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A review by jennifer_c_s
Candlemoth by R.J. Ellory
4.0
‘I have faith in the fact that I am going to die.’
It’s 1982 and Daniel Ford is thirty-six years old. Twelve years ago, Daniel was convicted of the murder of his best friend, Nathan Verney. In thirty-six days, he will walk to the electric chair and pay with his life.
‘I ask myself what life is, what does it mean? Perhaps nothing more than a story, and each story different and rare and pronounced with its own voice.’
Father John Rousseau has been assigned to talk with Daniel during this last period of his life, and it is their conversations that lead us through Daniel’s life. Daniel’s friendship with Nathan started when they were aged six, and had its own difficulties in the American south of the 1950s: Nathan was coloured. The narrative takes us through the tumultuous events of the 1960s and 1970s in America: the backdrop of racial tensions; civil rights marches; assassinations and conspiracy theories; and the shadow of the Vietnam War shape the world in which Daniel and Nathan grew to adulthood.
So, what happened for Nathan to be killed and Daniel to be convicted of his murder? We learn Daniel’s story as he tells it to Father Rousseau – the history is familiar, and the personal events unfold against that backdrop. If Nathan’s murder defines the beginning of the end of Daniel’s life, then it is necessary to go back to the beginning to understand how and why Nathan was murdered. We readers do not have the answers until the end of the novel.
'Best as I can recall it all started with a baked ham.'
This is the third of Mr Ellory’s novels that I’ve read (although it was the first one published), and I enjoyed it. Daniel is a totally believable character, as are many of the secondary characters in the novel. At times I felt the story was in danger of being overwhelmed by the times in which it was set but by then I was totally engrossed in Daniel’s story. And the ending? Read it for yourself and see what you think.
‘Four times I’ve been betrayed – twice by women, once by a better friend than any man may wish for, and lastly by a nation. And perhaps, truth be known, I betrayed myself.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
It’s 1982 and Daniel Ford is thirty-six years old. Twelve years ago, Daniel was convicted of the murder of his best friend, Nathan Verney. In thirty-six days, he will walk to the electric chair and pay with his life.
‘I ask myself what life is, what does it mean? Perhaps nothing more than a story, and each story different and rare and pronounced with its own voice.’
Father John Rousseau has been assigned to talk with Daniel during this last period of his life, and it is their conversations that lead us through Daniel’s life. Daniel’s friendship with Nathan started when they were aged six, and had its own difficulties in the American south of the 1950s: Nathan was coloured. The narrative takes us through the tumultuous events of the 1960s and 1970s in America: the backdrop of racial tensions; civil rights marches; assassinations and conspiracy theories; and the shadow of the Vietnam War shape the world in which Daniel and Nathan grew to adulthood.
So, what happened for Nathan to be killed and Daniel to be convicted of his murder? We learn Daniel’s story as he tells it to Father Rousseau – the history is familiar, and the personal events unfold against that backdrop. If Nathan’s murder defines the beginning of the end of Daniel’s life, then it is necessary to go back to the beginning to understand how and why Nathan was murdered. We readers do not have the answers until the end of the novel.
'Best as I can recall it all started with a baked ham.'
This is the third of Mr Ellory’s novels that I’ve read (although it was the first one published), and I enjoyed it. Daniel is a totally believable character, as are many of the secondary characters in the novel. At times I felt the story was in danger of being overwhelmed by the times in which it was set but by then I was totally engrossed in Daniel’s story. And the ending? Read it for yourself and see what you think.
‘Four times I’ve been betrayed – twice by women, once by a better friend than any man may wish for, and lastly by a nation. And perhaps, truth be known, I betrayed myself.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith