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A review by monnnn21
Nothing On Earth by Conor O'Callaghan
4.0
4.5
Reading this slight novel was like watching a true crime doco but only ever hearing the testimony of the accused: no facts ever interjected, no trustworthy source to narrate between the lines, just defence.
Our narrator is adamant that he is of the reliable sort, but admits to fabrications without being specific. If he’s reliable, this is an eerie tale: one of an entire missing family and creepy notes on dusty windows and characters who may or not truly exist. If he’s unreliable, it’s even eerier: because he maybe killed any number of those family members, and there are characters who may or not truly exist; because of course, he’s telling the story, so any mention of the girl having her period (which later explains the blood on his bed) could have been added into his account as a premeditated explanation, as could be his hearing her screaming in the night (to cover up in case someone nearby heard the same thing coming from his home?)
Our narrator is a priest. One who’s well aware of the suspicion that could come against him should he be left alone with a minor. He’s also a perv. One whose admitted to watching said minor topless from afar and fantasising about her in the other room.
It’s the kind of book where you should turn the final page and start all over again with your knowledge of how it ends and start picking through the story with a fine toothed comb, finding hints and subtleties you couldn’t possibly notice the first time round without all the information. I’m very keen to come back to this in future and do just that.
Reading this slight novel was like watching a true crime doco but only ever hearing the testimony of the accused: no facts ever interjected, no trustworthy source to narrate between the lines, just defence.
Our narrator is adamant that he is of the reliable sort, but admits to fabrications without being specific. If he’s reliable, this is an eerie tale: one of an entire missing family and creepy notes on dusty windows and characters who may or not truly exist. If he’s unreliable, it’s even eerier: because he maybe killed any number of those family members, and there are characters who may or not truly exist; because of course, he’s telling the story, so any mention of the girl having her period (which later explains the blood on his bed) could have been added into his account as a premeditated explanation, as could be his hearing her screaming in the night (to cover up in case someone nearby heard the same thing coming from his home?)
Our narrator is a priest. One who’s well aware of the suspicion that could come against him should he be left alone with a minor. He’s also a perv. One whose admitted to watching said minor topless from afar and fantasising about her in the other room.
It’s the kind of book where you should turn the final page and start all over again with your knowledge of how it ends and start picking through the story with a fine toothed comb, finding hints and subtleties you couldn’t possibly notice the first time round without all the information. I’m very keen to come back to this in future and do just that.