Chatterbox: Blab About Books

This book is one of the most interesting and unique I've ever read. It was truly unlike any other book I've heard of, and I liked it. One example of something odd about it would be its authors. There are 10, and each one wrote a (very long, about 20 pages each; the entire book was 209 pages) chapter. 10 authors, 10 chapters, and 9 points of view. This makes for a very interesting novel that could easily go disastrously wrong. To be honest, I expected it to. It was the kind of thing that was bound to be excellent or terrible. Due to the authors, I expected terrible, and only bought it just in case it turned out to be wonderful, which it did.

I thought it would be terrible mainly because of the authors in question. Just look at them: David Almond, Eoin Colfer, Roddy Doyle, Deborah Ellis, Nick Hornby, Margo Lanagan, Gregory Maguire, Ruth Ozeki, Linda Sue Park, and Tim Wynne-Jones (DWJ's husband; his writing is good but not one bit like his wife's). Do you see what I mean? They're great authors, all of them, if what I've read is anything to go by. But they are not at all like each other. I mean... Eoin Colfer and Linda Sue Park? Writing a novel together? What is the world coming to, that 2 such talented writers would waste their time on something like that? But I was wrong! It worked! Okay, Eoin Colfer's chapter was certainly not his best piece of work, and none of the prose was genius or anything. Most of it was just... pretty good. No better. Still, though, they managed to weave the story together in such a way that the reader actually comes away with the best parts of every author's already great work (except for Eoin Colfer. His chapter was just a disappointment.), plus this completely new style that was inevitable when they blend their work, and the novel is clear enough that he/she does not have to keep saying to him/herself: How can this be one novel? Well... Actually, I did  keep saying it to myself. However, it was more like: How can one short novel hold so much? In the best possible way.

The book would skip all over the place. One chapter would take place in present-day NY, then the next would go to post-WWII Japan, then current NY again, then the future. And yet each little bit contributed to the whole. After finishing a chapter, I would always get a feeling of, "Oh, now I undertand what that and that have to do with each other!" But a few chapters later, I'd know that I was wrong. Not that I was wrong about the connection between the events; I was wrong in thinking I'd known. Everything was so much more than what it seemed! Honestly, you could skip half the book and think you knew the story, and that it was over. But the rest just adds so much to what's there! It wasn't at all in chronological order, or any order that I could tell, but the way it was organized just seemed to make sense. It's like something made of layers, but you can only see one at a time. Even the title is like that! You can see what I mean if you read the book; I'm not going to explain.

So in this way, it didn't fit into any specific genre. It's hi-fi and and sci-fi, definitely, and, depending on your point of view, it could also be realistic fiction, mystery, and fantasy.

It also really made you think. Many things weren't fully to explain, but open to interpretation. It was filled with what might be metaphors for itself--for example, a group of pictures, each fine on its own but having much more meaning when combined with others--and events that people as obsessed as me can put endless theories on.

As you can see, I loved the book. However, please don't expect it to be as excellent as  I've made it sound. It really isn't. The writing isn't anything special, nor are all of the characters extremely vivid. However, it's just very creative, and so I liked it very much. Whatever you do, don't start reading it without finishing. The rest makes everything much better, as I know I've already said in a thousand different ways.

The ending, though, was far too vague for my taste. It left so much unexplained! It makes me want to force all 10 authors--or 10 new authors--to write a sequel, but I know that won't happen.  I am going to have to write another chapter myself, I suppose... Just because I can't stand the wondering anymore.