A review by nonna7
The Silver Swan, by Benjamin Black
5.0
In the novel preceding this one, Christine Falls, we meet Dr. Quirke, an obsessive and trouble pathologist in an Irish hospital. In that novel, Quirke discovers his brother-in-law altering the file of a dead woman. Quirke, who describes himself as "curious," retrieves and examines the young woman's body. Before we know it, he has discovered a ring of illegal adoptions run by the Catholic Church in Ireland.
In this second novel in the series, Quirke is back - still obsessive, still curious. He's given up drinking and, so, as a widower with a daughter who grew up thinking of him as her uncle, he has nobody to go home to at night and nowhere to go. Instead he takes long walks and thinks about his life. This second book in the Quirke series, tells the story of a bizarre suicide of a young woman married to someone Quirke knew at university.
Billy Hunt calls Quirke in tears begging him not to do an autopsy. Ireland is still run by the church in this post WWII period. If her suicide is made public, there will be a scandal, plus she will be refused burial by the Church. Quirke agrees but then notices a needle mark.
Soon his obsessive curiosity leads him to try to learn exactly what happened. We learn that the dead woman, Deirdre Hunt, had adopted the name of Laura Swan when she met Leslie White, a swave, silver-haired con man. They open an upscale salon and, for a while, things are going well. Deirdre has a new car, new refrigerator and is looking forward to a mink coat. However, things soon fall apart.
This is not a fast read. Benjamin Black is the pen name of John Banville, a Mann Booker award winner. The author's protagonist, Quirke, thinks deeply about everything and approaches his curiosity with obsession laced with care. A review of Christine Falls described the book as an onion the reader unfolds until they get to the rotten core. That's a good description of this one also.
In Quirke's (and Benjamin Black's) world there is darkness and corruption behind the facade of the happy Irish face. Reading this can make you feel slightly gritty at the end, but the language is worth the risk.
In this second novel in the series, Quirke is back - still obsessive, still curious. He's given up drinking and, so, as a widower with a daughter who grew up thinking of him as her uncle, he has nobody to go home to at night and nowhere to go. Instead he takes long walks and thinks about his life. This second book in the Quirke series, tells the story of a bizarre suicide of a young woman married to someone Quirke knew at university.
Billy Hunt calls Quirke in tears begging him not to do an autopsy. Ireland is still run by the church in this post WWII period. If her suicide is made public, there will be a scandal, plus she will be refused burial by the Church. Quirke agrees but then notices a needle mark.
Soon his obsessive curiosity leads him to try to learn exactly what happened. We learn that the dead woman, Deirdre Hunt, had adopted the name of Laura Swan when she met Leslie White, a swave, silver-haired con man. They open an upscale salon and, for a while, things are going well. Deirdre has a new car, new refrigerator and is looking forward to a mink coat. However, things soon fall apart.
This is not a fast read. Benjamin Black is the pen name of John Banville, a Mann Booker award winner. The author's protagonist, Quirke, thinks deeply about everything and approaches his curiosity with obsession laced with care. A review of Christine Falls described the book as an onion the reader unfolds until they get to the rotten core. That's a good description of this one also.
In Quirke's (and Benjamin Black's) world there is darkness and corruption behind the facade of the happy Irish face. Reading this can make you feel slightly gritty at the end, but the language is worth the risk.