John Lee's Reviews > The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair

It was almost 4 years ago that all the hype on one of my book sites was about this book . I grabbed a copy which has gradually slipped down my reading list as more books have been added. Why I chose to read it now, I have no idea. So glad I did. I haven't been as caught up in a book for a long time.

I'm sure that many other reviews will give you a precis of this complex story. I wont.
It isn't a quick read but something about the writing style had me hooked very early on.
From there the narrative , split into three time periods, combined a forbidden love story, a murder mystery and a story about a story about a story.
At the centre of all this is Nola a 15 year old daughter of the local vicar. It is a complex tale of lies and deceptions by several people for several reasons over a thirty year period.

The book looked at the story behind a 30 year old crime. It cleverly plants subtle hints which give you the idea that you have guessed the story, or part of it, then only to find your theory explained away and a new one is planted to replace it - only for that to receive the same fate shortly afterwards. Very cleverly done.

I doubt anyone could have predicted the final outcome and as an armchair detective that should have bothered me. It didn't because somehow it wasn't necessary here. All parts of the mystery were carefully explained.

I recently gave as my reasons for ditching a book, that I didn't care enough about any of the characters. That certainly wasn't the case here. The players in this drama are all so carefully described that you feel as if you know them all so well that you get drawn in too.

This is a translation from the original french story and the author cleverly includes in the narrative how to pronounce the title character's name correctly.

This is the first book for a long time that had me thinking about the story long after I had put the book down. I cant wait to see if the author's other books are as good .

As this is essentially the story of an older writer passing on his knowledge, I feel that it is perhaps appropriate to quote from the Epilogue :-

" A good book is judged not by its last words but by the cumulative effect of all the words that have preceded them. About half a second after finishing the book, after reading the very last word, the reader should be overwhelmed by a particular feeling . For a moment he should think only of what he has just read and smile a little sadly because he is already missing all the characters. A good book is a book you are sorry that you finished"

I couldnt agree more and it sums this up perfectly.