A Ruth Rendell Recommendation

I was asked which one novel by Ruth Rendell I’d recommend to somebody who never read her.

I don’t even have to think: it’s The Face of Trespass.

This novel is not only exquisite, it has many of the themes to which Rendell keeps returning in her books. You read this one short book, and you immediately know if Rendell is your author.

The Face of Trespass has Rendell’s favorite theme of obsessive, unrequited love that leads a person to the brink of madness. Rendell is incredibly good at writing about obsessive, sick love. She does both male and female versions like no other author. If anybody ever wondered why there’s a Biblical prohibition on idolizing another person, Rendell’s books explain all about it.

An illicit sex-crazed infatuation is contrasted in the novel with familial love based on feelings of Christian charity. Some of Rendell’s most touching pages are to be found in this book.

Another big theme that Rendell loves and that The Face of Trespass does beautifully is the ease of slipping from normalcy into antisocial, unkempt, off-key behavior of an addict. You let a few tiny, seemingly insignificant things slip, and suddenly you are not part of the social fabric.

There’s also the theme of covetousness and why it’s the root of many evils. And there’s the very endearing English snobbishness that Rendell always writes about with gentle humor.

The gay theme that’s huge in Rendell’s books is absent from this novel. But most of the other crucial subjects are there.