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A review by loram
Hell's Gate by Laurent Gaudé
3.0
This story is translated from French and set in Naples, which could be an interesting combination, only the translation seems a little dry. Part of this is because some chapters are written in present tense, which I assume is true to the original. It might work better in French, but I had a very hard time getting into the plot.
Sometimes it would start to get interesting, then I would lose track of what was supposed to be happening. Eventually it became clear that a child had been killed and his mother wanted the father to track down the killer and murder him in revenge, but killing a man in cold blood is not as easy as it sounds.
In the process of trying to satisfy his wife's need for revenge, Matteo, the father, meets some interesting characters and finds himself examining some of life's deeper questions. An invitation from an unusual priest to visit the underworld leads Matteo on an adventure he didn't bargain for.
Although it took a while to get into this story, it certainly had some interesting aspects. Depictions of the underworld are always of interest and the characters were a strong point. The ending comes full circle and everything fits into place eventually, but it's the sort of story you would have to read twice to get the full benefit of what's going on.
Sometimes it would start to get interesting, then I would lose track of what was supposed to be happening. Eventually it became clear that a child had been killed and his mother wanted the father to track down the killer and murder him in revenge, but killing a man in cold blood is not as easy as it sounds.
In the process of trying to satisfy his wife's need for revenge, Matteo, the father, meets some interesting characters and finds himself examining some of life's deeper questions. An invitation from an unusual priest to visit the underworld leads Matteo on an adventure he didn't bargain for.
Although it took a while to get into this story, it certainly had some interesting aspects. Depictions of the underworld are always of interest and the characters were a strong point. The ending comes full circle and everything fits into place eventually, but it's the sort of story you would have to read twice to get the full benefit of what's going on.