Unlike anything I’ve read before, James Greer’s novel is a madcap study in biting irony. For the first half of Bad Eminence, I laughed at its deliciously sardonic sense of humour – yet the book then progressively loses its way somewhat.
Greer’s narration, heavily literary and drenched in French and Latin, fits the narrator perfectly; it might annoy readers less than comfortable with either language, though given how obnoxious the narrator is, that might be the purpose. And why not? I found the POV of Vanessa, the protagonist, very entertaining. After a bit of grandiose, contradictory self-adoration, it can be – often is – fun to laugh at from the reader perspective. But James Greer takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride, where things get out of control and ridiculous. We lose our fun narrator who becomes more serene, without change to their inflated ego.
There is much to be said for breaking the novel’s rules as regards form and structure, but to allow an otherwise intelligent quasi-satire to descend into silly nonsense is unfortunate. Much of Bad Eminence is raucously fun and engaging, but I often found myself unsure of what I was reading and would struggle to explain its plot out loud without feeling ludicrous.
Bad Eminence, James Greer (And Other Stories)
Price: £14.99/£11.99 Ebook. Info: here
words BILLIE INGRAM SOFOKLEOUS
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