Book 14 – Transgression
My son picked this book out for me as a Christmas gift because it “sounded interesting”. And it really was. It is two stories in one; a story of forbidden love between a French girl and a German soldier in 1941 and mystery involving a washed-out cop living in Paris, Ontario (yes, there really is such a place) who comes across a severed finger in a field and must race the OPP to find the body that goes with it and solve a murder.
The writing is interesting. At first it seems kind of child-like, with short, simple sentences and lots of detail left out, but then it starts to feel like the style of writing is done purposefully, to put you in mind of the staccato kind of way that life unfolded during the war – every day is hardship, any moment can bring news of the death of loved ones, each minute tick by while you wait for news that someone missing has been found.
I found this book to have many parallels to “All the Light We Cannot See” and in many ways I like this one better. I think the characters were richer, and the element of the mystery worked as a hook to keep the story interesting and moving forward with purpose. For me, it was more entertaining and satisfying than All the Light, but less prosaic, perhaps.
I have noticed that I am about a week ahead on my book-a -week timeline, with another one that I will finish in a day or two, but this is actually very good because my next book after that is a weighty tome about the history of cancer. Gotta keep mixing it up with the science books!
Rating: Borrow it. Or buy it and lend it out.
