Book Bites
Triflers Need Not Apply ★★★★ Camilla Bruce, Michael Joseph
Because they are relatively rare, female serial killers are endlessly fascinating. Bella Sorenson, aka Belle Gunness, who killed an assumed several dozen men and some children (the final tally has never been proved) in the US during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is one such figure. Norwegian novelist Camilla Bruce reimagines how this murderess might have been moulded into the terrifying ogre she became. In response to the trauma visited on her as a teen, Belle (then Brynhild) responds: “I would rise, if only to spite. Vermin always survive.” While one might sympathise with Belle’s travails, she is presented as a thoroughly narcissistic and evil woman who feels nothing for even her own children, and this leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, but the delicate evocation of the time and how women were oppressed — Bruce sets Belle’s misdeeds against the moral probity and human warmth of her sister, Nellie — make this a thoroughly worthwhile read. Sue de Groot
The Man Who Never Was ★★★★ Douglas Kruger, Umuzi
David and his his son Chris share a bond many would be jealous of. But when David is shot and killed, his son’s life is destroyed. In the afterlife, David gets three viewings of life on earth and how those he loved have carried on. Time on earth and in heaven is different, so he gets to choose any points in Chris’s life, including his death, to view.
There are rules. He can’t intervene. He can’t reach out. He is there to watch. What he sees is soul-destroying. Chris is a criminal; a rapist and murderer. The person his son grew up to be is not the boy he knew, and David starts negotiating with the angels to prevent his son’s life of pain and the harm he caused others. The only option is for David’s life to be nullified — for him to have never existed so that his son never existed. This book poses credible questions about what you would do as a parent if your child turned out to be a hideous criminal and there was only one solution to make sure it could all be erased. Jessica Levitt
Wild And Wicked Things ★★★ Francesca May, Orbit
A magical realism lesbian reimagining of ‘The Great Gatsby’ sounded like the perfect book. In this alternative 1920s, magic, not liquor, is banned, and the rich thumb their noses at the rules on the exclusive and glamorous Crow Island. This haunting and mysterious tale follows three women from different backgrounds whose fates collide in dark and dangerous ways. Yet the plot’s predictability holds back the potential of this otherwise seductive and alluring story with its intriguing characters.