Good Reads / Community Library Notes
A SEPARATION
Katie Kitamura
Review by Priscilla Comen
A SEPARATION
Katie Kitamura
Review by Priscilla Comen
A Separation by Katie Kitamura is the story of a woman who wants a divorce from her husband, Christopher. She goes to Greece to find him, but he has disappeared from his hotel room. After they had separated, the woman moved in with Yvan, an old friend of Christopher’s. This interesting tale grows more complex as the narrator goes with Stefano, a Greek driver, to a neighboring town to meet his great aunt. She is a “weeper” who professionally mourns at people’s funerals.
The narrator pretends she is writing a book about this custom, which, in fact, her husband was doing. Later, when she sees the driver Stefano and the desk clerk Maria talking together, she realizes they are lovers. Maria cries when she hears that Christopher had been seen with another woman on a nearby island, and the narrator finds out more about Christopher’s infidelities. All the more reason to ask for a divorce. When the two women dine together, even though it is against the hotel’s rules, Maria loves saying Christopher’s name and asks questions about his life.
When Christopher’s body is found in a ditch, this turns into a mystery. He had been hit on the head with a rock. Who did it? Why? Robbery? Hatred of Americans? Stefano had seen a body when driving another passenger but not known who it was. Is he a suspect? Was Christopher killed by a jealous husband? He had been a womanizer.
Christopher’s parents arrive in Greece. Mark, the father, doesn’t like any Greek men, thinking any of them could have killed his son. Author Kitamura delves into the abstract ideas of death and dieing, as well as the reality of it. Had Christopher seen his assailant? Did he know what was coming?
When the narrator inherits three million pounds as his widow, she feels guilty because she had been planning to divorce him. There are no answers, but the reader is allowed to decide for him/her self. This is the fun of reading mysteries without conclusions. Kitamura is a new young voice in this genre. Find this book on the new fiction shelf of your community library.
The narrator pretends she is writing a book about this custom, which, in fact, her husband was doing. Later, when she sees the driver Stefano and the desk clerk Maria talking together, she realizes they are lovers. Maria cries when she hears that Christopher had been seen with another woman on a nearby island, and the narrator finds out more about Christopher’s infidelities. All the more reason to ask for a divorce. When the two women dine together, even though it is against the hotel’s rules, Maria loves saying Christopher’s name and asks questions about his life.
When Christopher’s body is found in a ditch, this turns into a mystery. He had been hit on the head with a rock. Who did it? Why? Robbery? Hatred of Americans? Stefano had seen a body when driving another passenger but not known who it was. Is he a suspect? Was Christopher killed by a jealous husband? He had been a womanizer.
Christopher’s parents arrive in Greece. Mark, the father, doesn’t like any Greek men, thinking any of them could have killed his son. Author Kitamura delves into the abstract ideas of death and dieing, as well as the reality of it. Had Christopher seen his assailant? Did he know what was coming?
When the narrator inherits three million pounds as his widow, she feels guilty because she had been planning to divorce him. There are no answers, but the reader is allowed to decide for him/her self. This is the fun of reading mysteries without conclusions. Kitamura is a new young voice in this genre. Find this book on the new fiction shelf of your community library.