Translated into 26 languages and with seven lakh copies sold in France alone, bestselling thriller writer Michel Bussi’s After the Crash is about finding the real identity of a child. As simple as a thriller about a murder, and a detective trying to find out who the killer is. So what has made the book so intriguing all across the worldIJ ANANYA BORGOHAIN tries to find out
Having been translated into 26 languages, After the Crash, is one of the bestselling thrillers of the year. Seven lakh copies of it were sold in its author, Michel Bussi’s country France alone. What makes it all the more interesting is that the basic premise for the book is very simple — two families claim that the three months old child, who survived a plane crash that nobody else onboard did, belongs to them. The novel in all its entirety is about finding the real identity of the child. As simple as a thriller about a murder, and a detective trying to find out who the killer is. So what has made the book so intriguing all across the world thenIJ
Private detective Crédule Grand-Duc chases the case for 18 years. Having given up hope, he points his revolver to his head, all set to kill himself when he notices a miniscule detail on a newspaper and realises that the solution to the mystery had been glaring at him all these years. Only moments later, he is murdered. The two families, the elite industrialists Carvilles, and the middle class Vitrals, continue to speculate who survived when an airplane carrying 169 passengers from Istanbul to Paris crashed in the Jura mountains on the Franco-Swiss border in 1980 — lyse-Rose de Carville or Emilie Vitral.
Growing up as lylie (a compound name for lyse and Emilie), also known as the ‘Dragonfly baby’, she follows the pursuit of finding her own identity when she turns 18. This leads to a narrative of confusion, twists and spine-chilling action. That is further heightened by very delightfully created characters such as Marc Vitral (who is either her lover or brother, depending on her real identity!), the eccentric and dangerous Malvina de Carville (her sister, if she is lylie), and their strong grandmothers on both sides.
Bussi’s primary asset is the skill with which he has conceived his characters. All of them are poles apart from each other and yet equally strong, having much at stake in the plot. When they come in clash with one another, there’s thrilling mayhem, much to the delight of the readers. Nevertheless, the novel is strangely simple. It’s not esoteric, but Bussi has evidently paid keen attention to the means to reach the end. His narrative techniques follow exciting details, but somewhere his form overpowers his content.
To a large extent, his red herrings are a little unoriginal (for instance, a DNA test), which tends to make the literary tension somewhat predictable and tedious. Given its simple climax, the course of the book can also be considered tenuously long by some. But Bussi does make up for it with exciting subplots. The sexual tension between Marc-Malvina, the tug of war for power between Mrs Vitral and Mrs Carville, the dynamics among Crédule Grand-Duc, his associate and his family, all occupy the concentration of the readers. But it is a doubled edged arrangement as therein also arises the high expectations of the readers. For a grand narrative such as this, the climax could be a letdown, and again, predictable.
Nevertheless, After the Crash, is not a thriller just about the ‘Dragonfly baby’; it is as much about the murder of Crédule Grand-Duc, and surprisingly, the puzzle about his murder is more intriguing than the original riddle. More so, because most of the book follows his notes in his journal. Through this, Bussi intelligently merges the past with the present and significantly recreates history by employing memory — which is the fundamental hypothesis for the book. No wonder then, that the novel has been compared with the works of Steig larsson.
After the Crash is no Nordic noir, but it will still be engaging for mystery lovers and much fascinatingly, it appeals to readers of all age. The women characters in the book are unusual and authoritative. They are audacious and unpredictable, all of them knowing what they want and not hesitating in the slightest to hunt for it. The book jacket retains its simplicity but is creative enough, with the image of a dragonfly (representing lylie) soaring up from an opened inkpot (representing Grand-Duc’s journal that chronicles the mystery).
It has been translated by Sam Taylor from the original French version, Un avion sans elle, which was published in 2012. In 2013, Michel Bussi was the one of the 10 bestselling French authors. The charm of this novel also lies in the fact that no artificial titillation, unwarranted gore and macabre bloodbath has been infused in the book to sell it. It relies, and proceeds, on the grit that sophisticated narrative and literary depth offer. For a mystery reader, this book is still worth the time.
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