Christine Falls
Benjamin Banville
Reviewed by Carianne Carleo-Evangelist
Christine Falls,
written by John Banville under the pseudonym Benjamin Black, is a story
that
stands out no matter what name the author chooses to go by. Not being
familiar
with Banville’s other work apart from their names, I found Christine
Falls to be a good
introduction to
the author and his work.
Although mystery fiction is not often known for its strength
of characters, the author succeeded in creating well-rounded,
believable
characters. Sarah, Quirke, Mal and the spectre of Delia’s presence are
real and
don’t exist for the sole purpose of conveying the author’s story, as
sometimes
occurs in this genre.
Quirke, though at times a challenge to understand, seems to
be a mystery in and of itself. As he spends more and more time
drinking, the
reader is able to delve deeper into his persona to try and learn what
makes him
tick, and why. Benefiting nearly as much from Banville’s power of
description
are the inanimate objects that nearly come to life from the author’s
description.
What further pushes the story is the timing; while it’s
primarily set in the 1950s, the critical events occurred some twenty
years
earlier. In doing this, the author allowed for a clear understanding of
previous events without getting bogged down in the events in between
which do
not have as great a role as the past and present.
Speaking of timing, the era in which it’s set plays a strong
role in the character development. Although Ireland
and its people are still considered by some to be religious in nature,
it’s not
likely that the Catholic Church would have the same pull today over
people as
it did in the 1950s. If Sarah, Quirke, Mal, etc. were to act as they
did in a
novel set in 2007 it might not be credible, but in this case the power
and
influence of the church was tangible.