People disappear all the time. Ask any policeman. Better yet, ask a journalist. Disappearances are bread-and-butter to journalists…Many of the lost will be found, eventually, dead or alive. Disappearances, after all, have explanations.
Usually.
This is a partially excerpted passage from the opening paragraphs of the novel, found before the beginning in a Prologue. The opening line of that first chapter informs the reader that the story that will be told is not a place where mysterious disappearances are common. The story instantly throws itself back to 1945 in a bed-and-breakfast in Inverness, Scotland. One is, of course, encouraged to assume that this story will cover that territory of disappearances which falls under the unusual.
"The yellow suits ye, lass; I thought it would. Goes well wi' that brown hair, and it brings out the gold in your eyes. Stay, though, ye'll need a wee bit o' ribbon."
Though the story is set in Inverness, fortunately the introduction of dialogue using Scottish dialect is not overdone. Nevertheless, those unfamiliar with the brogue should prepare themselves to parse some of this spoken discourse. And, sure there be plentiful bit of that “wee lass” type of stuff that may make many American readers recall Groundskeeper Willie on The Simpsons. But this is most assuredly not a difficult read because of an overabundance of Scottish dialect. Those looking for that thrill are strongly advised to try working their way through the novel Trainspotting.
“And what's a sadist? Ye called me that the other day."
Sadism plays a somewhat major role in the novel. Or, if not exactly major, it is certainly an integral. The answer that Jamie receives to his inquiry, by the way, is that a sadist is someone who derives sexual pleasure from the act of inflicting pain on another. In reality, however, one need not necessarily derive only sexual pleasure in order to be considered sadistic. While considered a psychosexual disorder, the significance thing about sadism is that one derives pleasure from bringing pain to others. Pleasure is a strange and vibrant thing which is comprehensively covered in the derivation brought about by inflicting pain. Suffice to say that in one for another, the novel is quite interested in the concept of sadism.
