Review of "The Truth About the Harry Querbert Affair"

The Truth About the Harry Querbert Affair

By: Joel Dicker, Translated by Sam Taylor

            Marcus Goldman has had a successful first novel, but now he needs to write his sophomore novel, but he’s having writer’s block.  He contacts his old mentor Harry Quebert and visits him in the sea side town where he lives.  He discovers Harry had a love affair with a 15-year-old girl, and not too long after Marcus has found out, the girl’s body is discovered buried in Harry’s yard.  

            I almost DNFed this book, but I was interested enough to find out what happened to Nola Kellergan, the girl.  I also wanted to know if Harry Querbert was guilty of murdering her, not just pedophile.  As beautiful as his words were about their love affair, he was still 35 years old. Harry started out as charming and likable but as the story progressed, he became a character I got frustrated, annoyed with, and pitied.  I did not understand how he could love a girl so young and how she had so much power over him, though it made a little more sense once everything was revealed, but only by a little bit.  Marcus was the opposite.  He started out as self-centered and arrogant person, but as the story goes on you see him grow and learn.  Nola was such a mystery and I didn’t know how to feel about her.  She instilled mixed feelings in my opinions on her and I didn’t know if I disliked her or felt sorry for her. By the end it was latter.  The novel is very readable and unputdownable, despite the temptation to DNF it.  Unfortunately, the book is little too long for me.  I felt like it could have been cut down by 200 pages.  There were times when it felt like it could have ended, but a new twist or red herring would be revealed.  The book did surprise me quite a bit with all the red herrings on who murdered Nola.  I didn’t see the end coming, but it made sense how it turned out, and felt bittersweet, it felt right with the story.