A New Southern Crime Series
Safe Harbor Books, a small independent publisher in Asheville, North Carolina, begins an ambitious series of crime fiction, the "Southern Crime Series" with Christopher Brookhouse's new novel, "Finn". Safe Harbor kindly offered the book to me for review. Brookhouse is the author of several novels and books of poetry. In 1971 Brookhouse received the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters for his novel "Running Out" The Rosenthal Award is awarded annually to a young novelist for a work which constitutes a "considerable literary achievement".
Set in a small Sothern town, Sprite, in the summer of 1960, "Finn" is narrated in the first person by its title character, a young man of 26. Finn's parents both had roving eyes and each had run off leaving the boy alone by the time he was fourteen. Finn was "taken in" and raised under mysterious circumstances by a wealthy lawyer, "Judge" Spier and his wife Belle who, as were Finn's parents were ill-suited to each other. They live at a large old estate, Red Sticks, on the town's outskirts. The Spier's had three daughters, Delia, the oldest, Annabel, and Caroline. Although the Judge paid for Finn's education and treated him kindly, he was kept separate and in a second-class status from the family. When the novel opens, the Judge has been dead for three years, and his widow has just died. The three daughters receive the family property in its entirety under Belle's will while Finn receives nothing but an old claim check from an establishment of ill-repute that closed many years earlier.
The novel explores personal and cultural change. Finn slowly learns about his own past and about the secret lives, sexual and otherwise, of almost everyone in the seemingly sleepy town. Finn, who teaches English at the local private high school, also is under suspicion by many of the townspeople for his support for admitting a young African American student for the first time in its history. His small home is burned to the ground on the day of Belle's funeral and he faces other threats to his life.
This is a highly atmospheric novel which captures well the pace of Southern life in the mid-20th Century. It offers portrayals of the old mansion at Red Sticks, of developing businesses, and of the different social classes of the town, ranging from established families, to professional people, cafeterias, newspapers, thrift shops, old bars were soldiers and frustrated local men could meet women of easy virtue, and more. The book has a broad range of characters, including Finn, the three sisters, an Indian friend of Finn's, Finn's lady friend Danielle, and others. For a short novel, the characters are differentiated and well-developed. Almost everyone has a sexual past. The story moves forward through examining the background and fate of several objects, including the claim check, a rusty key, a compromising photograph, and a fur coat.
For a crime novel, "Finn" offers a slow read in its 114 pages. The plot develops slowly and is less convincing than either the characterizations or the atmosphere. The book drops hints about the characters and the secrets of their pasts that are subtle and sometimes easy to miss. The book is cluttered and it is difficult at first reading to keep the characters straight. On the other hand, the book is short and interesting enough that it merits reading twice. Young Finn learns about himself and is able to proceed with his life. The reader gains insight into a small town and its people.
This book is a fine opening volume for what may be a promising new series of Southern crime fiction. The book will appeal to readers of crime novels and noir and to those with an interest in the literature of the American South.
Robin Friedman
