The cat-and-mouse meets psychological thriller edition.
David Bergen’s latest thriller, Days of Feasting and Rejoicing, has roots in many different works, including, and perhaps especially, Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley series. Highsmith’s series starts with a young Tom Ripley conning his way into the upper classes, eventually murdering his wealthy friend, stealing his identity, and living off his trust fund. The seminal series has inspired many stories over the years.
Perhaps a bit less immediate obvious of an influence, however, on Bergen’s latest is Codename Villanelle. The series of books, and its spin-off TV series Killing Eve, centre a female assassin anti-hero and her enigmatic relationship with the MI5 agent who is trying to track her down.
If you love the electric game of cat-and-mouse between law enforcement and a woman gone rogue, the gasp of tension that comes with a perfectly executed psychological thriller, and the deep dive into the mind of a protagonist who’s as charming as they are psychopathic, then Days of Feasting and Rejoicing is the perfect book for you.
While Days of Feasting doesn’t feature any assassins, it is a tightly wound story about murder, stolen identity, and a female anti-hero trying to out-run the law. The story follows Esther Maile, an expat American living in Thailand in a house rented by her friend: the richer, much more popular Christine. When the pair go on holiday, Christine is caught by an ocean wave and drowns. Esther rushes in to save her but in the chaos that ensues, the police arrive and confuse Esther for Christine. For someone who would prefer to be anyone but herself, this is the perfect solution — no matter the consequences.
As Esther slips into Christine’s identity, readers slip into the chilling depths of a mind unhindered by questions of truth or morality, willing to pull even the one person who loves her into her perilous world.
Bergen originally wrote Days of Feasting and Rejoicing years ago, but the people he showed the book to at the time didn’t understand how they were supposed to feel about the protagonist, and they certainly didn’t feel like they could cheer for her. Never mind that at that moment, male anti-heroes like Tony Soprano and Walter White were the most culturally ubiquitous characters on the TV. Readers didn’t seem to connect with a complicated female protagonist. And so he let the story sit. It wasn’t until stories like Codename Villanelle and Killing Eve became cultural phenomenons a few years later that the moment felt right to publish.
* * *
Thank you to Shauna at Goose Lane Editions for sharing Days of Feasting and Rejoicing with us! Find a copy here on All Lit Up, or from your local independent bookseller.
