Ebb and flow of revenge

The book ‘Don’t Let Go’, by Michel Bussi and translated by Sam Taylor, is a solid crime thriller with some of the most well-constructed set pieces and character arcs

Translations are often bogged down by the language barriers and loss of native semantics from the source language to English. Sam Taylor navigates this barrier with competence in ‘Don’t Let Go’, a French novel by Michel Bussi. Set on Réunion, a volcanic island in the Indian ocean of breathtaking beauty, lagoons, waterfalls and cliffs, the novel is a crime thriller set to a brisk pace and for deceptive thrills.

The French territory is a relative new settlement, in the larger scheme of human migration. The confluence of various people with different languages, backgrounds, cultures and customs creates all the expected drama, conflicts and harmonies imaginable and unimaginable. Tourism is often times the island’s biggest source of income and in the particular case drama and action.

Liane Bellion and her husband Martial are on a vacation here with their six-year-old daughter, Josapha. On late afternoon Liance takes a break from all the sun bathing to retire to her room and everything changes. When Martial goes looking for her after an hour, she is nowhere to be found, her disappearance and the proceeding investigation all point to foul play.

Martial is the prime suspect, his behaviour and past comes back to haunt him. Questions about his role in the disappearance or possible murder of his wife propel the narrative into a game of cat and mouse revealing juicier details about the Island, its people, Martial connection to it all and the hidden secret buried in the volcanic ground.

Martial is a good-looking man, intimidating with his chiseled features, with a chequered past. When this comes crashing down, his motives become murky, his actions erratic and then he too disappears with his daughter.

The genius narrative of the author is in his ability to thread the fine line between keeping the reader intrigued enough to follow the bread crumbs while not over saturating or making the hunt too taxing. The trickling revelations are the right amount at the right time, adding layers and dimensions to a plot that seems very straight forward to begin but adds complexity over the pages.

The author is well-known for his dramatic twists and this novel delivers some of the best the genre has seen in recent years. The central characters, the Police captain Aja and second Christos are the balance to Liance and Martial’s uncertain narratives.

Readers primary perspective raising doubts and suspicious, and digging up revelations occur from the point of view of Aja and Martial. Having a small but two and three-dimensional characters both secondary and primary, the author creates and intimacy for the reader, which compels emotional investment into the outcomes of the narrative.

The immersion, however, is constantly disrupted due to the usage of Creole vocabulary for the simplest words that would have rendered themselves effective just as easily in English. This constant consulting of footnotes to understand the Creole lingo diminished the reading experience.

The descriptions, settings and cultural references sprinkled liberally throughout the novel can create a sense that the reader is perusal through a travelogue or a tour guide. The book is a solid crime thriller with some of the most well-constructed set pieces and character arcs. A great read while lazing around in the house on a late afternoon.

By: Shirish Kumar