25 Aug 2013 00:41:07
The Kills spans four "books" or parts, and is published in paper as a mammoth 1,000-plus-page volume, or in an enhanced edition for tablets and smartphones. The digital edition is far and away the better way to read this novel; the first two books in particular are augmented by a series of short films embedded on the page, often with text overlaid, as well as animations and audio clips. For example, listening to the phone messages left by one character's mother as she tries to cajole him into contacting her, before she understands that he is in danger, adds an emotional jolt to the text. Throughout, the simple yet elegant enhancements work to take us beyond the page, adding depth and texture to the story. This is the first time I've read a digital edition of a primarily text-based novel where I've thought: yes, this works.
Two of the books, "Sutler" and "The Massive", tell interlinked stories about contractors working on projects that don't officially exist, for private firms funnelling huge amounts of money away from projects that will never be finished. The government, let alone the army, is nowhere to be seen; the story of British and US involvement in Iraq is no longer military but instead is about contracts for roads, camps, entire cities.
In "Sutler", Paul Geezler, a machiavellian businessman who hovers over the whole novel like a toxic cloud, convinces a British contractor, Ford, to take on a false identity – Sutler. When an explosion rocks the base, a series of financial transfers Geezler has instructed Sutler to undertake become muddled; Sutler, already on the run, is blamed for the theft of $53m.
In "The Massive", seven men live alone in the desert, burning the rubbish created by the thousands of other contractors working in Iraq; the book begins with descriptions of their subsequent deaths, all linked to the toxic fumes billowing up into the desert air from the burn pits at Camp Liberty, which do not, officially, exist.
In the final book, "The Hit", the sister-in-law of a German diplomat becomes embroiled in the fallout from Sutler's disappearance. By this stage, there are three suspected Sutlers: one who cannot be located, one who has suffered terrible burns while lost in the desert, and another who has been killed escaping across railtracks in Rome. It's the German who points out that a "sutler" is "a person or company which provides for the military".
Underlying all this is a novel within the novel, about a notorious copycat murder – based on a murder in a novel – that may not have taken place. This is what the third part or book, "The Kill", explores. Set in Naples, it expands the cast of characters exponentially and provides much blood and gore, Neapolitan lowlife, tortured dogs and prostitutes, as well as murder rooms lined with plastic sheets. Death stalks the entire novel, and bodies disappear or are misidentified throughout.
House has a great ability to create vivid characters, and the novel teems with them. But the writing in this third book is too abundant – there is simply too much story. In the digital version, this book can be read either chronologically or character by character – the reader must choose. However, as Monica, the sole witness to the murder for which there is no body, suggests, "Perhaps someone will write a book about making a film about a story that is taken from this book which is taken from a real-life story that was copied from a story in a book. You know?"
The Kills is about middlemen, about people who think they are blameless because they can't be held accountable. The first two books provide a wholly original view of our involvement in the Iraq conflict. House's writing is spare and compelling, and the digital edition is truly enriched by the additional media.
