Review: Jan Mark, Eclipse of the Century
I recently finished Jan Mark's Eclipse of the Century which was rabidly pimped to us by a close friend. I have rarely been so pulled in all directions by a book. It's an odd one. It is sort of classed as SF. It is also classed as children's fiction which just leaves me going "HUH?!?!" in a very loud voice indeed, as it is incredibly adult in theme and content (although no sex there's plenty of violence and threat and death and other very disturbing stuff). Even classing it as Young Adult strikes me as oddly exclusive. But apparently it was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Lit' Prize and the (front) cover blurb is by Philip Pullman - so I guess the market is unorthodox, intellectual kidlit.
The basic premise of the book is that a young student has a near death experience where he doesn't see heaven and people he knows but a bunch of intriguing strangers who tell him they will meet him 'in Quantoum at the end of 1000 years, under the black sun'. On finding that Quantoum is a real, if obscure, place he decides to go there to see in the new millenium. A flippant message he leaves on his email contact starts an interent meme of surpassing wierdness and lts of very strange people folow on. Quantoum is a dead place, populated by an assortment of Graham Greene refugees and a tribe of nomads who have been stuck there for generations as their most sacred objects were taken from them and hidden near Quantoum by Kurkha Khan and they can't go until they get them back.
The gentle, surreal, eerie humour of the beginning is gradually steam-rollered by increasingly violent threats to the peace and persistent revelations that nobody is what they seem and everyone lies to everyone. At least three major plot hooks are dangled before your eyes only to be abandoned mid stream and the novel ends in such a way that I checked to see if there were pages missing at the end. I have never met a book that ends quite so self consciously in the middle of things. There is no resolution for any of the characters (who are still alive). You don't even know which of them lives or dies - and some are sooo going to die. The water tower has been filled with inflating plot-devicium that will explode shortly. Are we meant to assume that they all die, except the tribespeople, some of whom might survive? Is it because it is really the tribe's story and as they don't give a shit about anyone else then the story ends when they cease to pay attention? This is going to fester and annoy me. My subconcious is not happy that I haven't read the end of the book and won't listen when I tell it that I have. In many ways this book is magic realism at its most annoying.
OTOH it is a very compelling read. I still like it. It wouldn't be bugging me this much if I hadn't. It is unusual. It is chock full of fascinating characters. There are many delicious pearls of moments and vignettes in it. And it has impact. Very definite impact.
If you are a fan of the unusual give it a try. If you like closure, leave it alone or it will drive you round the bend.
The basic premise of the book is that a young student has a near death experience where he doesn't see heaven and people he knows but a bunch of intriguing strangers who tell him they will meet him 'in Quantoum at the end of 1000 years, under the black sun'. On finding that Quantoum is a real, if obscure, place he decides to go there to see in the new millenium. A flippant message he leaves on his email contact starts an interent meme of surpassing wierdness and lts of very strange people folow on. Quantoum is a dead place, populated by an assortment of Graham Greene refugees and a tribe of nomads who have been stuck there for generations as their most sacred objects were taken from them and hidden near Quantoum by Kurkha Khan and they can't go until they get them back.
The gentle, surreal, eerie humour of the beginning is gradually steam-rollered by increasingly violent threats to the peace and persistent revelations that nobody is what they seem and everyone lies to everyone. At least three major plot hooks are dangled before your eyes only to be abandoned mid stream and the novel ends in such a way that I checked to see if there were pages missing at the end. I have never met a book that ends quite so self consciously in the middle of things. There is no resolution for any of the characters (who are still alive). You don't even know which of them lives or dies - and some are sooo going to die. The water tower has been filled with inflating plot-devicium that will explode shortly. Are we meant to assume that they all die, except the tribespeople, some of whom might survive? Is it because it is really the tribe's story and as they don't give a shit about anyone else then the story ends when they cease to pay attention? This is going to fester and annoy me. My subconcious is not happy that I haven't read the end of the book and won't listen when I tell it that I have. In many ways this book is magic realism at its most annoying.
OTOH it is a very compelling read. I still like it. It wouldn't be bugging me this much if I hadn't. It is unusual. It is chock full of fascinating characters. There are many delicious pearls of moments and vignettes in it. And it has impact. Very definite impact.
If you are a fan of the unusual give it a try. If you like closure, leave it alone or it will drive you round the bend.