found these less than interesting. Charlotte dislikes Wittgenstein’s writings and comments, “I’d rather read a magical book with the illusion of a beginning and an end. Not pithy little bursts that force me to consider every damn sentence.” When encountering another discussion of Wittgenstein’s philosophy, I found myself agreeing with Charlotte.

Charlotte is a central figure in the novel. Her point of view is included several times, and it is her life that provides considerable action to the plot; she’s involved in the romance story and the most suspenseful scenes. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to relate to her. Others speak so highly of her, but I found it difficult to grasp her personality. For me, she remains an indistinct character, always hazy and lacking definition.

There are quite a few coincidences which troubled me. Julian’s arrival at Herman’s apartment stretches credibility. And then there are the connections among Dirk and Putzeis and the Gorilla and Masha.

I have read quite a bit of historical fiction set during World War II, but I believe this is the first set in Brussels, so I learned a great deal from this book. I learned about the VNV, the Flemish nationalist party which became the leading force of political collaboration in Flanders during the German occupation of Belgium. I also learned about the 1943 solo bombing of the Nazi headquarters in Brussels by Jean de Selys Longchamps.

Though there are elements of the book I did not enjoy, it does offer a look at how Nazi occupation affected ordinary people whose survival was threatened in many different ways. It also inspires the reader to consider how s/he would react in similar circumstances. Would one choose submission or resistance? Some statements certainly made me draw parallels with current events in the US: “When we stop trying to understand how others see the world, when we lose our compassion, our empathy, we become animals. Worse than animals” and “Elected. The meaning of the word has changed for me since [the election of Hitler]. Or else my understanding of my fellow humans’ basic intelligence has changed. I don’t know if it will come to shooting, but I know it might.”

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of THE IMMORTAL WOMAN by Su Chang (New Release)

 4 Stars

This multi-generational story weaves the personal stories of women with historical events and emphasizes the power of “the ghosts of the past.”

In 1960s Shanghai, Lemai reluctantly becomes a student Red Guard leader and eventually a journalist with a state newspaper. Events during the Tiananmen Square protests cause her to lose faith in her country so she raises her daughter Lin to aim for a life in the West. Years later, Lin arrives in North America but struggles with identity and finding her place in the world.

Mother-daughter relationships are a focus. The one between Lemai and Lin is certainly complicated. Because Lemai’s experiences as a young woman are detailed, we understand her motivations, especially in raising Lin to aspire for a life in the West. Because Lin’s experiences in the West are detailed, we understand her struggles: she wants to fulfill her mother’s dream but she has her own ambitions. What is impressive is that the author manages to elicit in the reader both sympathy for and frustration with both women.

It is Lin’s experiences with which I most identified. She identifies herself as “the executor of Ma’s Grand Plan” and “thanks to [her mother’s] years of gospel-like teaching,” Lin “spent her entire formative years admiring, romanticizing, worshipping those [white] faces.” In the West, however, she ends up unhappy and suffering from the equivalent of a colonial mentality with “a bruising inferiority complex, a decimated self.”

Lemai imagines a perfect life for her daughter, like the one she imagines for her friend Wei who left for the West years earlier: “She had imagined her lifestyle: lunches with American co-workers, shopping sprees at luxury brands, vacations on white-sand beaches by the undulating sea. . . . Lemai was sure her friend could switch between cultures effortlessly, like slipping in and out of different outfits.” Lemai believes the propagandizing about “the Melting Pot in action; ah, the harmonious coexistence; ah, the nation unparalleled in its embrace of immigrants.” Lin discovers the falsity of the American dream: because her appearance differentiates her, she cannot totally assimilate into Western society and encounters both overt and subtle racism.

I appreciated the balanced portrayal of both China and the West. We see the extreme nationalism in China where the government controls the media as a propaganda weapon, and closely monitors and oppresses its people. Though Lemai thinks of the West as a paradise, she is ill-informed. Wei’s life proves to be nothing like what Lemai imagined. A classmate of Lin’s comments, “’You turn on the TV every morning and see the clowns talking, the cults and fake gods, the obscene rich and abject poor, the school carnage . . . this is supposed to be the pinnacle of human civilization?’”

The novel focuses on women’s experiences. Men in both parts of the world do not emerge as admirable characters. Men in both China and the West abandon their wives and children. And they enjoy wielding power over women, some physically but many psychologically. Men are either cowardly or manipulative while women may be quieter but are definitely stronger.

Parts of the novel are dense with politics. My lack of knowledge about Chinese history meant that some sections were tedious and I struggled to understand. Fortunately, there is sufficient explanation that I didn’t get totally lost. There are also cultural references which I had to research: I was not familiar with terms like hukou, baijiu, iron rice bowl, and hanfu. On the other hand, I completely understood the commentary about American society, comments which I found particularly relevant because of current events.

This is a worthwhile read although readers should be forewarned about the novel’s serious tone. There are few light-hearted moments, though the ending, with its emphasis on proudly embracing one’s heritage, is satisfying. Su Chang is definitely a Canadian writer to follow.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.