Land of the Blind: A Novel

by Jess Walter

Overview

“A mystery novel of profound depth.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Walter is at his incisive best. . . . Hypnotically compelling." — Publishers Weekly

In this fiendishly clever and darkly funny novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jess Walter explores the bonds and compromises we make as children—and the fatal errors we can make at any time in our lives.

While working the weekend night shift, Caroline Mabry, a weary Spokane police detective, encounters a seemingly unstable but charming derelict who tells her, "I'd like to confess." But he insists on writing out his statement in longhand. In the forty-eight hours that follow, the stranger confesses to not just a crime but an entire life—spinning a wry and haunting tale of youth and adulthood, of obsession and revenge, and of two men's intertwined lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061712845
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/18/2009
Series:	P.S. Series
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	769,594
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

Jess Walter is the author of seven previous novels, including the bestsellers, The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins, the National Book Award Finalist The Zero, and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award for best novel. His short fiction, collected in The Angel of Rome and We Live in Water, has won the O. Henry Prize, the Pushcart Prize and appeared three times in The Best American Short Stories. He lives in his hometown of Spokane, Washington.

Hometown:

Spokane, Washington

Date of Birth:

July 20, 1965

Place of Birth:

Spokane, Washington

Education:

B.A., Eastern Washington University, 1987

Website:

http://www.jesswalter.com

Reading Group Guide

In this fiendishly clever and darkly funny novel, Jess Walter speaks deeply to the bonds and compromises we make as children-and the fatal errors we can make at any moment in our lives.

While working the weekend night shift, Caroline Mabry, a weary Spokane police detective, encounters a seemingly unstable but charming derelict. "I'd like to confess," he proclaims. But he insists on writing out his confession in longhand. In the forty-eight hours that follow, the stranger admits to not just a crime, but an entire life: a wry and haunting tale of poverty and politics, of obsession and revenge. And as he writes, Caroline pushes herself to near collapse, racing against the clock to investigate not merely a murder, but the story of two men's darkly intertwined lives.

Editorial Reviews

Spokane detective Caroline Mabry, the heroine of Walter's acclaimed debut, Over Tumbled Graves, returns in a supporting role in this new thriller. Burned out on the job and stuck in the night shift, Caroline is in the station house when Clark Mason stumbles in after midnight, needing to confess to a murder. With his fitted shirt, long tousled hair and eye patch (all three black), Clark intrigues Caroline, even as she chastises herself for the vague attraction. Before long, he's frenziedly writing his story on a series of legal pads, and she's following up on the leads that spill from his lips as he writes. His flashbacks stretch as far back as childhood, when Clark alternately befriends and betrays the intense misfit Eli Boyle. The first betrayal occurs when Clark is caught between scapegoat Eli and scary preteen bully Pete Kramer. Adolescence, with its romantic predicaments, only complicates the relationship between these three. As Clark's narrative rolls slowly forward in time, Caroline tracks down the people he mentions. Walter is at his incisive best juxtaposing the characters in the present with their childhood selves. Spokane is carefully rendered in all its moody complexity. Wracked by urban blight and an inferiority complex (it's no Seattle), the city holds an ineffable attraction for both Caroline and Clark. Similarly, Walter's novel takes sketchy detours and its characters repel as much as compel, but lucid writing and a palpable sense of nostalgia make it hypnotically compelling. (Mar.) Forecast: This thriller is more quiet and literary than Walter's debut, but a stylish cover and West Coast author tour should help get readers' attention. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

For Spokane Police Detective Caroline Mabry, the first questions that a confessor to a homicide answers are "who" and "what," naming the victim and the crime. For confessor Clark Mason, picked up as a derelict yet oddly familiar and just short of attractive, all that matters is "why." A one-eyed former high-tech millionaire who made an unsuccessful run for Congress, Mason writes a statement of fact on four legal pads over 19 hours to explain his role in the death of his longtime friend, Eli Boyle. Mason's statement, which makes up the bulk of this novel, is interspersed with attempts by Mabry-whose job performance has been slipping as personal losses sink her into depression-to identify and find a body. Walter (Over Tumbled Graves) keeps the suspense at a high level to the very end; fans will want more of Mabry and possibly Mason, too. This compelling, intelligent novel, with its strong section on childhood and keen insights throughout, is highly recommended for all fiction collections.-Michele Leber, formerly with Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The confusions of youth shape tragic, unhappy lives in this somber, absorbing second novel. As he did in Over Tumbled Graves (2001), Walter uses the terse police procedural as framework for what becomes a flowing story of character. Spokane police detective Caroline Mabry (returning from Graves) confronts a man, Clark Mason, who wants to confess to murder. Insisting he write his confession, Mason fills legal pads with his "Statement of Fact," which turns into a fevered autobiography in which his vision-and that of the other characters-is scarcely factual, much less perceptive. (A childhood bully has blinded one of Mason's eyes.) Mason writes that his victim was Eli Boyle, a friend since childhood. Bearing a limp, a lisp, crossed eyes, and a snowstorm of dandruff, Boyle is the ultimate class nerd-until a swift, winning play at battle ball transforms him into a school hero. When Boyle asks Mason to rehabilitate him, Mason complies, setting him up with blossoming Dana Brett. Mason, though, finds Brett irresistible. Come prom night, Boyle discovers the two making love, and tensions thereafter rive all three of them. Brett marries a dull, aggressive man, Mason seeks direction in his life through politics, and Boyle retreats into a strange interactive character game called "Empire." He and Mason hatch a plan to develop "Empire" into video game that leads to Boyle's death. Offsetting Mason's dark meditations (and nimbly steering the book itself away from ponderous terrain) are several interjected chapters tracing Mabry's investigation into the case. Depressed by her violent work and unhappy personal life, Mabry identifies uneasily with Mason. As he sits on the high ledge of a hotel, Mabry crawlsout and joins him to watch the sun rise over a bleak city. Walter renders his blind land with a clear-eyed, compassionate vision.

Kirkus Reviews