Review:
THE BIG O by Declan Burke
Review by Sandra Ruttan
Note: Review based on Hag’s Head edition, published 2007
THE BIG O is one of those stories peopled by numerous characters with what we might call flexible morals, and the result makes for numerous twists and turns throughout the book, as individuals are confronted with opportunities and conflicts of interest and have to decide how to handle the unpredictable chain of events that unfold. If you break it down to basics, a man decides to have his soon-to-be-ex-wife kidnapped… and one double cross leads to another and another.
Burke shows remarkable skill at weaving a complex story from multiple points of view and pulling the strands together in an engaging fashion, and he clearly has the genius required to pull off a large scale story. Although the core of the story – centered on a planned kidnap for ransom that goes horribly wrong – is completely different, one can’t help thinking of KISS KISS, BANG BANG in the sense that this is also a story that has a wild domino effect as one thing leads to another thing and seemingly unrelated factors converge and alter the direction of the story.
THE BIG O is a caper, and there are a few things readers should bear in mind at the outset. It is necessary to use the multiple viewpoints to get the full effect of the story. You will be expected to jump on board and pay attention as the weaving begins, because you will not get a recap to bring you up to speed. Try to read THE BIG O when you have a decent chunk of time to devote to it.
There were a few niggle points for me that I would be negligent not to point out. One is that chocolate poisoning is very serious for dogs and dog owners should never feed dogs chocolate. I realize Anna is part husky, part wolf… and as the owner of two purebred huskies and someone who has handled wolves, I’m probably overly aware of their needs, behaviour and sensitivities. It’s the kind of thing most readers aren’t going to notice.
The other niggle point was the setting. I had the impression the book was set in the US, because of references to the twins wanting to go to Colorado, and the lie another character thought of, that he’d been in Florida on holidays. Even the husband’s girlfriend wanted to go to Acapulco on holidays.
But the language is often distinctly non-American. I read a lot of books by British authors, and a lot of books by Americans, and as a Canadian shift between the two routinely. Burke is Irish, and the language proves it. Americans are far more likely to refer to a cell phone than a mobile, and taking the piss is distinctly Brit/Irish. There are many other phrases that pop up as well. While I am as annoyed as the next person at the idea of converting books set in the UK to American, if a book is set in the US it needs to convey that through the language. The ambiguity over the setting may have been intentional, in an effort to make the book less localized, so that more readers would read it as though it was set near them, but the result for me was constantly going back and forth with the arguments over the location.
This is why I’ve noted that the review is based off the Hag’s Head version of the book. Those purchasing the Harcourt edition due out later this year may find all these minor quibbles have been resolved.
And in fact, they are minor quibbles. It is one of the clear distinctions between capers and some of the other subgenres: The emphasis is not on technical accuracy in terms of police procedure or organized crime. Capers are wild stories with a humorous edge, and THE BIG O delivers in spades, so plan for a healthy chunk of time, kick back with a few margaritas and indulge in Burke’s dark comedy – this is an author with a lot of promise, well worth taking note of, and I’m looking forward to his next book.