A CHILD MADE TO ORDER

The author sent me an autographed copy of his novel to review:

Norwegian filmmaker and author Piotr Ryczko offers the literary world something unique. He has written a quality enigma/thriller novel whereas the reader may dislike the personalities of (as I did) all the main characters (six). Is that a good thing? I say yes, if that was the author’s intention. And I believe that to be so...since there is no joy or time for commiseration in this novel. In fact, it is a very dark story involving the obscure business of permanently modifying genes in living cells to correct mutations and treat the genetic cause of the disease (CRISPR). It also features IVF, a medical procedure whereby an egg is fertilized by sperm in a test tube. All these procedures are performed on unhappy infertile woman. Why is everybody so angry in this novel? I’ll bet that Cormac McCarthy would love this novel. Did any of these women think to get married so they could adopt? Apparently, it’s next to impossible for a singleton parent to adopt a child in Norway. I did like this novel, however it was not without it’s flaws. Why didn’t Viola or Magda give the reader a good layman’s explanation of what mitochondrial disease was? I couldn’t find a easy answer to this disease on the internet. I also didn’t understand why it took so long to tell the reader exactly how Marcus died. Lastly, why did it take over half the novel before the reader finds out that Pål was a suspended cop? These are details that seem minor, but cause the reader to somewhat stumble through the story in a wishy-washy way...if that makes any sense.

The story is based in Oslo, Norway in 2016. Marianne Stine, a women’s rights campaigner, had disappeared three years earlier. Since her disappearance, her video blog that catered “to the community of infertile women” has been inactive. Marianne has a condition known as mitochondrial disease, which caused her to have three miscarriages in a row. Where did she go? Meanwhile, Viola Voss, the investigative reporter who tried to find Marianne with the help of Police Officer Pål, is being promoted to Middle East correspondent in Syria. She was being promoted by her mother, Anne, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Aftenposten. While the party was downstairs waiting for Viola to join the festivities, Viola, who also suffers from the mitochondrial disease was…"Upstairs, in the bathroom. Dressed in her onyx Sherri Hill one-shoulder cocktail dress. Hiding like a wounded animal, scraping her knees against the bathroom tiles. This was the only place where she didn’t feel like she was about to lose her mind. And the only thing that took away some of the numbness, stabbing at her heart, was the scrubbing. Her hand clenched onto a piece of wiry cloth, while she did her best to remove a practically non-existent stain from the bathtub.” What happened in that tub five years ago?

Her boyfriend, Ronny (a doctor), finally gets Viola to come downstairs for the promotion celebration. Everything goes well, including the news that Ronny has given up his practice and will go with her to Syria...until the doorbell rings (note to the author: I also love the ellipsis). It’s Mrs. Stine, Marianne’s disgusting mother. “Three years earlier, Viola offered to help look for Stine’s daughter. She was a public figure, a known personality in the blogosphere, but most of all, she was the voice of the many childless women out there.” What did Mrs.Stine want of Viola? The missing person case was dropped a long time ago. Viola tries to push Mrs. Stine nicely out the door, “But just as she had almost managed to get rid of the older woman, Stine shoved a phone into her face.” Viola says, “But. But. But...The blog has been dead since she disappeared. Right? So, what is this? Stine pressed her finger at a snippet of text from Marianne’s blog. A fresh comment read: Don’t let the bed bugs get under your undies-Anon.” Viola tells Mrs. Stine that it could be anything...probably a prank. But Mrs. Stine vigorously disagrees, “These are my words, Miss! I sang them when I put her to sleep. Don’t you see? My baby...She is alive.” Wow, what’s going to happen now? Will Viola disappoint her pig headed mother and give up her promotion to look for Marianne again? Did Marianne find a clinic that can cure her disease? If so, can they cure Viola’s? Or is what’s to come a criminal hoax? I only reviewed the first twenty pages of this suspenser (notwithstanding my first paragraph of analysis), the other 276 pages are on you. I do recommend reading this dark tale...it’s a trip.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars

Comment: I wondered how authors like Piotr from Norway heard about my reviews. Then I checked my internal stats and saw that I’ve had 1,373 “hits” on my site from Scandinavian countries. Enough said...the internet is truly worldwide. Are there any great Norwegian writers? I couldn’t find any, but there are several great Scandinavian writers. Surely you have heard of the Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen and his The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales (1835). And what about the great Swedish children’s writer, Astrid Lindgren and her Pippi Longstocking character (1945).

But I saved the best anecdote for last. Swedish writer Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004. After his death, three manuscripts that he wrote for his own pleasure (with no intention of publishing) came to light. They are; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005), The Girl Who Played with Fire (2006) and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (2007). Besides becoming bestsellers, all three novels were adapted as motion pictures. Go figure.