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Lie in the Dark |
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 Lie in the Dark byDan Fesperman Random House Canada (Vintage Books) 288 pages, May 2000 ISBN 0375707670 Reviewed by Morgan Ann Adams Through LIE IN THE DARK, journalist Dan Fesperman brings to reality the seemingly unreal Sarajevo. Though the narrative is fictional, the war-torn setting is quite authentic. In the guise of a murder mystery, Fesperman shows the challenges and heartaches endured in the chaos that once was Yugoslavia. With the power of a journalistic exposé and the suspense of a thriller comes a novel that helps illuminate the dark shadows surrounding the war in Bosnia. Vlado Petric is a homicide inspector in Sarajevo whose wife and young daughter escaped to Germany at the beginning of the war. For the past two years war has monopolized the city, leaving the bulk of the homicides to fall under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Interior Ministry's special police. Vlado is lonely, bored and forced to live in the one room of his home that has not been torn to pieces by shrapnel. When Vlado stumbles upon the body of Esmir Vitas, Chief of the Special Police, life becomes much more interesting and dangerous. Vlado finds himself heading the investigation of Vitas' murder. He is expected to fail. What Vlado finds is a trail of corruption encompassing the war-fueled black market, the Mafia and leaders of the new republic. Living in the depths of poverty, without much heat or food, Vlado begins to feel like the last moral man left in Sarajevo. What he finds endangers his life and could force the United Nations out of Bosnia. The mystery itself is a testament to Fesperman's great understanding of Sarajevo and the new culture formed there within war. The characters are a rich mingling of lost and compromised souls. Readers can witness to what depths society can fall with the character of Vlado. Through his investigation, Vlado uncovers the truth about what has become of his country's people. Despite this, the novel does not wallow in despair. Rather, it rejoices in how one man has the ability to control his own destiny, in defiance of what occurs to the world around him. The ending comes as a pleasant shock. Vlado completely conquers this dismal world in the only conceivable way. Fesperman has translated Sarajevo into terms easily understood by an audience comfortable with its freedom. There are places in the novel where Vlado speaks Fesperman's own politics. This is a necessary transgression, educating the reader while maintaining the character absorbed in his country's politics. LIE IN THE DARK captivates and holds the reader in the dangerous world of Sarajevo. The timeliness of the setting is disturbing, allowing an accompanying sense of obligation that follows in every page. Fesperman transforms Sarajevo from a collection of headlines into a tangible human experience. |
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