William F. Aicher
The Trouble with Being God by William F. Aicher
04/10/09 19:00 Filed in: Independent | Self-Published
258 pages, www.beinggod.com. $16.95
Reviewed By Mike Attebery
From the start, I had a sense of unease. People in the community were dying, the victims of a sadistic killer. Yet the main characters were all unlikable, so who cared what happened to them? The two main narrators are a flailing couple, Steven Carvelle and his long-suffering girlfriend Karen Davis. Actually, it's a stretch to call her long-suffering since she initially seems to be just as unpleasant as him. Steven is a journalist for the local paper who drinks too much. Karen is a day-care worker who seems bored with her job. The two bicker from the moment they see one another and are clearly at the end of their relationship rope.
Aicher does take some time to tell the history of young Karen, and it's at that point that she gains some likeability. In college, before the days of Steven, Karen lusted after her roommate Shawna’s boyfriend John Palaniuk. Apparently Karen attempted to seduce the young John while Shawna was in the next room sleeping. John was faithful and resisted Karen’s advances and the two managed to remain friends…with a small secret.
Flash forward several years, Shawna is dead and gone and her widower, John, is a successful businessman and philanthropist, and seemindly fair game for Karen, were it not for her on-going sad relationship with Steven the drunk journalist. And the killer on the loose is also ruining the mood.
Being that this is billed as a “philosophical thriller”, it's less important whether I liked the central characters. There are larger issues in the story. Sure enough the characters are all associated with larger public entities and hold powerful positions within the community: the slain Father Bergens introduces the first of many references to Catholicism, an institution with which the killer seems to have a bone to pick. Similarly there is the loathed TV media-whore Mary Tremel, whose trashy reporting style clashes with Steven’s more traditional journalistic approach. John Paluniak is at the pinnacle of the business and philanthropic communities. But can his good karma save him from imminent danger?
The novel offers a gripping opening, with the graphic description of a gruesome dream. This dream begins to recur regularly and with more startling realism, which causes Steven to look hard at his own dark impulses. Steven’s dreams run parallel to the murders, and he has an edge on the reporting since his best buddy is the detective on the case. There are many suspects, including a creepy coroner…and Steven himself.
I had a theory about what was going on about midway through the book, as it begins to appear that Steven is, or at least thinks he is the killer. In one early drunken event, Steven ends up causing harm to himself, albeit superficially. Perhaps he has an infection stemming from the accident which has spread to the brain? I may have been wrong about this but still enough questions were raised by the writer to leave room for speculation. The story ends with many questions unsatisfied and some room for a possible follow up. This really is a quick, enjoyable read, but I was left wanting a few more pages detailing Steven’s fraying mental state.
The complimentary music selections add mood and intimacy to the story, (I can see a transition to screenplay with the help of the accompanying music) Special thanks to Aicher for introducing this reader to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Keane’s great album “Under the Iron Sea”. I look forward to Aicher’s next offering, maybe this time, with an anti-hero that I can root for!! You can buy a copy here.