KATRIONA WORD
The last house on Needle Street
translation by Alexis Kalofolias,
ed. Metaichmyo, page 408

The older sister steps forward to find her sister’s kidnapper and/or murderer as the police are unsuccessful.

There are many fiction books that rely on the “last page” turning, the author’s pirouette, which suddenly completely changes the point of view from which we observe events, illuminating them in a whole new light. The Catriona Ward novel is much more than that. In a way that is very rare, he achieves what is difficult to describe in words if one does not want to betray the text and thereby deprive the reader of that feeling of surprise, redemption, surprise and admiration that he will definitely feel, not when he closes the book, but the whole last part of it, at least a hundred pages in a row. We admit, although we were already warned from the back cover, the book was finally able to surprise us with the mastery of its design. A great achievement of the structure, and, of course, careful preparation by its author.

You start reading and understand relatively quickly that we are talking about a thriller, a “gothic” novel with elements of horror, perhaps about a man, a peculiar character who has done something truly terrible. Very soon we will learn that eleven years ago, while on vacation with her parents and older sister, a little girl disappeared. Which older sister also comes to the fore to find her sister’s kidnapper and/or murderer, as the police have been unable to do anything all these years: instead, what has happened is that her own family is completely torn apart. But just like this lonely man’s family fell apart. He may accept his daughter here and there, but there always comes a time when he releases her to return to her mother.

All this is told to us by the four narrators of the book, dividing the chapters almost equally. The first Ted, the protagonist, lives in this squalid house (the last house on Needles Street) with boarded up windows, excrement, garbage thrown on the floor, alcohol, strange neighbors, terrible, terrible visions that also plague him with memories of his mother, a strict nurse who raised him according to her own code of values. Then his cat. Yes, his cat Olivia has her own chapters, telling us the story from her point of view. She is a smart, almost cultured cat who either leaves her owner’s lap or avoids him by scratching him, then wreaking havoc around the house and reading passages from the Bible. Then Dee’s older sister, who, in her grief and guilt, rents the house across the street to look after it. Because she has big and terrifying suspicions about him – just like we do. And at some point, Lauren, Ted’s daughter, the wild one, finally enters the conversation, declaring her truth in this story.

So is this superbly written, richly prose thriller the story of a serial killer? A pedophile who kidnaps little girls and kills them? Is this a story about wounds that can no longer be healed? A nightmare story of untold pain? If anything is certain, it is that more and more ugly secrets are constantly crawling out of cobweb-covered corners – disgusting deeds of the past, lurking in dark places and stretching out a trembling hand here and there. And one more thing is certain: not only can we not imagine what really happened, but the shock of realization will come to each of us, whether we like it or not.

An excellent, masterful book that gently talks about “borderline” situations. It’s already being translated into many languages ​​and, of course, will be transferred to the cinema – its material is ideal for one of those films where you don’t need to know the ending at all. Warning: do not read the author’s Epimeter until you have finished reading it. Also of note is the excellent, atmospheric translation by Alexis Kalofolias.