Who Killed Bambi?
Monika Fagerholm’s hard-hitting experimental novel is about the aftereffects of gang rape.
During a spring break party, Nathan and three other teenage boys restrained their classmate, Sascha, in the basement and raped her. A decade later, Gusten, one of the perpetrators, is haunted by guilt over his role in the crime. Filling in the background are other acquaintances including Emmy, Gusten’s ex, and Cosmo, a high school subject of Nathan’s homophobic bullying and now a film producer who intends to make a movie about what happened.
The title, a nod to a song by and film about the Sex Pistols, is also the intended name of Cosmo’s documentary, reflecting the book’s curious blend of punk rock and classical art. Indeed, the fevered prose employs staccato phrasing, flush with commas, dashes, and parentheses: “Sascha, the victim, lies with her face turned toward the wall in light red hospital clothes, a pair of lady’s pajamas that make her look even more vulnerable.”
The story advances via titled vignettes and testimonials in italics. Flashbacks reveal the details of the assault and trial, while flash-forwards expose the cruel results: Gusten spent time in a mental hospital, and Sascha will die of an overdose. In the meantime, life goes on: a mother develops cancer and dies, people change partners and careers, and a miscarriage is followed by a longed-for pregnancy.
The story’s generic setting in a fictional Helsinki suburb suggests that such an incident could happen anywhere. The opening line (“The story can start here”), likewise, evokes looseness or universality. No moral redemptions are achieved, and no easy conclusions are offered, though the persistence of trauma is itself a potent message.
Who Killed Bambi? is a sobering and timely fable about the lingering consequences of rape.
Reviewed by
Rebecca Foster
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
