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The outcome of Buried is truly surprising
Book Review
By Derryll White
La Plante, Linda (2020). Buried.
Linda La Plante is somewhat unique. She trained for and worked on the British stage before becoming a television actress. She shifted to screenwriting, writing the successful series `Widows` and episodes for `Prime Suspect.` She also is the author of more than 30 novels, many of which have been made into movies.
La Plante has a unique way of writing which pays particular attention to dialogue and rich character development. The reader can see DC Jack Warre and his MD companion Maggie move through the story, creating complex personal story arcs which pull the reader in deeper.
`Buried` is a departure for Linda La Plante, the first book in a brand new series featuring Jack Warre. She spends a lot of time and creative energy creating the back-story, covering Jack`s adoptive parents, his search for his birth parents and, centrally, the love of his life Dr. Maggie. Any reader wanting to go forward with this series should definitely read ‘Buried’ before continuing.
Linda La Plante pulls her screenwriting skills into the development of this novel. There are cinematic qualities to much of the scene and character descriptions. The characters move through the reader’s mind as bold images. It is no surprise that talks of a film deal are already underway.
This novel is a fast read focused on the lore of past gangsters in London, and the incredible creative force of women having been subjugated to that time. The outcome is truly surprising.
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Excerpts from the novel:
LOCAL COLOUR – A tall wooden signpost indicated that the Blackdown Hills were a twenty-minute drive, the village was a ten-minute rive, and the ruins of an old fort were a steep, ten-minute walk. And beneath the three directional wooden arrows, carved into the vertical wooden signpost was a cock and balls. Jack frowned. Even in such a beautiful place kids were still dickheads.
MILITARY – He was a bugger when he was a kid, then he went into the army, which turned him into a pussy. People think the army turns boys into men, but it don’t. It makes pussies who can follow orders, but who can’t think for themselves. That ain’t got nothing to do with being a man in the real world – that’s institutionalization, that is. And there’s no fucking point in being able to kill a man with your bare hands if you’re not allowed to actually do it.
MEN – “Do I think women-only communes are a good idea? Course I do! What’s not to like? Apart from the sex, which, let’s face it, we could get anywhere – and from someone who wouldn’t expect you to do their washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning and child-minding.”
ENGLAND – She looked out over the Blackdown Hills and cried. It was a stunning view: plots of undulating light green land cut into squares by dark green hedges; horses, sheep and rabbits grazed together; the occasional walker made their respectful way along the designated paths that cut through Connie’s little piece of paradise.
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.
