Order GRAVEYARD LOVE here
(also reviewed)
Order JUNGLE HORSES here - Read the Review
Everybody and their mothers will tell you they love noir. Why wouldn't they? What's not to love about wisecracking detectives, mysterious women and the stench of human greed? Not many of them will be able to explain you the difference between hardboiled and noir, though. It's not that complicated to be honest, but it's a nuance that will only appear to passionate and tireless readers over time. There are some shortcut books that accentuate the differences between these two cousin genres, though. Scott Adlerberg's new novel Graveyard Love is one of these bad boys that leave no doubt as to what they are.
Kurt Morgan is a lonely, middle-aged writing living with his mother and working on her memoirs in exchange for free rent. Oppressed by the weight of the task of satisfying his mother's legacy, Kurt often takes walks in the nearby cemetery. That is where he meets a mysterious red haired woman who disappears inside a mausoleum every now and then. Kurt is so wrapped-up in his loneliness that he begins following her into town, at the bar and to dates with her boyfriend. It's not enough for Kurt, though. The fantasies he entertains about the red haired woman fill more and more of the void in his life until it begins to consume him. Following her is enough anymore, it has to become real.
When James M. Cain wrote what was allegedly the first noir novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, he was not trying to write noir. He wrote psychological thrillers about lust and illusions in a (morally) bankrupt America. Graveyard Love was written the same way: it's an obsession story first and foremost, relying on strong characters and a bleak setting to create something different. It is noir in the same way Cain's novels are noir because of the mysterious woman and the weak man ready to do whatever it takes to make the romantic fantasies playing out in his mind become true. There are no fedora-wearing detectives in Graveyard Love, only a bleak atmosphere and the sense of a terrible ending waiting to happen and that is what makes it great noir.
Graveyard Love reminded me of old Brian de Palma thrillers a lot. The legendary director had this phase in the early eighties where he shot awesomely creepy obsession movies with lonely and mulleted protagonists such as Blow Out and Body Double. Kurt Morgan, like de Palma's protagonists, is resourceful and driven, yet consumed by the idea he is owed a beautiful woman and in Graveyard Love, Kurt's attempts to bridge the gap between his expectations of what his life should be and his grim reality. Other readers will find parallels with Robert Bloch's iconic character Norman Bates, which is not false. There are clear references to Psycho in Graveyard Love, but the angle taken on the protagonist is definitely de Palma'esque.
I liked Scott Adlerberg's previous novella Jungle Horses, but Graveyard Love felt like a a step forward for him. The first person narration feels natural for him as he's able to distance his character's action from his intent and create a growing dissonance as the novel unfolds. If anything, both books bear witness to Adlerberg's storytelling skills, though. It is a little early to call his narrative range Lansdalesque, but it is definitely in play. I thought Graveyard Love was a very good, slickly told and detail-oriented noir novel, and it was just a hair away from being transcendent. It will make you feel queasy and uncomfortable, but it'll keep you guessing and find ways to surprise you every couple pages or so. Solid read for the winter, when it's cold and dark outside.
Kurt Morgan is a lonely, middle-aged writing living with his mother and working on her memoirs in exchange for free rent. Oppressed by the weight of the task of satisfying his mother's legacy, Kurt often takes walks in the nearby cemetery. That is where he meets a mysterious red haired woman who disappears inside a mausoleum every now and then. Kurt is so wrapped-up in his loneliness that he begins following her into town, at the bar and to dates with her boyfriend. It's not enough for Kurt, though. The fantasies he entertains about the red haired woman fill more and more of the void in his life until it begins to consume him. Following her is enough anymore, it has to become real.
When James M. Cain wrote what was allegedly the first noir novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, he was not trying to write noir. He wrote psychological thrillers about lust and illusions in a (morally) bankrupt America. Graveyard Love was written the same way: it's an obsession story first and foremost, relying on strong characters and a bleak setting to create something different. It is noir in the same way Cain's novels are noir because of the mysterious woman and the weak man ready to do whatever it takes to make the romantic fantasies playing out in his mind become true. There are no fedora-wearing detectives in Graveyard Love, only a bleak atmosphere and the sense of a terrible ending waiting to happen and that is what makes it great noir.
Graveyard Love reminded me of old Brian de Palma thrillers a lot. The legendary director had this phase in the early eighties where he shot awesomely creepy obsession movies with lonely and mulleted protagonists such as Blow Out and Body Double. Kurt Morgan, like de Palma's protagonists, is resourceful and driven, yet consumed by the idea he is owed a beautiful woman and in Graveyard Love, Kurt's attempts to bridge the gap between his expectations of what his life should be and his grim reality. Other readers will find parallels with Robert Bloch's iconic character Norman Bates, which is not false. There are clear references to Psycho in Graveyard Love, but the angle taken on the protagonist is definitely de Palma'esque.
I liked Scott Adlerberg's previous novella Jungle Horses, but Graveyard Love felt like a a step forward for him. The first person narration feels natural for him as he's able to distance his character's action from his intent and create a growing dissonance as the novel unfolds. If anything, both books bear witness to Adlerberg's storytelling skills, though. It is a little early to call his narrative range Lansdalesque, but it is definitely in play. I thought Graveyard Love was a very good, slickly told and detail-oriented noir novel, and it was just a hair away from being transcendent. It will make you feel queasy and uncomfortable, but it'll keep you guessing and find ways to surprise you every couple pages or so. Solid read for the winter, when it's cold and dark outside.
