The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall is a great read. I suppose I should say something to support that. I’ll try without giving anything away.
Eric Sanderson doesn’t remember who he is. He remembers songs and how to drive and cook and all the everyday things of living but he doesn’t know anything about himself. It is convenient that the first Eric Sanderson, the one who did remember, left him notes and sent him letters to explain things. But the things are so bizarre it is hard for the second Eric Sanderson to believe it. So he doesn’t. At least until he is attacked by a shark in his own livingroom.
The shark is after Eric because the first Eric, in an attempt to bring back to life his dead girlfriend, Clio, goes too far. The shark is a conceptual shark:
It is an example of one of the many species of purely conceptual fish which swim in the flows of human interaction and the tides of cause and effect. This may sound like madness, but it isn’t. Life is tenacious and determined. The streams, currents and rivers of human knowledge, experience and communication which have grown throughout our short history are now a vast, rich and bountiful environment. Why should we expect these flows to be sterile?
This is a book in which concepts can get you into trouble. At the end of course, Eric has to try and kill the shark. He and the two people who are helping him create a conceptual boat. In reality it is boards and barrels and one of the propellers is a fan, but when you believe in the concept–that this is a shark hunting boat–then suddenly it is and you are on a “real” boat in the middle of the ocean. And if any of the people on the boat had bothered to watch Jaws first, they may have thought twice because good gracious is the last quarter of the book intense!
The first Eric taught the second Eric ways to protect himself from the shark, but it is temporary solution not a permanent fix. Eric sets out to find Dr. Trey Fidorous, the only one who can help the second Eric get rid of the shark. Going with him on this journey is his big ginger cat, Ian. Now for some reason the cat being called Ian is supposed to be funny as various people have odd reactions to the cat’s name. The author is British. Is this a British joke I am just not getting?
Along his journey, Eric is saved from Mr. Nobody by Scout, an in-your-face take-no-prisoners kind of gal who has a great sense of humor. She knows how to find Dr. Fidorous.
I think that’s all I can tell you about the plot. It is weird, so if you don’t like weird this book is not for you. The book is about memory and conceptual being, grief and longing, identity, reality and unreality and most of all, mind. It’s also about the things we see and the things we refuse to see. It’s a fairly quick read that got my heart pounding in a few places. But it also had plenty of thinking moments. This is sort of a best of both worlds kind of book, fast plot coupled with development of ideas. It seems to have quite a following. In addition to the Wikipedia page (spoilers galore there), I have found a wiki on which people who have read the book are creating annotations (spoilers here too!). Give the book a try if you are in the mood for something a bit…different.
Memento meets Jaws meets Life of Pi meets Wittgenstein? It’s making my head hurt already, but I think I have to read it!
LikeLike
I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m glad you liked the book. I was wary of recommending it, because it’s not for everyone (it was right up my alley, since I like bizarre books).
LikeLike
I love Teresa’s comment! And I wish I could help you with the cat named Ian, but I’m at a loss myself to know why that’s funny beyond a basic incongruity. I’ve never heard of this writer but the book sounds a blast. I think I ought to read Jasper Fforde first though, and warm up….
LikeLike
It is amazing, itsn’t it, what some brains get up to? People are so strange. I will give this book a go. It sounds wonderfully wierd.
Thanks for writing a good, non-spoiler review.
LikeLike
But did the two Eric’s get back together? And how did he foget who he was in the first place? It’s kind of fun to stretch your mind with books like these.
LikeLike
Well, this one sounds interesting! I’m not sure if I’d love it or hate it … I’m guessing I’d love it, particularly since you did, and I think we often agree 🙂 I kind of like the idea of a conceptual shark.
LikeLike
Intriguing…I think I’ll put it on my to-read-when-in-the-mood-for-something-weird list.
LikeLike
I have to admit that I got rather caught up in the whole conceptuality theories of the book and actually got quite spooked by the shark! It probably didn’t help that I read the book alone in an empty house…
LikeLike
Teresa, yeah I think you’ve described the book pretty well! 🙂
Brandon, a well-written bizarre book is so out of the ordinary that I can’t help but enjoy it.
Litlove, you’ve not read Jasper Fforde yet? You must read him sometime. This book Fforde-ish qualities but Hall is much grittier.
qugrainne, the book makes you wonder what your own brain is up to and not telling you about. It is wonderfully weird and if you get the chance to read it, I hope you enjoy it.
Danielle, the first Eric Sanderson is gone and can never come back. His mind was eaten by the shark and now the shark is coming for the rest of him. This one is definitely a mind-stretcher.
Dorothy, I think you might like this one just fine. There is a bit of postmodern flair to the book that you would probably like.
Wil, yes, you definitely have to be in the mood for weird.
LikeLike
“Momento” immediately springs to mind. Wish I’d read this post before going to the bookstore yesterday. Wonder if I have time to go back before I leave?
LikeLike
As a name “Ian” has some qualities of gray tie-wearing solidity that aren’t at all feline. It’s definitely an English style joke: only slightly odd to begin with but funnier with repetition. The kind of thing Douglas Adams was so wonderful at (Adams fans will recall a whale and a bowl of petunias…).
LikeLike
Emily, yes, there is a similarity but no tattoos 😉 And the second Eric Sanderson never gets to remember.
Maggie, thanks for the tip about Ian. The name doesn’t have those same qualities in the U.S. Oh how I miss Douglas Adams!
LikeLike
I’ve had this on my wishlists for a while. And I still want to read it after your review. Sometimes weird can be too weird, but I like to read weird sometimes just to shake things up a bit and remember what can be done in the name of literature.
LikeLike
I like to read weird books sometimes for the same reason, but you are right, sometimes weird can be too weird. That is not the case with this book though, it is just the right kind of weird.
LikeLike
Excellent job doing a synopsis. I tried to write one up for this book, but it got the better of me. I loved this book, and I’m definitely excited to see what Steven Hall comes up with next.
LikeLike
Pingback: Matt’s Bookosphere 7/08/08 « Enter the Octopus