Childhood is a wound that never heals; your youth a poster someone has tried in vain to tear down. All the years you have lived are here, like dirty footprints in the snow behind you.
This is my second encounter with Staalesen, and unfortunately it was a bit of a sophomore slump for me. Unlike Yours Until Death, Fallen Angels was less emotionally gratifying and featured too many characters to keep track of.
The story centers around an impromptu high school reunion of sorts for Varg after one of his childhood cronies unexpectedly dies. There, he becomes reacquainted with an old friend Jakob, a former rockstar in a band known as The Harpers. As their lives begin to intersect, Jakob hires Varg to investigate his wife Rebecca in the midst of their lovers’ quarrel. But Varg grows concerned as bodies begin to pile up. It becomes increasingly clear that something buried in The Harpers past is coming back to haunt them. Time for an exorcism.
Fallen Angels is thick with nostalgia, wistful feelings of the past and despondent daydreams about what might have been. I found myself thinking about my own high school friends and where they might have ended up. In fact, by synchronicity it seems, one of them reached out to me while I was reading this book.
Staalesen has a genuine grasp on human nature and this translates effortlessly to his characters. He is especially gifted in articulating the darker feelings in the emotional spectrum, such as shame, regret, defensiveness and dismay. It’s easy to empathize with many of the characters, especially our antihero. Here and there, he weaves in strings of bitter humor that burst forth unexpectedly. The scene in the video store had me laughing out loud and as for the woman with occult inclinations… I will not soon forget about her.
Unfortunately, I felt that these brighter points were ultimately overshadowed by the unsavory nature of the plot’s conclusion. It’s worth noting however, that while this hindered my own enjoyment of the book, I see it as more as a personal problem rather than a critique of the author’s abilities. While Fallen Angels certainly meandered in parts and patiently plodded towards the punchline, it was deftly written and superbly harrowing.
Rating: 3.5/5
Click here to get a copy of Fallen Angels from a bookstore near you.
