Marele Day's Novel, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender

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Recommended: The life and crimes of harry lavender

"Witty, wryly humorous and fast-paced, "The Life and Crimes of Harry

Lavender" is a thriller with a twist which brilliantly evokes the

sleaze below the surface of the city's glittering faade". Is this

what the novel is about?

Marele Day's novel, "The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender" explores a

large scope of issues related to crime and mystery writing. The use of

simple language, symbolism, clever wit and a certain sense of

satirical mockery all contribute to composing this witty, wryly

humorous and fast paced novel. Through the way in which Day portrays

the protagonist, Claudia Valentine, she challenges the stereotypes and

ideas set in the readers' minds, in relation to gender issues. Day

also succeeds to ruthlessly unmask the bare grit and grime of the cold

hard truth, that is, organized crime in Sydney.

"The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender" is a satirical ridicule of the

traditional hard-boiled school crime novel. It complies with the basic

characteristics of a piece of private-eye detective fiction; however

Day has also incorporated a certain extent of irony into the story by

choosing the main character/detective to be a woman. Claudia Valentine

is not depicted as the typical useless female throwaway- either by

being the victim or betrayer. This woman is self-sufficient, gutsy and

heroic. Her involvement challenges stereotypes and ideas set in the

responders' minds in relation to gender issues. She is equal to any

male, completing her job successfully and outwitting anyone in her

path. She is also the intellectual counterpart of Harry Lavender, the

"evil villain" in the story.

In light of the tongue-in-cheek atmosphere of the novel, through

Claudia, Day captures the typically marginalised li...

... middle of paper ...

...it

represents his surname but also because of what lavender

characterizes. This strong, sweet smelling herb is often able to

soothe the atmosphere and mask an unwanted odour, in the same way that

Harry masks the corruption he instigates within the city.

All in all Marele Day has successfully accomplished a novel that is

not only entertaining in its wit and cunning but also investigates

issues that most writers would not dare to delve into. She is able to

communicate her pro-feminist views through producing Claudia Valentine

as a woman who seems realistic yet powerful enough to conquer certain

stereotypical injustices within society. In, "The Life and Crimes of

Harry Lavender" Day also manages to pragmatically approach the topic

of organized crime within Sydney and unmasks the brutal reality that

lies beneath the "surface of the city's glittering faade".

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