11/08/02
So it was Alexa Close all along. What a big surprise. I
didn’t really like ‘Die Softly’ that much, mainly because I had Alexa
pinned as the culprit as soon as she enters Herb’s life.
Isn’t ‘herb’ a drug? Hehe
how ironic.
I think Pike presented the
characters feebly; there was little character development, if any, which is why
if I had to name my favourite character, it would be Theo.
And maybe Mrs Trasker, if I had to name two. The two-dimensional aspect of the characters was frustrating
– Herb was typecast as the “loser” who is ruled by his dumbstick, Sammie
is the coward, and Alexa is the abused child who seeks revenge on the “wicked
boys”. The knowledge of Alexa’s
resentment towards Lisa is practically spoon-fed to the reader, and more viable
than Sammie’s “hating the rah-rah girls” as a motive for murder.
All throughout the book I was just thinking, “ok, I know it's Alexa,
now when is she going to tell us how she did it”. This is a book that could
salvage more entertainment if it were a movie, perhaps something like
‘Scream’ would do the trick.
However, when Alexa reveals her
reasons for and methods of playing a part in the murders of Roger, Sammie and
Stephen, I was impressed with the story Pike had placed behind her motives. As I said, the foundation of the plot had a lot of potential.
I particularly liked Herb’s idea of catching the “real”
person in a photograph, and that he never recognises the true nature of Alexa in
a picture, until he views her in the shower with a baseball bat.
Her nature as a murderer. The
apparent complexity of Alexa’s character should have been gradually revealed
in a subtle manner, because there is more to her character than her simply
becoming a “monster” after being abused.
Perhaps that’s the problem with relatively short “teen fiction”
books – they’re short. There is
no room to elaborate on the key characters’ personality, and to create
suspicion that the reader is unsure and uneasy about.
I was uneasy about Alexa’s close proximity to Herb, but was sure of her
as wanting to eventually attempt to kill him.
That's what ruined the book for me.
I liked the fact that Herb dies, it made me sigh “noooo!” He is the only one who is in no way involved with any of the murders (except his own of course), yet his innocence doesn’t save him. But how could he NOT suspect it was Alexa! Denial is one thing, but being plain ignorant to the (obvious) truth is another. Then again, he is blinded by her beauty, and has a very low self-esteem, and that’s what love does to you. I wouldn’t know. But Herb isn’t in love with her because he doesn’t know the real Alexa, he’s in lust with her.
My favourite exert from the book is the following discussion that Herb and Theo have:
"Do you think we're ever going to have girlfriends?"
Herb glanced around to make sure no one else was listening. The high volume of the music took care of that possibility. Herb could see Theo was serious. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "You've already had a girlfriend. What about Marjorie Bennet?"
Theo waved his hand. "She was just someone I ate fast food with. Besides, she was a tramp. I mean real girlfriends, someone we could marry someday. Do you think we'll ever have those?"
Herb did think about it a minute. "We'll probably get married someday - just about everyone does. But it'll probably be to someone other than the person we really want to marry."
Theo nodded. "I think you're right. It's depressing, huh?"
"Yeah."
I found what Herb says quite sad too, because I agree with it.