The Fisherman - John Langan - Book Review

 

                Last month was dull in terms of reading, and I wanted to rekindle the reading streak with a horror genre. Browsing through the list of Bram Stoker award winners, I came across this book. Why did it catch my interest? The book cover and title seemed harmless enough to pique my curiosity, and I ended up picking up the book to read.

            Abe recently lost his wife, and he takes it very badly. Once the mourning period is over, Abe picks up an interest in fishing. Soon enough, one of his office mates, Dan, also loses his wife and kids to an accident and finds himself taking it pretty badly. When Abe introduces him to fishing, both seem to bond and find solace in this activity. One day, they end up visiting the Dutchman's Creek for their fishing weekend. On the way, they chanced upon some rumours about the place and a mysterious figure, 'Der Fisher'. But they don't pay heed and proceed to the place. What transpires, what secret does the creek hold, forms the story of 'The Fisherman'.

             To start with, a pretty decent read. One thing that strikes you right away is that there is no suspense of any sort in the story. A few pages into the book, and we know what happens at the end. Nevertheless, the author has been successful in keeping us fairly invested. The book is mainly divided into three parts. It is difficult to keep the tempo of the story steady when the reader knows what to expect. But John does a decent job of it. The read was plain but engaging, and the author was able to maintain that most of the time. On the downside, the book could have been shortened by 15-20 pages. There are a few instances that could have been cut short to make it crisper. Some scenes from the flashback and climax felt dragged. Other than these instances, the read was a breeze. The language was simple to catch up with. I liked how the characters were set in the first part. 

             In short, a decent read that keeps us fairly engaged. An interesting premise that steams ahead with some hiccups here and there. This book had won the Bram Stoker award for Best Novel in 2016.