Christine Falls: A Novel
by Benjamin Black
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Book Summary Information
Author: Benjamin BlackEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-03-06
ISBN: 0805081526
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Book Reviews of Christine Falls: A Novel
Book Review: "He could not leave it behind him, this dark and tangled business."
Summary: 4 Stars
Pathologist Garret Quirke is the protagonist of "Christine Falls," written Benjamin Black (a pseudonym for John Banville) and set in 1950's Dublin. Quirke is a loner whose wife died many years earlier in childbirth. He is also a cynic who has little purpose in life other than wallow in self-pity and smoke and drink himself to death. He does have a soft spot for his flighty nineteen-year-old niece, Phoebe, who is seeing a young man whom her parents dislike. When Quirke spots his brother-in-law, an obstetrician named Malachy Griffin, tampering with the record of a patient named Christine Falls, Quirke's curiosity is piqued. Although he is warned to keep his nose out of matters that do not concern him, something impels Quirke to risk his well-being and even his life to learn the truth about Christine. When a murder occurs that appears to be related to Christine's case, Quirke investigates further and his quest leads him into dangerous and sordid territory that has far-reaching implications for the Irish Catholic community in Dublin and Boston.
The use of the third-person omniscient narrator point of view gives the reader an intimate glimpse into the characters' thoughts and feelings. For instance, we learn that Sarah Griffin, Malachy's wife and Phoebe's mother, is extremely unhappy. Her marriage is a sham and she still carries a torch for Quirke, who was in love with her before he married her sister. Sara's husband is more concerned about his social standing than he is about his family's needs or even his personal honor. Both Sarah and Mal are frustrated with their rebellious daughter and they strongly disapprove of Quirke's dissipated lifestyle. Sarah accuses Quirke of being hardhearted: "You play with people...just to see their reaction, just to see if they'll do something interesting, to relieve your boredom." Other noteworthy characters are Andy Stafford, a vicious and selfish bully, and his sweet but vulnerable wife, Claire.
Benjamin Black describes what happens when people of wealth and influence use their money and power to control other people's lives. Although Quirke is, on the surface, a man without a conscience, he gradually comes to realize that he must take a stand against obvious injustice if he is ever to regain his self-respect. The author also explores the moral failings of the Catholic Church, which he suggests is an institution that is too closely tied to well-heeled donors who expect favors in return for their generous support.
Black is an outstanding descriptive writer, and he uses language precisely and elegant to create one memorable scene after another. However, the narrative gradually loses some of its power in the melodramatic and heavy-handed second half, and most readers will be able to predict the book's twists and turns long before they are revealed. "Christine Falls" is a bleak and dispiriting look at misguided people who have made bad choices that they live to regret and, in some cases, pay for with their lives.
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