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A review by selenajournal
Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
2.0
I began reading Atmospheric Disturbances on a whim. It was one of the books featured at my library, vetted for by a librarian. Her book stood out to me because of her psychiatric background and the various awards this debut novel had received or been nominated for.
As a reader, it was clear that Rivka Galchen is an incredibly intelligent woman. Her novel is ambitious, tying together meteorology, mathematics, psychology and love. For Rivka, this novel was also a foray into family history; one of the most spoken about characters in the book is Tzvi Gal-chen, a family member of Rivka’s.
Essentially, it is the novel of Leo Liebenstein and his wife Rema, who he believes has disappeared and been replaced with a simulacrum. This, he believes, has something to do with his psychiatric patient Harvey who believes he is being sent to control the weather. The novel is the hunt for Rema as much as the hunt for the mysterious man Tzvi Gal-chen who somehow ties in to all of this.
The novel begins on a promising note: “Last December a woman entered my apartment who looked exactly like my wife.” However, after the first twenty-five or so pages, it is clear to the reader that Rema is a very normal and fine individual. Instead, it is the proud Dr. Leo Liebenstein who is going insane. What I had hoped would come of the novel indeed did not. I had hoped it would be a science-fiction or experimental fiction piece.
Rivka uses really refreshing short sentences and while beautiful, they kept me an arm’s length from all of the characters. Rema was the closest I came to having emotions, and she was mostly left to the wayside, brought up only as she related to the larger story. But even with her compelling phrasing and masterful sentences, I forgot about this book when I put it down. It was interesting enough when I got back into it but nothing really compelled me to not put it down or to pick it back up whenever I had a free moment.
It took me ages to finish what I would classify as a short book.
In a way, the novel over-reached and left me with no clear direction of where to turn. Clearly, the main character was delusional and going down his own rabbit hole. It seems that if one figures this out early in the novel, it ruins most of the experience.
As a reader, it was clear that Rivka Galchen is an incredibly intelligent woman. Her novel is ambitious, tying together meteorology, mathematics, psychology and love. For Rivka, this novel was also a foray into family history; one of the most spoken about characters in the book is Tzvi Gal-chen, a family member of Rivka’s.
Essentially, it is the novel of Leo Liebenstein and his wife Rema, who he believes has disappeared and been replaced with a simulacrum. This, he believes, has something to do with his psychiatric patient Harvey who believes he is being sent to control the weather. The novel is the hunt for Rema as much as the hunt for the mysterious man Tzvi Gal-chen who somehow ties in to all of this.
The novel begins on a promising note: “Last December a woman entered my apartment who looked exactly like my wife.” However, after the first twenty-five or so pages, it is clear to the reader that Rema is a very normal and fine individual. Instead, it is the proud Dr. Leo Liebenstein who is going insane. What I had hoped would come of the novel indeed did not. I had hoped it would be a science-fiction or experimental fiction piece.
Rivka uses really refreshing short sentences and while beautiful, they kept me an arm’s length from all of the characters. Rema was the closest I came to having emotions, and she was mostly left to the wayside, brought up only as she related to the larger story. But even with her compelling phrasing and masterful sentences, I forgot about this book when I put it down. It was interesting enough when I got back into it but nothing really compelled me to not put it down or to pick it back up whenever I had a free moment.
It took me ages to finish what I would classify as a short book.
In a way, the novel over-reached and left me with no clear direction of where to turn. Clearly, the main character was delusional and going down his own rabbit hole. It seems that if one figures this out early in the novel, it ruins most of the experience.