The narrator of this peculiar novel addresses most of her comments to her dead male writer friend who has taken his own life. The disjointed story with hundreds of quotes from writers, most of whom I have never heard of, and mostly quotes about writing, is set, with a simple plot, at an indeterminate recent time in New York City, in the eclectic writers community of which she is a part. The link between the narrator and her dead friend, besides their writing careers, is a massive abandoned Great Dame named Apollo, adopted by the friend and then handed off to the narrator by his widow, Wife #3.
Part Six composed of musings about the miseries, jealousies and insecurities of novelists and particularly the ‘creative writing’ crowd seems, at first reading, to have only a tenuous connection to the rest of the story. The sensitivity with which she describes the devastating effects of suicides of a loved one indicates to me that she must have experience this, something which I, fortunately, have not. Her bleak assessment of the value of works of fiction on the broader community seem a bit exaggerated.
The touching relationship between the narrator and the dog, Apollo, is perhaps the most poignant part of the story as she asks the reader endless questions about what dogs understand and what they try to communicate. Dog lovers will relate well to at least parts of this story. And in the end she addresses her endless questions about life to Apollo, rather than to her dead friend. Less pleasant is the theme of the meaning of death by suicide, known to be at least twice as common among writers, particularly novelists.
Enigmatic observations about the complexities of life abound. “In the end, writing and photography probably destroy more of the past than they preserve of it.” About our relationship to dogs: “They do us the honour of treating us like gods and we respond by treating them like things.”
This is an interesting and insightful, unusual story in an unusual format, which most readers will probably either love or hate. A good book guaranteed to generate a lively discussion in any book club.
Thanks, Andra.
The Passionate Reader 