Alex by Peirre Lemaitre is a salutary lesson as to why you shouldn’t put down a book just because you find a passage unpalatable. I started reading it last year and found the violence done to the central character, the eponymous Alex, disturbing and too graphic for my taste. So I stopped reading the book, which proved to be big mistake. I say this, not only because it had rave reviews from a wide range of readers but also because I have now subsequently rest the book, prompted by the publication of its prequel, Irene.
Irene is is the story of Commander Verhoeven of the Paris Police Nationale. A murderer has killed two women in a bloodbath that shocks even the most hardened of police detectives. The murder appears to have been planned down to the last detail with meticulous care to ensure that police are unable to find any forensic evidence. However, a fake fingerprint found at the scene links the crime to an earlier murder which had the press whipped into a frenzy of speculation. A journalist, Buisson, irritated by Verhoeven’s brusque manner publishes a series of articles taunting police incompetency in the latest case. But Verhoeven has more pressing concerns: a crime fiction academic has noticed a similarity between the murders and James Ellroy’s book, The Black Dahlia. While initially dismissed as coincidence, when more murders are identified, showing disturbing similarities to other crime novels, the team realise they are dealing with a devious mind whose primary aim is to provoke and ensnare Verhoeven.
Where to start with this book? First of all the title, Irene. It’s the name of Verhoeven’s wife and it’s clearly deliberate that the reader knows, from the start, that she’ll be a key figure in the novel. It makes the tension almost unbearable but also completely compelling. But her character is only part of it; the police investigation team are a fascinating mix of personalities, from the wealthy Louis to the chronically stingy Armand. How the team interacts with each other is key to how this novel is elevated above other police narratives.
I’m generally not a fan of books that reference other novels. However, I’m prepared to make an exception for Irene, not least as some of my favourite crime novels are mentioned. One murder is discovered to have echoes of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö’s Roseanna, another of William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw. It’s a book to delight crime fiction aficionados and I thought it truly wonderful. It’s easily shaping up to be my book of the year. One caveat: it is a brutal and grim read. I don’t like the excessive portrayal of violence against women. You get it here. But, all I can say, is that the brutality seems appropriate to the narrative.
The quality of Irene prompted me to take another look at Alex. In doing so, it meant I read the books in order that they’d 
been written. I don’t intend to write a review of the book here. It rightly won the CWA International Dagger last year and other reviewers have summed up the book as well as I could. Have a look at The Independent, Words Beyond Borders, Eurocrime and Crime Scraps. Suffice to say, I agree with them all. It’s a book to be read and savoured. However, once again you need to be able to stomach the violence.
Thanks to Quercus for my review copies. The book was translated by Frank Wynne.
Sarah – As always, an excellent review. I’ve heard quite a lot of good things about this novel and of course about Alex. I’ll have to give this a try when I am ready for a book with that much violence in it.
Great, Margot. There are some great reviews starting to come for this book.
Sarah-Thanks for the link.
I agree that Pierre Lemaitre makes his brutality seem appropriate to the narrative. The quality of the writing, the plot and interesting team of characters in Alex made reading the violent passages acceptable. Not pleasant but they were very relevant to the plot.
Alex was clearly a potential International Dagger contender, but I still think that the publishers might have been brave enough to publish them in order or even together.
I think it’s such a shame they weren’t published in the correct order too. I got a lot from reading them in the order they were written.
I loved Alex, one of my favourites of last year. I didn’t know another one had been translated. It sounds brilliant.
Thanks Lindsay. Definitely recommended, as you can tell from the review.
Oh very interesting Sarah – I too had been put off by the violence in the books, but knowing where you’re coming from, and knowing you liked it, really make me think I must consider both of the books….
Moira, as a fan of your writing, I really think you’ll like this book.
I’m reading this as we speak and like you appreciating the inbuilt homage to some terrific crime books. Quite enjoying the violence as well as stomach churning as it is at times 😉
I know what you mean.
I passed on Alex due to the descriptions I had read, no matter how much the reviewer liked the book, and don’t know that I will change my mind. With so many good things said about that book and the author, I may. Actually the references to books would be interesting. But with my piles of books, not in a rush to read these.
I know what you mean about that a TBR pile.
I thought Alex was pretty shocking, but not in a way unnecessary to the trajectory of the narrative. I am very much looking forward to this one.
Thanks Vicki. And it is violence in proportion, I have to agree.
Glad you read Alex, Sarah. I convinced a friend of mine to read it, too and she enjoyed it as well. I think we all agree that violence against women in crime fiction is a problem and I hate the brutal violence but like you said it seems appropriate to the narrative. That’s all.
Thanks, Keishon. Agreed.
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Thanks for the comment at Margot’s profile of my books at her “Introducing … ” feature. We writers, me anyway, just love those comments and reviews. Great post of Lemaitre’s Irene. Sounds like a fascinating book.
Thanks. And yes, Irene is a wonderful book.
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Alex is indeed a stunning, powerful novel. Though it is violent, it is not of the gratuitous type and is germane to the novel’s core. It has made me want to read Pierre ‘s entire oeuvre.
Completely agree!
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I have liked everything I’ve read so far by Lemaitre, although it does take a strong stomach, because, as you say, the violence is never gratuitous. In an interview I did with him, he had some interesting things to say about violence in crime fiction
http://www.crimefictionlover.com/2014/02/interview-with-pierre-lemaitre/
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I hadn’t heard of Alex, but Irene sounds fantastic. I also love the idea of including the investigator’s wife. Because, why not? Investigators are not island, they may like solitude and working on their own, but they have families and those are affected by – and may be crucial to – crime solving.
It really is an excellent book, Elena although perhaps Alex is even better. And a challenging read too for reasons that will become clear.