“Is that book entertaining or informative?” my eleven year old daughter asked, as I snatched my copy of Tana French’s, FAITHFUL PLACE, from the table.  I was making another run for sanctuary, to read in peace and make this a vacation of books-for-lunch, sand between my toes, and excellent whiskey taken in holiday moderation (which isn’t as much about upping the limit as it is about liberating some of the daylight hours for sipping.)

Her question was a reach for the very basic distinction between fiction and nonfiction that the public school has drilled into her head.  My answer ended up resolving an ongoing philosophical itch I’d had for years – what makes me love a book?  In short, it has to be both.

First off, FAITHFUL PLACE, is plain excellence in crime fiction, or suspense, or literary intrigue – whatever you’d like to brand it.  Tana French reeled me in with her wonderful debut, IN THE WOODS, (which won The Edgar for Best First Novel in 2008) and thrilled me with her sophomore outing, THE LIKENESS (a tantalizing premise that, in less capable hands, probably would have collapsed in a self-conscious heap.)  She’s made the big list over at The New York Times each time she’s gone to print and I’ve never once had the how-the-hell-did-that-happen flinch when I see her books there.

And now FAITHFUL PLACE has brought into bold focus what makes a great read for me.  The book opens with the discovery of an abandoned suitcase that pulls a police detective back to his old haunts to re-examine the conclusions he’d drawn two decades earlier when he’d cut anchor (and all ties) from the neighborhood of Faithful Place, his childhood home, in one of Dublin’s crustier corners.  At the heart of the revelations kicked off by the find is the luminous Rosie Daly.  A handful of hopeful balloon strings has kept her alive in the memories of the tenants of Faithful Place, but the investigation turns a facet of each of the players towards the light, ultimately sending the truth flashing through the tensions in the streets, and behind all the slammed doors.

So, back to the question – is it entertaining or informative?  Some books are all about the story and some books are all about the words.  The best books are about both.  The older I get, the less willing I am to wear uncomfortable clothes (even if they look good) or to devote eight or more hours to novels that pander.  If it’s all breathless Bruckheimer written in see-spot-run syntax or, conversely, a quicksand of impenetrable brooding and no plot, it won’t suit me.

Tana French seems devoted to the idea that only the right words will make you see what Frank sees, make you laugh at what he finds funny, and that only through the precision and music of the right words will you be convinced to throw your lot in along with his, for better or worse.  The people of FAITHFUL PLACE live so vividly through French’s words that the book practically breathes in rhythm with their sighs, huffs, and rages.  Their dramas are entertaining in the way that makes a comfy-chair Olympic sport out of a racing mind and a raised pulse.  And they are real enough (because of the right words) that we’re informed of our own minds as we live a brief parallel existence in Faithful Place.  Above all, if we can learn through the mistakes of others in ‘real life’, we can definitely come away smarter at the closing of the back cover of a book – if only it’s built of the right words in the right order.

I don’t often write book reviews.  My mother’s admonition to keep it zipped if I hadn’t anything nice to say is a terrific cover for my cowardice.  I’m too wimpy to whet my grump on someone else’s hard work.  So most of my literary carping is done off the record. Thank you, thank you, Ms. French, for writing books that let me unpack an opinion in public.  It’s been a pleasure.

***

FAITHFUL PLACE is likely sitting on a front table or endcap at your local bookstore, or you can have it delivered by your postman (or through the magic of 3G or WiFi directly to your eReader) from Amazon.com or Barnes&Noble’s online store.

Also see Ms. French’s thoughts on FAITHFUL PLACE and writing in general in our ‘5 Minutes Alone’ feature and ‘Is Your Book Your Baby’ essay series.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 12:49 pm and is filed under *Jamie's Posts, AuthorScoop Exclusives, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.