For your information, dear reader, I chose Come
Barbarians largely because of the author. Todd Babiak
is a local boy, local in that he worked for the Edmonton Journal for 10 years
and currently calls Edmonton home. He has written other novels, two of
which I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed; Toby: A Man and The Garneau
Block with its obvious reference to the community in central
Edmonton. I hadn’t read a review of Come Barbarians and hadn’t a
clue what it was about but thought I’d enjoy it simply because I
have enjoyed books by this author in the past. We tend to do that as
readers, don’t we? We choose books by a particular author only because we’ve
enjoyed their literary offerings and make assumptions about their
future output then cross our fingers hoping that we’ll enjoy the novel and the
money we’ve spent will have not been wasted. Fortunately for me, this
book was a winner and I’m so glad I had it on radar.
As I began reading the first few chapters, I became
somewhat shocked by the unfolding of the plot. Not that the premise
of the book is all that shocking: Christopher Kruse moves to France
to become a better man and a better husband as well as to escape his
past that has caused his marriage to break down and his wife to feel
alienated. After a horrific accident followed by the disappearance of his
wife, he is drawn into a political web that forces him to draw on the skills
from his past (those of the protective services kind) in order
to stay a step ahead of the French police and the Corsican
mob. No heart palpitations in the outline, dear reader? Whew! My shock
stemmed from the fact that I simply hadn’t been expecting a gangster book. It
is a fast-paced novel featuring a life that I’ve only seen in mob
movies. Filled with its share of conspiracy theories and
the darkest impulses of man, it describes human violence rather
graphically which is what I hadn’t been expecting. Despite my initial shock, I
continued reading and found myself eager to discover the outcome of
Christopher’s game of le chat et souris (cat and mouse).
Had this been a movie (and it really should be), I
likely would have turned it off or at least averted my gaze rather than watch
the brutal acts against man. Knowing Hollywood producers today,
there would have been too much gore for my delicate eyes. But despite
writing about truly awful things, the author manages to temper
this inhumanity with the softness of a father’s poignant recollections
and uses these memories as a means of rooting his
character to humanity, instead of allowing him to succumb to his savage
instincts. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers. Until
next time… have you read a Canadian book today?
Julie
Julie
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