Review: The Little Friend

This is the author's second novel - she caused a tremendous stir ten years ago with her debut novel "The Secret History" which was met with critical acclaim and successful sales. Many reviewers have classed both novels as suspense fiction, or as mysteries. The case is easier to make for "The Secret History." While "The Little Friend" opens with an unsolved murder, the protagonist is Harriett, the younger sister of the boy who died, and the action follows her quest to find her brothers' killer, taking place about eleven years after his death, when she herself is only 12 years old. As a reader, I was extremely skeptical that this young girl would be able to provide any meaningful solution to the crime. The book does not aspire to compete with the "Harry Potter" type of book in presenting a young sleuth figuring things out. As the action proceded, it was clear that Harriett was in this on her own, with only the overly dramatic assistance of one friend, also her age. Not until within the last 90 pages of the book do readers gain any insight on the boy's murder, this "clue" as it were, is brief and almost parenthetical. Harriett and her friend Hely are alone in their confusion at the beginning of the book, and this solitude continues until the end.

Harriett's parents have separated in the aftermath of their son's death, her mother has drifted into a continuing depressed state, leaving all housekeeping and child rearing to a black servant. Harriet's grandmother and great aunts provide emotional support and family continuity, but she still exists in a kind of shadow household, lacking parental supervision, attention, and care.

So not a mystery then. What exactly do we have here? Before the novel has concluded several other major losses impact Harriett's life, and I found the conclusion to the action particularly unsatisfying. Since the book exceeds 550 pages, I broke my existing "50 page rule" over eleven times, and often wondered exactly why I kept reading. There is enough uncertainty as the action develops to keep a reader musing on what might be coming next, but in the end the answer is "not much."

Tartt throws a great many themes out here - coming of age, apprehension of mortality, economic decline, "revival" style religion, chronic depression, unrecognized grief, well meaning neglect of a child's basic needs. My reaction to the book is there is too much going on, and as a result none of the issues are resolved effectively.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM

Book Review: The Little Friend