It’s not that I didn’t enjoy Blacklands, it’s that I was slightly frustrated it wasn’t as good as it could, or should, have been.I’m always a bit in awe of a good idea. While my creative juices flow pretty well, I’ve always struggled to come up with ideas I consider to be worthy of whatever project I’m working on: my strength has always been the execution of a good idea rather than the concept itself. This blog, suggested by someone else, perhaps provides a good example (although you’ll no doubt make up your own minds on that…).
Blacklands has at its – black – heart, a great idea. Not good, great. Having a 12-year-old child write to a serial killer and imprisoned paedophile in a bid to find the grave of his murdered uncle, and then tell the cat-and-mouse story more or less from the child’s perspective, is a terrific idea worthy of a great book. But this isn’t it.
For a start, while some sections are believable, others are extremely far-fetched. While the relationship that starts to blossom between the two correspondents becomes almost touching, the code-breaking in the letters which leads to that point never rings true.
The age, or the intelligence, of the boy is also an issue. To properly engage with the book, you have to completely identiify and sympathise with the boy, and while some elements – such as a desperate desire to please and make things good again – are well done, there is no consistency in his character.
There are some nice touches, such as the boy’s frequent ‘uncles’ who never stay long, and his miserable mildew-influenced school life, which demonstrate by their normality what an abnormal enterprise he has embarked upon. But then there are sections such as the prison’s bizarre and illogical response to the eventual escape which let the book down.
All in all, a pleasant read. But one which promised much more.
So, rating time:
#18 Blacklands, by Belinda Bauer (Transworld Publishers) - 6/10
Next up: The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx (Fourth Estate)
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