I started
reading this book without knowing exactly what it was, but the first lines
already caught me. The beginning is almost traumatic. Everything happens in one
long sentence and at that point you have to go on to find out what happens
next.
The story
is about an American who is forced to work for a Mexican gang who traffics
drugs across the border with the United States. You see the character's ascent
from common man, who must count on his expertise to make himself indispensable
to his new "boss", thus avoiding his own death and that of her
daughter, to expert trafficker and unscrupulous criminal.
The rhythm
is that an action story, but the suspense is typical of a thriller. While
accompanying the character to his descent into hell, one wonders how he will
ever get out of that situation, and from time to time our theories are proved
wrong by the latest turn of events.
The very
title of "Borderline Case" has the double meaning of referring to a
geographical border and to a borderline patient, emphasizing the dual reading
of the story.
Although
narrated in third person, in fact, the novel follows almost exclusively the main
character, Eric, except for some scenes, so you end up deeply understanding and
sympathizing for him. The other characters are almost all portrayed in a rather
superficial way, perhaps deliberately not to distract too much the reader from
the main problem (the survival of Eric) and make sure they won't mind if they
got killed. Which happens often.
If it were
a movie in theaters, I would say that the ticket costed very little, if the
price is divided by the number of deaths. And this aspect, if we talk about
drug trafficking and especially action, is undoubtedly positive.
Really an
excellent reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment