Tin House Books, September 13, 2016.
Five Stars
After James is a novel written in three
distinct parts, which mirror one another in unexpected ways. Each part pays
homage to a different type of genre fiction – gothic horror, the detective
novel, and apocalyptic fiction. Helm also masters a different writing style for
all three sections, giving them the strength to stand alone, although they are better
together. It is an elevation of genre writing, in which they are pieced
together to create a brilliant work of literary fiction.
In the first part, “Alice After James”, a Vancouver
pharmaceutical company has created a drug that will spark creativity. Alice,
one of the scientists involved in the production of the drug, begins to have
doubts about it’s safety. She decides to go off the grid for a while, escaping to
an isolated cabin in the woods. While there, she gets pulled into the story of
a possible murder, although we as readers don’t know if the clues are real or
based in madness. Alice’s experiences are like a time-jumping dream sequence –
we are made to feel like Alice, or even ourselves, are the ones who took the
experimental drug.
In James’ section, “Decor”, several characters become
obsessed with the anonymous poems being posted to a website called “Three
Sheets” – they begin to feel like the poet is speaking directly to them, about
their unique experiences. James is hired as a cyber sleuth by a wealthy
benefactor in Italy, who feels that the poems are clues to the whereabouts of
his missing daughter – a daughter who has some surprising similarities to
Alice. James’ part of the novel is filled with poetic language, accentuated by
his hyperactive thoughts which he refers to as a “cha-cha”, making intriguing
connections between contrasting ideas. James’ ADHD brain jumps around rapidly,
leaving the reader with no safe space to put the book down and reflect on
things.
Celia is the main character in the final section, and
in some ways she brings it all together – in other ways, she adds even more
unanswered questions to the novel. At first, Celia seems more conventional and
clear-minded than both Alice and James, but she is quickly manipulated by an
older, experimental artist who co-opts her whole life for his gallery show. The
free association of repeating symbols is underlined in this section – the relationships
between fathers and daughters, travel to isolated lands, experimental lifestyle
drugs, and missing women, to name a few. The concepts of art and creativity are
very important, and the layers of the novel build a meta-fiction with no basis
in reality – who is “real”, who is dreaming or hallucinating, and is the author
under the influence as well?
The writing here is dense, and saturated with
references to artists and scientists. While the stories are connected, it is difficult
to fully understand how – After James
should probably be read multiple times to grasp it all. In fact, I think it
might be helpful to read the sections in reverse, although this is just a
theory. Instead of a clear ending, we are left with thematic and symbolic
connections that are less than obvious. Although it sounds confusing, I really
enjoyed reading this – although it’s hard to explain or even comprehend why. I
found myself highlighting constantly, hoping to piece it all together. I think
it’s best summed up by Celia’s conversation with her father, in which he tells
her, “[w]onder’s the very thing that makes us human.” (Loc. 3182) It is a sense
of wonder that bonds Alice, James and Celia – it is wonder that really makes us
who we are, and what makes this novel so great.
I received this book from Tin House Books and
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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