Monday, March 26, 2007
I actually read Jess Walter's The Zero last weekend but haven't had a chance to post about it yet. It opens with NYPD detective Brian Remy coming to after having shot himself in the head in an apparent suicide attempt just days after 9/11. However neither he nor the reader knows why he did it or what brought him to that place. In fact, there are a lot of things Remy doesn't know: why his son is mourning him as if he'd died in the attack, why he's losing time in large gaps, and, most importantly, what he's investigating and for whom. We are limited to Remy's point of view, so when he dissociates, we lose time with him. We have to try and piece together what's happening exactly as he does and it is maddening and fascinating and exhilarating watching him navigate his increasingly fragmented existence. I flat out loved this book and am awed by Jess Walter's ability to make these incredibly artistic jumps with each novel he writes. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
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