Mark Porter, writing for the Sunday Express, remarked that "The Statement" is reminiscent of Graham Greene, a remark which I would attribute to Brian Moore as a whole. Much like Mr. Greene, each of Mr. Moore's books are different, yet each maintain a distinct concern with themes of redemption and a focus on Catholic characters in conflict with either the Church or its teachings. "The Statement" is an accomplished thriller that contains all the necessary trademarks of the genre: the man on the run, a mysterious conspiracy, the determined policeman. Usually in these books, the man on the run is an innocent accused of a crime (ala "The Fugitive"), but in "the Statement" Moore has inverted these characteristics: the man on the run is a Nazi war criminal and capture by the police is actually the only way Brossard will ever be safe.
Pierre Brossard, who aided the Nazis during their occupation of France in WWII, is now an old man entirely dependent on the Catholic Church for his safety. He is being pursued by a clandestine Jewish organization who have condemned him for a wartime massacre; and by a Colonel who hopes that by bringing Brossard to trial, he can bring other war criminals to trail too. In choosing this storyline, it would have bee easy for Mr. Moore to make Roux his hero, but instead the novel bounces between characters, alternating primarily between criminal and detective. Others also come into the mix: each chapter changes the focus of the narrative so that we see the action through a different set of eyes: it may be one of Brossard's hit men or the Abbot struggling to decide whether to hide Brossard from the police. This allows for Mr. Moore to contrast unique questions of conscience and compare spiritual justice with that of the physical world.
Daringly, though, the novel's form also forces us to develop sympathies for Pierre Brossard, at least for a time. This in itself is a daring accomplishment, for it is always easy (and politically safe) to paint war criminals as Satan's spawns. By humanizing Pierre Brossard, Mr. Moore manages to humanize the war itself and we are left with at least some understanding for how moral compromises can occur. However, Mr. Moore never goes so far as to defend Pierre Brossard. The everchanging narrative focus means we are always at arm's length from our anti-hero and his fate is always a matter of clinical interest, rather then an emotional need.
This could be said to be the novel's only flaw: we never stay with any character long enough to develop a true attachment. We are propelled through the narrative much as Pierre Brossard is propelled through France, but there are few characters (other then Brossard himself) who rise above the narrative to become memorable creations. Nonetheless, this remains a first rate thriller that deals with some profound insights into the nature of justice and the everlasting echos of a war.
See the movie only after reading the book: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340376/
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