The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël DickerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
So the first review that pops up for me for this book is by someone who admits to having only read 40 pages. I don't really understand how only reading 40 pages makes someone feel they can give an extensive review, but there you go.
In fact, after having read that review, I really wish I had enjoyed this book more so I could give it a higher rating, thereby maybe undoing some of the damage.
Unfortunately there were quite a few issues that didn't sit well. Yes, as mentioned several times, the writing was very YA-ish. But then again, it's a mystery novel, and you can't really expect Camus in mystery novels (the abovementioned review does compare this to Camus. As you can tell, the review didn't sit well with me either). I also REALLY didn't like the whole pedophile angle, including the way Nola acted. The references to Lolita could have been a tad more subtle, rather than an anvil to the face.
The author also seemed to wish to accomplish way too much. I've heard authors do this with early novels. They want to impart all of their life lessons and interesting techniques in one "supernovel". I got a lot of that here.
Then again, it is a Mystery novel/Thriller, and each chapter kept me interested, and, especially at the end, I found it pretty hard to put down. That's what a mystery novel is supposed to do, so in this case it worked.
Also, kudos to the translator. I actually hadn't realized it was a translation at first, which means he probably did a great job.
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