IN A DARK TIME

Rating:
Summary: Taut, highly effective
Review: Watson may not be as celebrated as some other authors, but many of the more well-known could learn a lot from him in terms of economy of style and narrative control. Although "In a Dark Time" is, for me, just a notch beneath his superb efforts "Montana 1948" and "Justice," it's still a very well-conceived and thought-provoking short novel.

In recent reviews, I've been critical of two writers whose work I have, in the past, admired: Richard Price ("Samaritan") and Tim O'Brien ("July July"). In both cases, I found the authors' indulgence in digressions detracted from the narratives. Both, in my opinion, allowed their characters to tell stories to their hearts' content and as a result, the structure of both novels suffered.

"In a Dark Time", in contrast, establishes its time, place, characters and conflict from the outset and Watson rarely, if ever, allows his novel to stray from the path he has determined for it. He controls the characters, not the other way around. His protagonist is a teacher at a small school where the latest in a series of as-yet unsolved murders has occurred. The structure of the narrative is built around a journal the protagonist keeps in which he -- in an increasingly obsessive manner -- ruminates about the deaths even as he details the daily events of his life.

As with many good writers, Watson takes seemingly mundane subject matter and makes it matter to us by developing in his narrator an original voice. His protagonist notices the small details of everyday life and reacts to them in ways we come to recognize are unique to him. Watson builds suspense as the novel wears on, not only because we wonder who committed the murders, but because we begin to wonder if the protagonist we trusted from the novel's first page may know more than he is letting on. Or, we wonder, perhaps he is simply caught in a net woven from his own imagination.

Perhaps Watson's most intriguing psychological angle involves his protagonist's complicated and ambivalent attitude toward the killer, whomever he or she may be. As the narrator's ambivalence grows, the tone of the his internal discussions becomes increasingly abstract and fragmented. Yet the reader (this one anyway) easily went along with the change because Watson carefully develops it during the course of the novel's events. It's a harder trick than it appears, and it's a tribute to Watson's skill that he turns it with a transparency of effort.

Aside from the narrator, Watson doesn't achieve anything special with his character development, and some may find the novel's conclusion doesn't compare with the author's effort to get his readers there. But the novel is still a fine piece of work by a writer who deserves more attention.

Rating:
Summary: Taut, highly effective
Review: Watson may not be as celebrated as some other authors, but many of the more well-known could learn a lot from him in terms of economy of style and narrative control. Although "In a Dark Time" is, for me, just a notch beneath his superb efforts "Montana 1948" and "Justice," it's still a very well-conceived and thought-provoking short novel.

In recent reviews, I've been critical of two writers whose work I have, in the past, admired: Richard Price ("Samaritan") and Tim O'Brien ("July July"). In both cases, I found the authors' indulgence in digressions detracted from the narratives. Both, in my opinion, allowed their characters to tell stories to their hearts' content and as a result, the structure of both novels suffered.

"In a Dark Time", in contrast, establishes its time, place, characters and conflict from the outset and Watson rarely, if ever, allows his novel to stray from the path he has determined for it. He controls the characters, not the other way around. His protagonist is a teacher at a small school where the latest in a series of as-yet unsolved murders has occurred. The structure of the narrative is built around a journal the protagonist keeps in which he -- in an increasingly obsessive manner -- ruminates about the deaths even as he details the daily events of his life.

As with many good writers, Watson takes seemingly mundane subject matter and makes it matter to us by developing in his narrator an original voice. His protagonist notices the small details of everyday life and reacts to them in ways we come to recognize are unique to him. Watson builds suspense as the novel wears on, not only because we wonder who committed the murders, but because we begin to wonder if the protagonist we trusted from the novel's first page may know more than he is letting on. Or, we wonder, perhaps he is simply caught in a net woven from his own imagination.

Perhaps Watson's most intriguing psychological angle involves his protagonist's complicated and ambivalent attitude toward the killer, whomever he or she may be. As the narrator's ambivalence grows, the tone of the his internal discussions becomes increasingly abstract and fragmented. Yet the reader (this one anyway) easily went along with the change because Watson carefully develops it during the course of the novel's events. It's a harder trick than it appears, and it's a tribute to Watson's skill that he turns it with a transparency of effort.

Aside from the narrator, Watson doesn't achieve anything special with his character development, and some may find the novel's conclusion doesn't compare with the author's effort to get his readers there. But the novel is still a fine piece of work by a writer who deserves more attention.

Rating:
Summary: Quality suspense fiction - for fun
Review: Watson's books in general are small town suspense. This book differs only in that the narrator is a teacher rather than a sheriff. Watson's strength is the complexity and authenticity of his characters - less true in this novel than Montana 1948 or White Crosses. The plot is well constructed - a serial killer in a high school. However, Watson does not write a traditional mystery - he is concerned with whodunit but more interested in exploring the effect of serial killings on the community - making and breaking relationships, suspicions of any "other", fear of the next death.

Well written and entertaining - curl up and read for fun.

Rating:
Summary: Quality suspense fiction - for fun
Review: Watson's books in general are small town suspense. This book differs only in that the narrator is a teacher rather than a sheriff. Watson's strength is the complexity and authenticity of his characters - less true in this novel than Montana 1948 or White Crosses. The plot is well constructed - a serial killer in a high school. However, Watson does not write a traditional mystery - he is concerned with whodunit but more interested in exploring the effect of serial killings on the community - making and breaking relationships, suspicions of any "other", fear of the next death.

Well written and entertaining - curl up and read for fun.

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent book by Larry Watson
Review: You can't go wrong with any of his books. Pick up as many as you can. I've given a dozen copies of Montana 1948, White Crosses, Justice, A Dark Time, and Laura to friends. Great gifts for anyone who appreciates superior writing.

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent book by Larry Watson
Review: You can't go wrong with any of his books. Pick up as many as you can. I've given a dozen copies of Montana 1948, White Crosses, Justice, A Dark Time, and Laura to friends. Great gifts for anyone who appreciates superior writing.