This book was really nothing like I had expected. The main character is Louis Olsen, a dim-witted immigrant from Denmark. The majority of the book is filled with Louis' broken english narration of the events in his life over quite a number of years. The broken english, while certainly adding to the notion that Louis is a half-wit, makes the book difficult to read in my opinion.

To describe Louis as a pedophile might be a stretch, since in many ways, Louis himself is much like a child. Sure, he fondled the children and took pictures of them, but calling him a pedophile is like calling a nine year old boy a pedophile for having a crush on an eight year old neighbor girl. Children seem to be the only people that Louis is capable of relating to, and he doesn't even do a very good job of that.

This was a really strange novel. Tracing the life and actions of a man named Louie Olsen in the early 1900s, it presents a disquietingly human view of a pedophile. Told from the point of view of the man himself, his delight in the beauty of both nature and children is believable, his actions almost understandable. He is not the big bad wolf we tend to picture when we think of child abusers; rather, he is a person loved by children and adults, defended by his community upon accusation. He is someone we might pass in the street and say good morning to. This, along with his childlike innocence and real, albeit perverted, love of the children, is what is truly frightening about the book. Occasionally slow in the writng, this is the kind of book that keeps you thinking long after you return it to the shelf.

A portrait of a child molestor from the inside out. The reviews refer to the "narrator" as an innocent of sorts. Maybe he qualifies as a naif, but only if you skirt the "other version," the one between the lines that hints cold-eyed at the reality. "Disturbing" isn't even the word... I really think this is a great book. I'm very curious why the author tackled the inner workings of the area of life. It must have been extraordinarily painful to write.