Finally read this

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Ragan

Free-Zone Committee Reject
Aug 3, 2011
620
963
Idaho
I know I said some harsh things about this book, and it's a harsh book. I tried to read it when it came out and couldn't. I couldn't get past the beginning of Big Driver. But I kept hearing so much about it, I decided eventually I would try to read it again.

Well, it was good. Very dark, though, not that I mind the dark. Just how brutal a few parts were, and I don't know if I would ever reread it.

1922 was great, it almost feels out of place with the modern collection. It did set a tone of making you empathize with a villain, while having revulsion at what he does and the aftermath of the crime.

Big Driver was harsh and frustrating. One it gets going, once you get past the crime itself, it becomes a good revenge story.

Fair Extension surprised me by what didn't happen. It's a pretty straight narrative, not a lot of twists or turns.

A Good Marriage is dark, in a somewhat different way than Big Driver, because you never see the horrible things. Instead, it becomes a bit of a mystery as a wife tries to decide if her husband is a serial killer, and what she should do.

The book has two recurring, conflicting themes, one is getting away with murder, with the other being retribution for things done to others. All of the protagonists do terrible things, all of them did so out of feeling victimized. It's kind of an interesting contrast.
 

Rrty

Well-Known Member
Jun 4, 2007
1,394
4,588
Excellent analysis. I have not read Big Driver yet, but I have read the other three. (I have a hard time figuring out that concealment button, so please know I am about to give away a plot point or two).

Fair Extension is my favorite,
and you're right, what didn't happen makes the tale pretty unique in that genre of storytelling. If I remember some of the details correctly, I liked how the guy who was the target of the deal with the devil had nothing happen to him -- it was just the people around him who experienced the bad stuff. Also, didn't the devil say nothing would happen to the guy's soul, that they didn't exist, or something along those lines? The devil just demanded cash payments. Again, very unique. I felt bad for the guy who was being tormented, because unless I am wrong on this, I don't remember him being particularly nasty or evil.

1922 was excellent, and A Good Marriage was also very good, but as for the latter -- and, again, I am going on memory -- I recall disliking the scene of the detective (was it a detective?) who figured out what happened and then hugged(?)/kissed(?) the wife for doing what she did. I remember thinking that was silly and unrealistic. Great concept, though; it was scary when she found the box.
 
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Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
1922 was excellent, and A Good Marriage was also very good, but as for the latter -- and, again, I am going on memory -- I recall disliking the scene of the detective (was it a detective?) who figured out what happened and then hugged(?)/kissed(?) the wife for doing what she did. I remember thinking that was silly and unrealistic. Great concept, though; it was scary when she found the box.

See, I really liked that part with the detective actually. Although he wasn't a detective at that point, he was a retired detective that was close to death. Also he had spent many years of his career trying to discover the identity of the killer. I really liked how they danced around the subject without actually saying it and without her admitting it openly. The kiss was his way of telling her he knew everything and thought she was brave.