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Title: Three Burials
Author: Anders Lustgarten
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton (Penguin Random House)
Publication Date: 02-05-2024
Length: 256 pages
ISBN: 9780241638798
Hitting you right in the face with raw, unfiltered reality, Three Burials starts off with a dead refugee, radical police officers, a head-nurse drowning in emotion and in search of justice and purpose. And how did she, the head-nurse, end up in a pink convertible, with a dead body in the trunk and a bulky police officer on the passenger’s seat?
Anders Lustgarten’s debut novel goes beyond boundaries and tells us about problems not only the U.K. is facing, but most of the European countries face at this point. Bad politics, immigration, mental health, healthcare in general, private contractors taking over public services, racism, discrimination, police violence, corrupt police officers, injustice, and lack of purpose. Just to name a few.
With all these heavy topics, you might expect a book so depressing and dark that even Dostoyevsky would raise his eyebrows, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, I have been absolutely howling of laughter at some points. Yes, the humour is incredibly dark and cynical, but in my opinion that is the only way to make this combination work.
And fortunately, that is not all. The heavy topics and dark humour also occasionally make way for some very beautiful writing about the search for purpose and love in life. Two elements that eventually tie all the characters together, some even in very unexpected ways.
Before reading this book, I was very much unaware of the existence of the author Anders Lustgarten. Next to being an author now, Lustgarten is also a political activist, has a PHD in Chinese politics, volunteered in American and British prisons, and above all also a playwright. His style of writing is definitely influenced by his work as a playwright, which you can see in his use of multiple POV’s, but also in his very descriptive style of writing. It is a feature that I personally very much like, but I can imagine that it can feel a little chaotic.
Overall, this book is definitely a top contender for my favourite book of the year. There is really nothing I didn’t like about it. The raw, unapologetic writing is a little confronting in the beginning, but that feeling disappeared after about 5 pages already. It’s actually the raw and unapologetic that made it such a good read, that and the incredible sense of dark humour.
I think I could write another 20 pages, but that would mean I’d have to give away (parts of) the plot and I really don’t want to spoil anything. I can only say that I highly recommend this book, not just as an entertaining read, but also as an absolute eye-opener. Let’s hope Anders Lustgarten is coming back with another brilliant book, but till then you can find this one at your local bookstore or at Penguin UK and Hamish Hamilton, who I am very grateful for, for sending me a digital copy!
I always love to hear what you think! You can send me an email, message or contact me via instagram @booksandseasalt of course!
And remember to stay salty!
xx Marie