Michael Collins (1) (1964–)

I get it, I really do - why Michael Collins novel drenched in the underbelly of American life was shortlisted for the booker prize, however I had to wait to the final chapters and the 'big reveal' to be convinced. It is one of those novels where I wish I had known the ending long before I got there, so that I could have appreciated what the author was really writing about. On the surface it appears to be a well written crime novel where a struggling middle aged man tries to come to terms show more with the guilt he feels following the death of his parents in a fire at their home, when he was a young boy and which he probably caused.

It is written in the first person; Frank reads in a newspaper that his uncle who raised him has been murdered. He immediately thinks that there may be something in it for him as the sale of old farm house should be split between him and his half brother as there are no other claimants. As he says to himself "where there is a will there is a relative". He telephones his brother and is told in no uncertain terms to stay away. Frank is in a new relationship with Honey whose ex (Ken) is currently awaiting execution on death row, Honey had two children with Ken; the 14 year old and difficult boy Robert Lee and the five year old Ernie. Honey is still in love with Ken, but is persuaded by Frank to hitch her wagon with him in a journey to near the Canadian border to the small town where Frank was born. Frank is broke he has to steal cars to make the journey and looks for an opportunity to steal money to support his new family, while he argues over his rights under Uncle Ward's Will. When Frank arrives in the freezing north the pressures that made him leave his home town are still in evidence, people treat him with suspicion and he becomes a suspect in the murder of his Uncle Ward. The major part of the novel is the unveiling of the story of his parents death. Frank admits that he is un unreliable witness, having been committed to a mental institution some time ago, where he underwent electric-shock therapy and life in his home town is complicated with the needs of Honey and Robert Lee.

There are no likeable characters in this inverted world of the American Dream. Frank himself is not above committing horrible crimes, Robert Lee is a teenager full of angst, Norman; Franks brother is a simple soul bored with his life as a farmer and his wife is not above framing Frank for murder. Frank's new work colleague Baxter is an alcoholic, bent on cheating his way to more money with a Donald Trumpian attitude to women. Their boss is busily putting into practice some of the worst aspects of Dale Carnegie's advice in "How to win friends and influence people" and the psychiatrist who treated Frank as an adolescent is creepy. Everybody in town seems to be inured in the low-life and everybody seems to watch trashy day time TV. Franks efforts to uncover the mystery of his parents death are getting nowhere until the murder of another suspect and so much of the story in the meantime, is about Franks efforts to keep his new family together and to become a useful citizen in his new environment, there are relapses and no assistance. The story is set in the late seventies: America is coming to terms with Vietnam, there are plenty of veterans around, the cold war is still in full swing and Watergate and political scandals have soured any respect for political leaders. Jim Jones mass suicide is a daily feature on TV and the shocks seem to keep on coming. Michael Collins has set his story as a reflection on American trauma at this time and this is the strength of this novel. Franks struggles are indicative of the loss of the American dream for many people. It is more difficult to survive for somebody like Frank and when the final pieces of his story are put into place one can appreciate better all of what has gone before. 4 stars. show less

These short stories are brilliant, full of dark Irish humour and sadness. I can see why this book was shortlisted for the Booker prize in 1996. I discovered Michael Collins only last year and having read one book, I then proceeded to read all of his books back to back, other than this one which I saved.
My favourite story in this book is The Fornicator which is simply hilarious though a dark tale. I would suggest starting with that story rather than at the beginning. In fact , the first two show more stories were my least favourite.
If you enjoy Irish fiction you simply must read Michael Collins. show less

Well, that was a waste of perfectly good reading time. The Keepers of Truth starts out with a mystery: a man disappears from a small midwestern town, and his ne'er-do-well do son is automatically a suspect. Bill, a reporter for the local newspaper, is on the beat but for some reason doesn't want to cover the investigation; instead he wants to write Really Great Prose about the meaning of life and how the crime is somehow representative of the sad decline of small towns and American industry show more in general. Bill is a recent college graduate but comes across more like a 40-year-old suffering a mid-life crisis. The other main characters are all various archetypes of the American white male. Women are cast in subservient roles, primarily as waitresses or cheerleaders. Their breasts fall out of their blouses and they reveal their underwear with alarming frequency. Even the woman TV news reporter is objectified.

As if that weren't enough, the story darts all over the place. Bill is on the scene reporting the crime. Bill pines after his former girlfriend. Bill spends all night in a diner, several nights in a row (how does he go to work the next day? Beats me). Bill decides to prepare for law school again having failed the first time. Bill pines after his girlfriend again. Bill joins the police chief in rounding up rowdy high school students cruising the main drag.

All that in just over 80 pages. By then I'd had enough. The Keepers of Truth was nominated for the 2000 Booker Prize, competing against a field that included The Blind Assassin (which won), The Deposition of Father McGreevy, English Passengers, The Hiding Place, and When We Were Orphans. Go read one of those instead.

(DNF) show less

I was blown away by this literate thriller. Michael Collins again captures the dark side of small town America. It is a story of homecoming and confronting the past but ultimately hopeful. There are so many thrillers set in the underbelly of large American cities that it is refreshing to read a story ripe with psychological tension and characters whose shared history goes back for generations. When Frank Cassidy was five, his parents died in a house fire in a remote Michigan town. When his show more Uncle is shot by a mysterious stranger thirty years later , Frank returns to the town seeking answers about his past.
Highly recommended. show less