Villain or Victim

I highly recommend Villain or Victim to anybody who is interested in the story of John Tornow.

First, the complaint. I wish Lindstrom had had access to a really merciless editor, coupled with a thorough line editor and proofreader. The number of errors is distracting. One of the most annoying goes like this (Sorry, I'm not looking for an actual example): “Well, Bob, I'm not sure what to say.” Do you want to go fishing with me?” See that extra quotation mark in the middle of that bit of dialog? Frustrating as all get out. There are other, equally annoying, problems scattered throughout the book.

Now with that out of the way, let's talk about why I love this book.

Lindstrom structures his account in an interesting way. The real reporter, Dan Cloud, serves as the narrative thread for most of the story. The first part, before Tornow's “murders,” is told as a conventional fictional narrative. We see John going about his day, interacting with his family, talking in his own voice. But once we get to the part of the story where the uncertainties matter, from his first alleged killing, the author takes us aside and shows us the events through the eyes of the reporter. We know only what Cloud knows, as in the real world we know only what has been reported. That way Lindstrom avoids having to invent motivations and actions for Tornow. We are left with information and a derned good story, but it is up to us, as it really is in the real world, to decide what happened. I think this framework is masterful and the best possible choice.

The author also engages in a bit of ... I don't know what to call it .... “temporal slip stream narrative.” In the latter half of the book there are times when we slip from the narrative present to a historical present. It is a little bit disconcerting at first, and for about three seconds I thought it was sloppy writing, but then I realized it was brilliant. It puts the reader into the action and also draws him out of the action to the modern day, where he is sitting reading a book, pondering and deciding what to do with all the historical information.

I did not know as much as I would have liked about the Tornow story before reading this book, and not having done any research, I am in no position to judge how honestly and accurately Lindstrom handled his material. But unless he has pulled a fast one on us, it certainly seems accurate and quite reasonable. He does not force the reader to a conclusion, which I greatly appreciate. I think those who want Tornow to be thought of as a crazed killer can find that in his book, while other people, whom I understand better, will leave the book feeling sad for John, who just wanted to be left alone and who should have been left alone.