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Les Profanateurs (2002)

par Michael Collins

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1935139,714 (3.53)7
"Haunted by the deaths of his parents and uncle, Frank journeys north to dispute a cousin's claim to the family farm, where he meets a stranger who might resolve mysteries about Frank's past"--
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» Voir aussi les 7 mentions

5 sur 5
I get it, I really do - why Michael Collins novel drenched in the underbelly of American life was shortlisted for the booker prize, however I had to wait to the final chapters and the 'big reveal' to be convinced. It is one of those novels where I wish I had known the ending long before I got there, so that I could have appreciated what the author was really writing about. On the surface it appears to be a well written crime novel where a struggling middle aged man tries to come to terms with the guilt he feels following the death of his parents in a fire at their home, when he was a young boy and which he probably caused.

It is written in the first person; Frank reads in a newspaper that his uncle who raised him has been murdered. He immediately thinks that there may be something in it for him as the sale of old farm house should be split between him and his half brother as there are no other claimants. As he says to himself "where there is a will there is a relative". He telephones his brother and is told in no uncertain terms to stay away. Frank is in a new relationship with Honey whose ex (Ken) is currently awaiting execution on death row, Honey had two children with Ken; the 14 year old and difficult boy Robert Lee and the five year old Ernie. Honey is still in love with Ken, but is persuaded by Frank to hitch her wagon with him in a journey to near the Canadian border to the small town where Frank was born. Frank is broke he has to steal cars to make the journey and looks for an opportunity to steal money to support his new family, while he argues over his rights under Uncle Ward's Will. When Frank arrives in the freezing north the pressures that made him leave his home town are still in evidence, people treat him with suspicion and he becomes a suspect in the murder of his Uncle Ward. The major part of the novel is the unveiling of the story of his parents death. Frank admits that he is un unreliable witness, having been committed to a mental institution some time ago, where he underwent electric-shock therapy and life in his home town is complicated with the needs of Honey and Robert Lee.

There are no likeable characters in this inverted world of the American Dream. Frank himself is not above committing horrible crimes, Robert Lee is a teenager full of angst, Norman; Franks brother is a simple soul bored with his life as a farmer and his wife is not above framing Frank for murder. Frank's new work colleague Baxter is an alcoholic, bent on cheating his way to more money with a Donald Trumpian attitude to women. Their boss is busily putting into practice some of the worst aspects of Dale Carnegie's advice in "How to win friends and influence people" and the psychiatrist who treated Frank as an adolescent is creepy. Everybody in town seems to be inured in the low-life and everybody seems to watch trashy day time TV. Franks efforts to uncover the mystery of his parents death are getting nowhere until the murder of another suspect and so much of the story in the meantime, is about Franks efforts to keep his new family together and to become a useful citizen in his new environment, there are relapses and no assistance. The story is set in the late seventies: America is coming to terms with Vietnam, there are plenty of veterans around, the cold war is still in full swing and Watergate and political scandals have soured any respect for political leaders. Jim Jones mass suicide is a daily feature on TV and the shocks seem to keep on coming. Michael Collins has set his story as a reflection on American trauma at this time and this is the strength of this novel. Franks struggles are indicative of the loss of the American dream for many people. It is more difficult to survive for somebody like Frank and when the final pieces of his story are put into place one can appreciate better all of what has gone before. 4 stars. ( )
  baswood | Jul 18, 2023 |
Quite tedious to read as the plot was rather confusing. ( )
  siok | Feb 4, 2017 |
I really liked this book, but I think I would have liked it even more if I had been in a better frame mind when reading it! Don't read it if you are down or having a hard time in your life - save it for when things are a bit better. Life for Frank Cassidy and his family is hard, and the odds are well stacked against them.The murder of Franks uncle, who raised Frank after his parents were killed in a fire, opens old wounds and long buried memories rise to the surface. There is no happy ending here, only life lived day to day in the long dark days of a hard Michigan winter - there is no American Dream ending - a haunting read. ( )
  annlib13 | May 4, 2011 |
I was blown away by this literate thriller. Michael Collins again captures the dark side of small town America. It is a story of homecoming and confronting the past but ultimately hopeful. There are so many thrillers set in the underbelly of large American cities that it is refreshing to read a story ripe with psychological tension and characters whose shared history goes back for generations. When Frank Cassidy was five, his parents died in a house fire in a remote Michigan town. When his Uncle is shot by a mysterious stranger thirty years later , Frank returns to the town seeking answers about his past.
Highly recommended. ( )
  bhowell | Aug 27, 2009 |
Psychological/suspense story about Frank Cassidy, a young man who witnessed his parents death in a fire when he was five. Having blocked the memory from his head, he begins to pick up the pieces of his life marrying a woman with an ex-boyfriend on death row and raising two children. But his past comes back to haunt him when he hears that his uncle who raised him has been murdered. Now he must retrace the past in order to find out who is the killer. I liked the idea of this book. Intersting twists on how we perceive the past. The characters were intriguing though a bit stereotypical. But for some reason the book left me feeling a bit flat. It seemed to me like this was a really good book that just hadn't reached it's final draft form.
  theresak1975 | Nov 13, 2007 |
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