Sunday, April 24, 2016

Review: After the Crash by Michael Bussi

Detective fiction is glorified by the likes of Sir Doyle, Madame Agatha Christie and readers tend to lose the connect often in the modern day fiction. The theatrics involved in the modern detective fiction tends to lose charm at times rather the subject becomes shallow after a point of time. The pull is not all stories muster nowadays. Author Michael Bussi in his first translated work "After the Crash" has tried to break the shackles and let the readers take control the direction of his book and the story. How far, thus is he successful in assembling the biggest jigsaw puzzle of all times? That's the readers need to find out. 


On the night of 22 December 1980, a plane crashes on the Franco-Swiss border and is engulfed in flames. 168 out of 169 passengers are killed instantly. The miraculous sole survivor is a three-month-old baby girl. Two families, one rich, the other poor, step forward to claim her, sparking an investigation that will last for almost two decades. Is she Lyse-Rose or Emilie?Eighteen years later, having failed to discover the truth, private detective Credule Grand-Duc plans to take his own life, but not before placing an account of his investigation in the girl's hands. But, as he sits at his desk about to pull the trigger, he uncovers a secret that changes everything - then is killed before he can breathe a word of it to anyone.



There is not much to delve hard and deep in the cover. The title speaks itself. The interesting part which can lure a reader is the blurb where the crux of the story lies. The innocent philosophy works charms to pull the reader into reading the book. 

The story is set on the France-Swiss border where a plan crashes. No one survives except one. A 3 month old child. But what looks a case of miracle turns out to be the talk of the town as two families come forward to claim the child. Whose child is it? Vitral's or De Carville? One question but no answer. Will the mystery be solved? In the age of science and technology what will set the case apart? Grand-Duc, what role will he play and 18 years later will he finally solve the mystery? Truth be told. 

Strange is the book, stranger the story and strangest are the characters. It is a combination of probabilities, delusional chase, guts & glory and above all faith & determination of mankind. The pursuit of happiness is not a short one in this case. The more you probe, the more it rebels. The story is dark, demented, tormented by aspects which can squeeze the best of the brains. It is not a gallop. A slow poison which can indulge the reader, take them for the spin and drop them back to square one. The lesser is applied, the more complex it is. It is an art form and trickery with skilled illusions. The book is not the aftermath of a crash, it is the aftermath of maths, science and fiction. 

Negatives!! Good question but found none. 

Overall impact the book is beyond comprehension. There is so much to it that it will take sometime to grasp the nature of it. There are aspects to be explored, leads to follow, subtle hints, mysterious, brutal, quiet at times yet marveled by the brains behind it. There's dollop of charm with the divide between the society portrayed and pursued with a definite direction. The characters, the story and the sadness of the situation are the winners in the entire drama. But who's the ultimate beneficiary. The reader and their thirst to devour the best. 

RATING: 

5 OUT OF 5

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