A review by jimmylorunning
Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen

3.0

[On the doppler effect...] Being aware of this distortion of perception allows scientists to take advantage of the distortion itself in order to gather accurate data about the actual, and not just the perceived, world. ... these distortions [when] properly understood enable a more accurate understanding of the real world. p 45

Obviously Galchen is not only referring to the doppler effect here, but also to other types of distorting effects. Like the one she is using--the unreliable narrator.

The problem with unreliable narrators is that there must be a truth worth discovering beyond the distortion. In Atmospheric Disturbances the truth beyond that distortion is entirely uninteresting and trivial. The characters were flat and seemed like exaggerations. Pretty soon the distortion itself (which in the first 50 pages was at least somewhat interesting and funny) also loses its steam.

The unreliable narrator also poses another challenge. One of mapping. In some sense, everything the narrator says must be mapped onto a reality that is at odds with the narrator's worldview. But that mapping must not become predictable or obvious, must not become 1:1. There can't be a sense of the author winking behind every line. The unreal must seem real, as if it were an unreality existing only for itself.

Because it failed on this second point as well, the book just came across as incredibly contrived.

And lastly, not to be too negative, but the ending sucked. I don't need resolutions or anything, I get the open endedness thing. But this book just built up all these questions and then petered the fuck out. The last 100 pages were all of the same frequency. It could have petered out 100 pages earlier and not much would have changed in terms of overall book-ness... There was no variation to the plot or characters, no turbulence whatsoever that would have even made things more interesting.

However, I still managed to enjoy this book mostly because:

1. I imagined it as a Haruki Murakami book if Murakami had the good sense to laugh at himself once in a while. We have a disappearance and a search and dogs instead of cats. Although there is a disturbing lack of breasts and no cooking of spaghetti. Perhaps that is its main flaw. It is actually more intelligent than (some of) Murakami's novels, though it is less interesting plot-wise.

2. I really enjoyed the use of science and scientific theories as a metaphor for other general-life things. A personal weakness of mine. In truth I probably gave this book an extra star just for that. (Rest assured, my rating system is otherwise scientifically sound and completely objective!). I liked the intellectual gymnastics Galchen was trying out here. I just wish it worked with an actual novel instead of a series of skits.