The Poison That Fascinates by Jennifer Clement

Emily is obsessed with saints and serial killers. She sees no contradiction in this. To her, the world is divided into those who exist in extremity, and those who don't. Mexico City is viewed through her eyes as a metropolis splattered with blossom and blood. In her third novel Jennifer Clement continues to explore the theme of family secrets amongst the Mexican bourgeois. Emily and her family appear respectable, yet circle around the idea of transgression like bull tamers in a ring. Likewise, Clement circles her own plot before pouncing – the characters drift so lightly towards narrative climax that the reader is kept guessing. Is this a tale of first love, or something darker? Clues lie in corners like the petals Emily collects, and the resolution is genuinely shocking, yet somehow inevitable. Clement moves easily through shades of light and dark - lovers picnic near scenes of ancient murder, and humour bleeds into death. If the novel has one flaw it is the way that Emily is written, never fully fleshed-out as a character so it's hard to connect with her. Despite this Clement is an exceptional writer, and in her hands a story that could have easily descended into soap-ish melodrama appears truly fresh and original. [Debbie Martin]