Eyewitness- Rebecca Forster



This is not the easiest Forster to get into, not that that will deter her fans. Don't let it deter you in the unlikely event that this is the first one you have sampled. When you do catch up with the characters, a problem we share with the local police, one will be rewarded in as least as big a way as is customary with a Forster.

The parallel story telling requires a little effort, a temporary requirement to multi-task. I found it necessary to be relaxed about remembering the early flood of characters, and corpses. Soon enough we get to know all the characters we need very well. There is always a lot going on, plenty of energy to keep the mind's light-bulb lit.
The mix of cultural expectation, and the deeply engrained private pasts that we all carry with us are the keys to this powerful read. Our own histories have complex emotional affects, just as do those of Forster's characters. The parallel storytelling, the sub-story that starts the chapters will provide the glue. You will need the glue, but be relaxed about watching it set. The witness theme gets a clever re-design, rather than just a new coat of paint, in this one. Clashing colours just take a little getting used too, Forster doesn't write in beige. Waves from all the characters colourful pasts impinge on the physical forces of the present. They flash through the pages creating yet another brilliant Forster novel. Witness the crimes for yourself.

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