In the Forest
Edna O'Brien
2002
Around 220 pages
Well, that was exactly what I expected. I suppose with the endless parade of novels about psychopathic men, I should have been tipped off that another one was lurking around the corner. It wasn't terrible, but I feel like we already covered this ground with The Butcher Boy.
The story is based on the 1994 murders of a woman, her son, and a Catholic priest. Mich O'Kane is on the usual trajectory of disturbed men, where all the signs are there but nobody really does anything about it. The descriptions of violence were not as graphic as they have been in other novels, although she's an effective enough writer that she sets you up to fill in the grisly details yourself.
It wasn't much of a mystery, as the character of Mich feels very inevitable. Apparently the real life family of the victims weren't too happy with O'Brien writing this so soon after the murders, so that makes it feel a little gross.
Not the worst read, but skippable.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
O'Brien has been mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature.
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