I actually joked with someone the other day that this review could be called ‘Enduring this book’. Now that I think about it, that’s not too far off the mark.
The book opens well with an interesting and attention grabbing scene. Indeed, I’ve seen ‘The balloon bit’ referenced to on numerous websites and has been hailed as one of the most iconic openings in contemporary fiction.
From this point onwards, the book spirals into a mess of disconnected evaluations and overly analytical musings. The language used in most of the novel seems at odds with what I believe the story is trying to tell us and none of the main characters seem terribly deep or (perhaps more forgivable) likable.
The main story line is that of Joe, a writer of scientific articles, and another person involved in the ballooning incident; Jed, an independently wealthy young man with a disturbing and fanatical take on life, love and religion.
It seems that Jed has a mental disorder which has caused him to believe that he loves Joe. Or more correctly, that Joe loves him and he has no choice but to respond to that in kind. This psychosis (called both de Clerambault’s syndrome and Erotomania) escalates until Joe’s comfortable existence and well being, as well as that of his close ones, are threatened.
As previously mentioned, I’m not a fan of this book. I do, however, appear to be in the distinct minority. I may pick up another of the authors’ works to see if I judged him too harshly or just didn’t appreciate this book for some reason.
I’m not in a rush to do so though.
Rating: 
