Thirteen-year-old
Rynn Jacobs, The
Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane,
deliberately kills her mother and landlady, scares her 16-year-old
boyfriend half to death, and appears to be killing the landlady's son
at the end of this gripping tale. With these creds, Rynn should
satisfy the suggested theme—difficult children--of this week's
Friday's Forgotten Books feature hosted by novelist/blogger Patti
Abbott. In fact “difficult”
may seem a tad euphemistic when draped over premeditated murder. And
yet…
And
yet if being difficult means not letting villains ruin your life,
even should the resistance be intentionally lethal, I would say that
is a difficult question. Especially if you allow, as I've no doubt do
some ethicists, that a preemptive strike can be a form of self
defense. If it appears I'm trying to weasel out of embracing this
week's FFB theme, I would proffer that I found this novel in a Google
search for “novels about bad children” listed in a category
called something like “bad to the bone kids.” I expect a judge or
jury majority likely would disagree, but were I on a jury trying Rynn
Jacobs in the killings I would vote to acquit. Consider the
circumstances:
The
girl is living alone in a house leased for her by her dying father,
who instructed her not to let anyone mess with her—especially her
violent mother, from whom the father, an internationally recognized
poet, had rescued Rynn. I should note at this point the girl is
brilliant. More mature in learning and outlook than many if not most
adults. She quotes Emily Dickinson, in particular, "I don't go
from my home, unless emergency leads me by the hand," says she's
memorized all of Dickinson's poetry. It occurs to me the novel is
inspired by Dickinson's poetic sensibility and secluded life. An
homage, if you will, and with quite a twist.
Rynn's victims had threatened her freedom and her safety. She poisoned the mother, who had severely beaten her and then found her despite the father's efforts to keep her whereabouts from his former wife. She locked the landlady in the windowless cellar and pumped gas in from an appliance. The landlady thought the girl was Jewish and had vowed to break the three-year lease and have her and her father evicted. One of Rynn's ploys was to pretend the father was living with her, despite his never being available to meet guests. She'd claim he was either working, resting or out of town. The landlady's son was a known sexual deviate who made his intentions abundantly clear in a threatening way to the child. The novel closes with the son drinking tea and eating almond-flavored biscuits Rynn served him, much as she had her mother, whom she poisoned with cyanide.
A romantic thread appears early with the arrival of Mario, a lame youth who works as a magician. That the two become underage lovers may be seen as "difficult" by some, especially parents, although both seem vastly more mature than their ages would indicate--at least vastly more mature than I recall being at that age (and to some degree even now!).
Here's a snippet of conversation between Rynn and Mario that may give you a glimpse of their premature sophistication:
Koenig emphasizes in his foreword to the novel that he wrote it originally as a play in London, and it was not intended as a children's book. Failing to get the play produced, he says because producers couldn't find a 13-year-old actress with enough name recognition to increase the odds of success, he converted it into a novel. Several years later, he notes, the ideal 13-year-old female lead was found for a film version, starring Jodie Foster as Rynn.
The writing is sensitive and artful. Sympathy for Rynn is established early. Here's the girl "celebrating" her birthday alone in the house:
Rynn's victims had threatened her freedom and her safety. She poisoned the mother, who had severely beaten her and then found her despite the father's efforts to keep her whereabouts from his former wife. She locked the landlady in the windowless cellar and pumped gas in from an appliance. The landlady thought the girl was Jewish and had vowed to break the three-year lease and have her and her father evicted. One of Rynn's ploys was to pretend the father was living with her, despite his never being available to meet guests. She'd claim he was either working, resting or out of town. The landlady's son was a known sexual deviate who made his intentions abundantly clear in a threatening way to the child. The novel closes with the son drinking tea and eating almond-flavored biscuits Rynn served him, much as she had her mother, whom she poisoned with cyanide.
A romantic thread appears early with the arrival of Mario, a lame youth who works as a magician. That the two become underage lovers may be seen as "difficult" by some, especially parents, although both seem vastly more mature than their ages would indicate--at least vastly more mature than I recall being at that age (and to some degree even now!).
Here's a snippet of conversation between Rynn and Mario that may give you a glimpse of their premature sophistication:
"No.
You were thinking about something else."
"Emily
Dickinson."
"And
how she never left her house unless she had to?"
"Unless
emergency leads me by the hand."
"You
think she had some stud hidden away up in her bedroom?"
"I
hope so." She giggled, her soft lips on his.
 |
| Laird Koenig |
The writing is sensitive and artful. Sympathy for Rynn is established early. Here's the girl "celebrating" her birthday alone in the house:
"Happy
Birthday," she said to the girl in the mirror. She was careful
not to smile, for a smile would show her chipped front tooth and she
could not bear that. "Happy Birthday to me," she said and
any worries about her eyes—and they were green and she loved
that—paled in comparison to the agony she felt over the chipped
tooth. Abruptly she told herself, very sternly, not to think about
the tooth, not to let it spoil this special day. Slowly as one in a
ceremony, she carried the blaze of candlelight away from the mirror.
Music throbbed around her, and the night wind tearing at the house
soon filled her with a joy so great she closed her eyes trying to
hold in her happiness, to keep this moment from passing.
