Ronan Bennett: Overthrown by Strangers

Review

$24.95

A re-release of Bennett's 1992 first novel, following the triumph of The Catastrophist. Bennett likes his canvas large - here, he spans from Los Angeles through Mexico and into Central America, and he uses bold themes: politics, religion, the shame and the glory of being human.

The three main characters (Quinn, an Irishman with a violent past; Agustin, who grew up in the desperate poverty of Lima's slums and came of age in a brutal Peruvian prison; and middle-class American Judy, obsessed with the fate of her beloved sister) are united in their enmity towards the New Era Mission, a corporation which combines a Christian message with ruthless support for right-wing regimes.

While it lacks the perfect smoothness and honing of The Catastrophist, this is a compulsive political thriller, with a grim message smeared in blood at its end.