Author: Teju Cole
Publisher: Random House
Blurb: Along the streets of Manhattan, a young Nigerian doctor doing his residency wanders aimlessly. The walks meet a need for Julius: they are a release from the tightly regulated mental environment of work, and they give him the opportunity to process his relationships, his recent breakup with his girlfriend, his present, his past.
But it is not only a physical landscape he covers; Julius crisscrosses social territory as well, encountering people from different cultures and classes who will provide insight on his journey—which takes him to Brussels, to the Nigeria of his youth, and into the most unrecognizable facets of his own soul.
Me: A recommended read from my AMAZING English teacher...but not sure how to feel about it. Nothing like I've read before, that's for sure.
The Ups: This book was incredibly well-received by readers and especially critics when it came out in 2011, and I can see why. The prose and build of the novel are unlike any form I've seen before. It's not as chaotic as some stream-of-consciousness books are, yet it adopts much of the natural flow of thinking and reasoning that those books have.
The book seemed like a big adventure into one man's mind. There was no particular plot, no necessary goal for the reader, other than a curiosity to further understand Julius (the main character, who tells the story in first person). Somehow, Teju Cole maintained my interest. Julius would just walk around New York for a few hours then talk to a friend and yet I wouldn't be bored out of my mind - rather, intrigued by his thought processes.
I think a lot of that sustained interest comes from Cole's stellar prose. It's so artistic and rich in imagery while also being frank and meditative. The voice is delicate and doesn't exhaust the reader yet asks the reader to stop and think about what the book is saying.
In a similar way, the book deals with race, but is not about race; it deals with masculinity, but isn't about masculinity; it deals with America and history, yet doesn't make any shouting claims. It is so refreshing to see the psyche of an immigrant African man be explored in a way that doesn't just categorize him as constantly angry, fearful, lost, etc. In fact, Julius' mind is developed in such a complex, human way that it makes the social issues and histories within the book more nuanced and realistic.
The Downs: Although the absence of productive plot characterized the novel by breaking new ground and making the readability of the book even more impressive, I still didn't find it as rewarding as other books. I found myself often wondering what the point was of a lot of details, and wasn't particularly struck by any immense personal development of Julius by the end of the book.
I wish the book had more rich relationships with many of the side characters that stayed in my head - they were fascinating and well-developed and yet Julius seemed so detached to them.
Another small issue that bothered me was the constant name-dropping and references of "high-brow" culture and academia - a few is expected from a talented writer but there were so many that attempting to look all of them up and understand the connections proved just exhausting. Were they really necessary? I don't think so.
Overall: Worth the read for the in-depth journey into one fascinating mind, but felt a little pointless and lost at times.
Rating: 3 kisses!
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