Kagen, Lesley - "Whistling in the Dark"

"Whistling in the Dark" is a novel written by the American author Lesley Kagen. The novel was published in 2007.

Ambientazione e trama principale

The novel is set in 1959 and the protagonists are the two sisters Sally and Troo O'Mallley. Their father died and their mother remarried hastily and moved from the countryside to the city. Soon, however, the mother gets sick and is forced to spend the whole summer in the hospital and leave the two little sisters O'Mallley alone with a stepfather dedicated to alcohol and an older sister who has other things on her mind.

Sally and Troo also find themselves a serial killer of little girls hanging out in their neighborhood. The death of the second child in a year, with similar methods to that of the previous one, open the eyes of parents and block doors and windows. Not so for the O'Malley sisters who, abandoned to themselves and armed only by the strong sense of protection they have for each other and their innocence wander among the houses of the neighbors, challenging dangers that are not made always account. Sally, who tells us this strange summer in first person leaves the imagination free and sews the monster's dress on one of its neighbors. He follows him, observes him, investigates on his own and plans the way to frame him

Il punto di vista di Sally

The point of view with which this novel is narrated is that of Sally.
Sally is a strong character, responsible for her sister, because she promised him to her dad at the end of life.

Troo is completely different from Sally: she sings in the dark, she learned it from her mom. Singing in the dark means being distracted with nonsense, not to think about the terrible secrets that make us suffer and that we would not be able to bear.

Il significato dei segreti

Little girls will learn that the secrets are dangerous, the unspoken things tend to grow inside until they are suffocated. Telling them sometimes is not the solution, but it helps.