This is not a book for
the fainthearted – I can well imagine that many a reader will shut the book in
horror, if not disgust. It does, however, pose the age-old question of nature
versus nurture. (Review by Fiona de Goede)
Fire is the third book in the Elements series by John Boyne – I have read the second one, Earth, as well as the final one, Air.
I have not read the first one, Water, and whilst these novellas do not need to be read in order, I am sure it will increase one’s reading pleasure to do so.
Not that there is much pleasure in Fire. It is dark, cruel and utterly disturbing. The main character, Dr Freya Petrus, is a burns surgeon, specializing in skin grafts.
She ostensibly lives the perfect life living in a luxurious apartment, drives an expensive car and has her career on the right trajectory.
A young intern, Dr Aaron Umber, is mentored by Freya and he
attempts to get to know her – he tells her that she inspired him to become a
doctor after she had given a talk at his school whilst he was studying towards
his final exams. Despite this revelation, Freya continues to be dismissive of
Dr Umber and treats him with thinly disguised contempt.
The childhood trauma she suffered impacts severely on her adult life and she cannot form any friendships or work relationships, let alone any personal relationships. She is unlikeable, aloof and psychologically scarred – and the way she exacts her revenge for the trauma she endured as a young girl, is on a level that I have never imagined possible. The cold-hearted and calculating way she goes about targeting her victims is ruthless. It is as if she is stripped of any humane instincts or feelings.
This is not a book for the fainthearted – I can well imagine that many a reader will shut the book in horror, if not disgust. It does, however, pose the age-old question of nature versus nurture. You read it and be the judge of that. - Fiona de Goede
Fire by John Boyne is published by Amazon - ISBN 978-0-8575-2987-9
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