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Just Finished a Good Book
I'll start by saying that the author is a friend of mine, which is sort of like saying I'm invested in this company, but believe me, good writers (writers I respect might be a better way to describe them) will say nothing about another writer's book if it is not actually a good book, rather than fluffing it artificially as the next great work or ranting about its flaws.
Anyway, I just finished reading Submergence by J.M. Ledgard. One of those books where when I finished reading it and put it down, I didn't really know what to do with myself. What do I do now? Anything on the television seems kind of ordinary, I don't really have enough energy to start a new book because this one took it out of me. The newspaper seems kind of rude, magazines a bit trivial, and I have the distinct feeling I should throw my computer away and buy a typewriter. The story is about Africa, terrorism, the nature of conflict, ecology, life, captivity, science, religion, etc. Very disparate themes brought together in language with a rhythm that I can only describe as talmudic, if that makes any sense. There is a lot about the ocean in the book, and the book reads as if one is sort of rocking rhythmically. That's what I mean by talmudic, not what's written but how what's written reads. If you liked Paul Bowles Sheltering Sky or perhaps Bruce Chatwin's Songlines or maybe even early John Le Carre or Graham Greene, you might like this. It isn't a quick read and I personally found it hard to read when there were distractions. But it also isn't ponderous, esoteric, self-involved, or dismally pessimistic either.
I know there are some real readers here, so I thought, since I could now recommend it, I would.
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Originally Posted by thomas
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