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Killer's Tears (The) by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Title: Killer's Tears (The)

Author: Anne-Laure Bondoux

Translator: Y. Maudet

Illustrator:

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Date Published: 2007

Format: Paperback

Genre: Other

Book Category: Fiction

Age Range: 14+

Original Title: First published in French as Les larmes de l'assassin, Bayard Editions Jeunesse, France, 2003

Country of Origin: France

Killer's Tears (The)

by Anne-Laure Bondoux
Age Range: 14+

There is nothing at the end of the world, but a little boy, Pedro, lives there. Pedro lives a hard life, with parents who do not love him, in a bleak landscape. Then, Angel Allegria arrives, a wanted man but one prepared to love Pedro. Then comes Luis, a writer. Slowly, the two unlikely men allow Pedro to blossom, but what will happen when their fragile relationships are threatened?

This is a rather dark story but at the same time is filled with a great deal of beauty. Contrasted against the bleak, harsh and unyielding landscapes of Chile are the characters, their complexities and their slowly unfolding stories. In a book about a merciless murderer, there is a story of amazing love and compassion.

The book is simultaneously extremely moving and almost brutal. Anne Laure Bondoux has pulled off a fantastic feat, and the very clean narration tells everything as fact and moves on quickly although it tells a story so full of emotion. The pace of this story is as brisk as the time that passes almost relentlessly within it, and as tensions heighten between Angel and Luis, you become tense reading, knowing the plot is building up to a huge climax and compelled to see it through.

This is definitely a book for adolescents, as the subject matter is in some ways quite morbid. There is a lot of death, and the issue of capital punishment is raised. Pedro has his family torn in two not once but twice in the novel and the scene in which he and Angel are separated is harrowing. Reading it as an adult, I was in tears, and stayed that way for a good many pages, as it was so beautiful but so upsetting.

The Killer’s Tears is a very original and very good book, and it rightly won France’s Prix Sorcières, for being such a different and daring story. It is, however, a book to think about before you read or recommend, especially to younger readers, as it does look at some very serious issues and looks at heavyweight topics like redemption. It is very moving and has the power to really affect, so some may find it merely a beautifully written, touching story, others may feel profoundly moving, and some may dislike it. Either way, this novel is one to remember, as it is bound to turn heads. Bondoux has written something very, very special.

Honor Winner of the Mildred L. Bachelder Award 2007.

Abby Phillips (2010)

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