The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard

 

The Pale Blue Eye

by Louis Bayard

When I was younger, I used to follow and love cinema and television almost as much as I (still) love reading and music. Then, life got in the way, and I realised that with increasingly limited leisure time, I needed to be selective in my (then) eclectic interests.  And, so, unfortunately, I am now much less up-to-date with what is happening on the silver (or flat) screen, and you’re more likely to find me reading a book or listening to music. 

This is all a convoluted way of saying that although I first learnt of Louis Bayard and his novel “The Pale Blue Eye” thanks to the publicity generated by the eponymous Netflix movie, I haven’t yet watched the film. I have, however, bought and read the book.  And what an enjoyable experience it  turned out to be.

The protagonist and narrator of Bayard’s novel is one Augustus Landor, an ex-New York detective who, in the fall of 1830, is  unwillingly drawn out of his grumpy retirement to investigate a horrific crime at the elite West Point Academy. The victim, a young cadet, apparently died by suicide but, following his death, someone ripped out his heart, raising the spectre of either murder or occult ritual or both.  Alas, this will not be the last of these dark desecrations, and Landor finds himself under mounting pressure to solve the mystery which threatens to dismantle the Academy.  He enlists an unlikely companion to help him navigate the claustrophobic confines of the Academy.  This is none other than the young Edgar Allan Poe, a cadet with literary ambitions who also turns out to be no mean sleuth.

A Pale Blue Eye is an engrossing pastiche of 19th century mystery/Gothic fiction, with several references to the works – and dark moods – of Poe’s own works and a good dollop of grand guignol.   It is strong on atmosphere and I can imagine why this proved a good subject for a movie – certain scenes are “cinematic” in the sense that even while reading them it is not difficult to imagine them being rendered on screen.  Admittedly, the novel calls for much suspension of disbelief, especially in the final chapters.  But, I guess, that comes as part of this dark, blood-soaked package.