X"
grabs the gothic generally and the works of Mr. H.P. Lovecraft specifically
and creates a long sustained beauty of a novel that, like the best jazz,
will probably make 80% of those who encounter it sigh with exasperation
and dismissiveness.
Possibly the most deadpan tongue-in-cheek formalist since Nabokov, Straub crafts an epic tale of a man and a congress of Doppelgangers. "Once you are you," Straub's narrator announces at the beginning of the book, "that's who you are, and you have to pay the price." The narrator and the captive reader then spends the next several hundred pages trying to figure out just who, precisely, the narrator is, and what the price of that answer will be.
Straub keeps us guessing for well over three-fourths of the book and for many, the final quarter will be the area most lacking. It's a tough call whether Straub is mocking both the Gothic and the mystery's eye for minutiae by spending as much time on what the "Knacker" is as he does the fate of the ultimate, or perhaps penultimate, Doppelganger. Or maybe Straub actually thinks the reader will find both of equal importance. Either way, the reader obsessed with traditional ideas of plot and denouement is threatened with finding the book either more petty or picayune than it actually is. Just as a jazz player's worth is in his playing, the real meat of "Mr. X" is in the writing--beautiful turns of phrase, great dialogue, pastiches and mercilessly witty satires of Lovecraft himself.
At one point, the narrator's mother describes a life-changing jazz solo;
"He just touched that melody for a second before he lifted off and began
climbing and climbing, and everything he played linked up, one step after
another, like a story." Similarly, everything in Straub's "Mr. X"
links up, frequently with a dizzying display of intelligence, wit and nuance.
Those who pick up
the book for its melody may be disappointed, but those who read "Mr.
X" for the bravura musicianship will likely be delighted.
All written material on these pages is © 2000 by Jeff Lester. With the exception of non-profit distribution, all other rights are reserved.