Week One Discussion of The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn

[Catherine111]

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ryandavidjahn wrote:

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Catherine111 wrote:

Okay, I am back.  I finished this week’s chapters last night.  I have never read this author before and I really do not know how far he is willing to go.  I am reading slow and taking in small doses --- fearful as I turn the pages of what I might find.   I’m usually not so faint-hearted.  I’ve read things like Helter Skelter (horrifying and compelling at the same time), and one of my all-time favorite books is In Cold Blood (also horrifying and compelling), so I really can’t put a finger on why the book is having such an impact on me. 

Anyway, I agree with much of what has already been said here, so I don’t want to repeat too much.  I do want to point out one thing that is really sticking with me --- Ian’s dealings with Andy.  I think we get an interesting glimpse into the inner workings of Ian in that particular scene.  He has a lot of pent up anger and already we see he is not willing to “play by the rules.”   I'm keeping that in mind as I continue reading.

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Thanks for the comment, Catherine.

I'm actually glad you feel the need to take the book in small doses. One thing I hate in crime novels is inconsequential violence, violence used only to excite readers and keep them turning pages. I try very hard to make the violence in my work feel real, and violence in real life is disturbing. In novels, when two men fight it's often exciting and meant to be. In real life, it's sloppy and unpleasant and afterwards they sit shaking with tears in their eyes. There is guilt and there is shame. And sometimes the man in the right doesn't win. That to me is much more interesting.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about your comment here, and it is not an accident that the two books that came to my mind while I was reading yours are In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter (true crime dramas).  There is definitely a comparison to be made, not in plot or characters maybe, but in the realism you convey in your fictional story.  It is definitely there (the realistic violence), and I guess I picked up on it and didn’t realize it until you put it into words.  When I read your book, I feel like I am right there witnessing everything. The difference being, that with Capote’s and Bugliosi’s books, I knew what to expect because the crimes were well-documented before I read them.  Your book has me on edge because I do not know what to expect with each turn of the page.   

[Ryan_G]

I'm been trying to remember back to my initial feelings towards Henry and I'm not sure I ever felt hatred towards him either.  I think as a father, he's my worst nightmare made real, but it's more horror that I feel.  I find it so hard to comprehend the lengths he went through for his wife, for whome he does everything for.  Her "happiness" is the reason behind everything that happens.  I think by the time me meet him, everything human, outside of his family, has fallen away.  So I think, besides being scared to death of him, I feel sorry (not compassion which is something else) for him and what he has allowed his life to become.

\

I'm not saying he's nice guy, because his actions now and later one reflect the opposite.  But I think he is someone who has given up rational thought and emotions and all he is left with is a reactive nature that doesn't allow much else to happen in his life.

[elaine_hf]

I can't honestly say I 'hate' Henry, but I only feel a teeny bit of pity for him. A weak person, who lives to please his wife, but in a very twisted way, as she's clearly not mentally healthy. And he seems to feel no remorse for all of the other girls who have died under Bea's care, nor for the families who grieve their absence. I can't help but put myself in Maggie's position, and when I do I really don't have any empathy for him. Maybe his desire to please Bea is based in some kind of love, but he is, after all, an adult and responsible for his actions. And so is she. I don't find much of anything to like in either.......

Elaine

[dhaupt]

Well week one is ending and it's almost time for more excitement, angst and terror in week two.

And just for the record I hate Henry

I've started two new threads for The Dispatcher

here's another question to ponder

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Fiction-General-Discussion/The-Dispatcher-Small-Town/m-p/1371...

and here's for those of you who've finished the read

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Fiction-General-Discussion/The-Dispatcher-has-been-dispatched...