The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair

Part 2 of the novel, entitled “Writer’s Cure,” continues to develop the plot while examining the wider implications of the creative process. The main metaphor from the first part, that writer’s block is a form of disease that invades a writer’s being, is now extended into the concept of what constitutes a cure: the ability to write again. Harry confirms this idea several times: “The day writing gives meaning to your life, you will be a true writer” (95), “writing gave life meaning” (250), “Writing means being able to feel things more strongly than other people do and to communicate those feelings” (410). In this way the author effectively juxtaposes the way the Roy Barnaskis of the world see writing—as a commodity to be sold for highest profit—and how talented and creative people see it: As “a serious business” (327), a difficult yet necessary and rewarding process. This essentialist difference in worldview is one of the key leitmotifs in the novel.

Chapters 14 through 10 offer a largely chronological itemization of events that take place around August 30, 1975—the day Nola Kellergan, Deborah Cooper, and Luther Caleb were killed. Most of these events have been depicted earlier in the novel, or at least mentioned, but now the author gives them a central place in largely unmediated narration. This almost hourly reporting of events helps accomplish a sense of tension over something that happened a long time ago, and it emphasizes the significance individual happenings can acquire in hindsight, while also recalling the pertinent facts of the case.

In any crime fiction novel that depicts many characters and events, it is important to keep readers apprised of new events that have a bearing on the main plot, while reminding them of previous details so that they can be in control of how they understand the story. The tradition of playing fair in crime novels that deal with detective work harks back to the first part of the 20th century, and it gives the readers a fair chance to discover the perpetrator themselves through solving a sequence of realistically revealed clues. In that sense, Chapters 14 and 10, which depict the sequence of events before and after Nola’s disappearance, offer the readers the option to act as investigators themselves by carefully examining the events described. Chapter 10 gives a significant glimpse into the behavior of the main characters, and through their actions and words, we can judge their reactions to Nola’s disappearance.

In the wake of Nola’s disappearance, Harry “had been locked in his house, waiting, for a week now. He slept on the living room couch, listening for the faintest noise. He no longer ate” (412). We do not know whether the third-person narration is reliable. It is clear, however, that Harry is suffering, but more importantly, that he is waiting, which gives us reason to believe he does not know what has happened to Nola. Travis, on the other hand, is preoccupied not with the search, or with the case, but with Jenny, as he finally manages to communicate some of his feelings to her. This gives us an opportunity to wonder why a young, dedicated police officer would not be more concerned or engaged, and it is a clear indication that he knows what has transpired. Additionally, the author offers precious insight into Tamara Quinn’s character as we see her interact with her psychiatrist. She states she is “terrified of death” (416), and that she feels “Anxiety. Terrible anxiety” (421), giving us fresh perspective on her often abrasive behavior.

On the other hand, Chapter 12 gives us a detailed look into the life of Luther Caleb, whose character in importance as the novel progresses. The author introduces Luther’s sister, the only character who can offer insight into his past from today’s perspective. Within this chapter, we witness the attack of the Field Goals Gang on the 19-year-old Luther, a talented, gentle, handsome young man, on one of the most wonderful days of his life, as he has just had his first sexual experience with the girl he proposed to. Although his employer, Elijah Stern, has already informed us Caleb was disfigured in a beating, by the end of the novel we will understand these are the guilty words of his attacker.

Stern’s appearance in Caleb’s life in this chapter seems random; later, the full force of Caleb’s reaction to recognizing his attacker’s voice in a crucial scene (Chapter 1) will show just how unintentionally cruel Stern’s decision to take him under his wing has been. Stern’s actions took everything away from Caleb, including his will to live, and then Stern decided to give him back his sense of self, only to take it away again. This makes Stern an antagonist to Caleb, as what motivates him is guilt and not a true desire to redeem himself.