The term “charting new territory” can mean different things — as in the case with these three fiction releases. One could see it as gaining social acceptance and standing, while “reaching for the stars” by climbing towers; while our second novel would define new territory as a journey of self-discovery by joining the New York marathon. Our third novel literally creates an island in the North Atlantic, and tells us its story, and that of its people.
The Night Climbers by Ivo Stourton (available at Fully Booked): English Higher Education gets a penetrating gaze with this new novel of Ivo Stourton. It’s Cambridge University in the late 1990s, and the scruples and angst of today’s young adults are put on display. Much like an English The Secret History of Donna Tartt, Stourton puts a crime; this time, one of forgery, at the center of his story and lets the various threads unravel. Our narrator James, comes from a middle class background, and he is thrust into trying to fit in with the faster and shiny crowd at this university town. There’s Francis, a pugilist/charmer; Jessica, the femme fatale; Lisa, the dubious entrepreneur; and Michael, a rotund “Falstaff.” Together, they form a clique of students who poke their middle finger at the establishment by brazenly climbing the towers of the various colleges, in defiance of the rules. Like some metaphor for reaching for the stars, this intrepid group ends up “chewing more than they can swallow.” A glimpse into the underbelly of campus life.
The Other Shulman by Alan Zweibel (available at Powerbooks): Winner of the 2006 Thurber Prize for Amercian Humor, The Other Shulman is penned by a former Saturday Night Live writer, Alan Zweibel. Shulman is an overweight stationary store owner who decides to run the New York Marathon on behalf of AIDS research. The book is structured into chapters representing the various boroughs the marathon passes through. With each chapter, we join Shulman on his odyssey of self-discovery and awareness. There’s one super-hilarious episode of how when in school, Shulman submitted the lyrics of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Boxer to his poetry class. The clueless teacher loved it and makes him recite it, ending with the whole class chiming in on the chorus of Lie. lie, lie. There’s a form of Jewish magical realism with the introduction of The Other Shulman, but it serves its purpose uniquely. With the number of Filipinos now joining, this book helps us discover the myriad of reasons people do make the marathon a personal challenge.
Shining at the Bottom of the Sea by Stephen Marche (available at Fully Booked): This novel has ambition proudly stamped all over it. What Marche does is he creates a North Atlantic island, Sanjania, and imbues it with a history and a rich literary tradition. Then, the conceit is a Stephen Marche puts together an anthology of Sanjanian literature, and he uses this as a way for us to discover and understand the people and culture. There’s a history of being discovered, being a British colony, the struggle for independence, writers in exile, and those who return when freedom is won. There are pamphlets and early fiction/folklore being treated as history, there’s even a glossary and reference section that makes the anthology look real. There’s an amazing multiplicity of voices that March conjures up to re-enforce this literary tradition that spans centuries. It’s all very innovative fiction and it works because Marche is highly sensitive to nuance and diversity. Not your regular novel, but a rewarding read if one puts in the effort.