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Written by: Lauren Valerio
What does one think of when they hear the term “murder mystery?” Typically, a cynical and visceral reaction comes to mind, and it appears ineffable to imagine how such a topic could be transformed into a transcending literary masterpiece.
The Glister, John Burnside’s newest fiction novel, is a novel written to describe the terms of sufferance and powerlessness of the inhabitants of Innertown, and finally the deliberation of such evil. These ideals have been split into two parts of the novel: “The Book of Job” and “The Fire Sermon.” The metaphorical parts are depictions of the literary content within each section.
This storyline incorporates the main ideal of sufferance from “The Book of Job” into the lives of the inhabitants of Innertown, the main setting of the novel. When the book commences, readers are introduced to the head of police Constable Morrison, who is already withholding a secret from the audience. The novel continues to explain a plant that inhabited the town and the transition from job benefits, to overall disease destruction, to the disappearance of neighborhood boys within the woods surrounding Innertown.
The multi-narrated book follows the lives of specific inhabitants within Innertown, such as Constable Morrison, his wife Alice who has been affected by the plant, a potential suspect in the vanishing boys case Andrew Rivers, and Leonard and Elspeth, a few children of the town. Burnside’s intuitive styles display various scenes throughout the lives of these characters from various focal points as the lives of each inhabitant interplay with the next. The myriads of perspectives allow for changes in assumptions of characters.
Young and old characters alike continually state how they wish to leave the dreary dwellings of Innertown and the damages that the plant has imposed on their families. Inhabitants acknowledge the horrors that the plant has forced on them since the beginning of cancerous diseases and night terrors swept the neighborhood, but why do they stay?
Their desperation and powerlessness is evident even from the beginning. This is why it sadly comes as no surprise that when young boys continually disappear into the “poisoned woods,” no one questions it and it is seemingly ignored. The only thing that the inhabitants openly acknowledge is the treachery of the woods.
At the book’s beginning, Constable Morrison presents the woods to be a horrifying place because of what he knows and initially hides from the reader. Yet upon changing perspectives to Leonard, one of the town’s youth inhabitants, we find out that children are not afraid of the surrounding woods and actually wander amongst the trees and the old plant for fun.
Through this wandering, Leonard meets one of the most intriguing characters in the novel, Moth Man. Moth Man initially came into contact with Leonard a few years back when he was 13 years old. He sporadically arrives at the edge of the woods in his van, pitching a campsite and discussing life with young Leonard. His character takes a peculiar turn of events when he offers Leonard his “special tea” and discusses the nature of “The Glister.” At this time, Leonard is completely unaware of his fate.
The second part of this book, “The Fire Sermon,” is the pièce de résistance of the entire novel. It explores the intellectual and conceptual aspects of the actions that unraveled in the first part: Leonard questions the actions he has taken since the novel started, the death of an unsuspected character is examined by the murderous party, Constable Morrison undergoes a morality life lesson, and “The Glister” is finally revealed.
The novel is a phenomenal read with a thought-wrenching conclusion that engulfs the reader with a wave of questions.
The novel initially seems to cover a disturbing topic, but the author transforms such nightmarish matter into a literary masterpiece. All that can be divulged of the ending is that it should be commended for its creative and intriguing outlook on the known, the believed and the unknown.
Rating: 4.5/5 Falcons
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