Land of the Blind

by Jess Walter

Book Overview

"A mystery novel of profound depth." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Walter is at his incisive best. . . . Hypnotically compelling." -- Publishers Weekly

In this fiendishly clever and darkly funny novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jess Walter explores the bonds and compromises we make as children--and the fatal errors we can make at any time in our lives.

While working...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060394390
• ISBN13: 9780060394394
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Chilling story

Fantastic story, well-written. The people who move through the story are very flawed, yet they held my interest. The tone reminds me a bit of Keith Snyder's books, with milder wry humor.

In the land of the blind, the one eyed man rules all...

Outstanding novel told from the aspect of the main character flashing back on pertinent events in his lifetime that have led up to his current crisis. Told in a similar style to John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany", yet immensely easier to read. The plot flows more smoothly and maintains your interest throughout.The story begins like your average detective/crime novel, but quickly becomes a flashback story as the main character - in attempt to write a confession - tells the story of his life and the life of the dead body discovered by police.The title of the book comes from the old saying: "In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man rules all." The author manages to incorporate the saying into the story in a way that will startle and move the reader. An outstanding effort with twists and turns around every corner.

Fabulous twist on the mystery

Jess Walter is a fantastic mystery writer. Perhaps too good for the genre and in this novel, he starts to go beyond it, what one reviewer called, 'transcending the genre'. In this novel, Caroline Mabry, from his previous novel plays more of a supporting role in the memoir of Clark "the Loon" Mason. He wants to confess to a homicide and begins writing it out on legal pads as she checks the small bit of information he gives her. But we get to read his confession as he writes it, starting with his initial meeting with the deceased in middle school continuing on to how their lives twisted together to bring them together at the conclusion of the story.While not the standard mystery, I couldn't put this book down, finishing it in two sittings. Jess Walter writes so well, he should probably take his next book outside of the mystery genre. The description in this book is graphic and sensory, the characters are believable and interesting. I highly recommend reading this novel.

Why transcend?

A police procedural with an ingenious false-confession plot involving belated revenge on school bullies. It's set in Spokane and is full of Spokane atmosphere. Spokane is apparently a place where anybody who goes away to college in the great sophisticated metropolis of Seattle is regarded as an over-educated city slicker. Nobody, including Caroline Mabry, the detective, is happy or successful. When they're not dying young of cancer or getting killed or drunk or jailed or stoned or maimed or being too fat or too short or bankrupt they're having psychological problems and worrying about conservative republicans winning elections. I believe this is known in the mystery/suspense business as transcending the genre. I myself don't always want the genre transcended but this is very well written and a compelling page-turner.

Much more than a thriller

The label "crime novel" is inadequate to describe this powerful and haunting book. It gets under your skin in ways that the common whodunit can't approach. First, the structure is inspired. A eye-patched man walks into a police station, asks for a legal pad and begins to write a long and rambling confession. A confession to what? We don't know, and neither does the cop, Caroline Mabry. The bulk of the book consists of this confession, which is a remarkably vivid and sensitive memoir of the traumas, bullying and casual cruelties of childhood. Eventually, Mabry picks up enough clues to uncover the man's true crime. Yet the book's strength is in its theme: That the scars of our childhood last all of our lives. They shape our adult personalities in ways we cannot understand. This man's physical scar is evident; he lost an eye in a childhood accident. The book is full of allusions to sight and vision. Yet the entire book shows us that his psychic scars were far more debilitating and just as permanent. "The Land of the Blind" will stay with you long after you put it down.