Retribution in fiction: a free lunch?
Is writing a novel about retribution providing the reader a “free lunch”, a vicarious thrill, a few hours of diversion until the real world intrudes? I don’t know, but I started to write “The Line in the Sand” out of a sense of outrage at the unpunished war crimes committed around the world. In it I tell the story of a little girl Dele abused by Sandman, a man who later rises to power in a ruthless military junta. That Dele is of African and European descent increases her sense of alienation. Indeed it is on account of her European heritage that she is attacked by Sandman, in revenge for some wrong done to his family by Dele’s grandparents.
Cycles of retribution appear universal across human cultures, as well conserved it seems as some gene sequences in our evolutionary history. But how do you break the cycle of evil and retribution or get redress if there is no rule of law? What is the impact of revenge on the protagonist, on the innocent? Is closure all that it’s “wrapped” up to be?. These are some of the questions I address in the novel.
Although I addressed serious themes I also enjoy a guilty chuckle or two. How I came across the idea for a profane African Grey parrot, Confucius, I cannot remember, but if you want to know more about him please read the book.
The Line in the Sand is a deep-fried thriller spitting with danger, anger, revenge and spiced with delights.
Dr Sola Odemuyiwa is a Consultant Cardiologist in Surrey.
Email: Odemuyiwa@fsmail.net
Mobile phone (+44) 07867607312
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