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The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson (view source)
Revision as of 14:17, 11 May 2018
, 14:17, 11 May 2018no edit summary
In fact I was nearly two-thirds of the way through the story before I started enjoying the book. At times the story does get quite ambiguous and I got confused. Did Gideon Mack really see the Devil? Is it simply a result of his ordeal of falling onto the underground river? Are there other reasons, from earlier in his life why he might have conjured up such an illusion? Were there other reasons why this all happened? Did Gideon Mack pick the stories from his life because they were important in what eventually happened or was it reminiscing for the sake of reminiscence?
I can't really say that the book enthralled me because it was frustrating getting through so much preamble, but to its credit, finished well with a few interesting ideas. I think it's a wasted opportunity, despite the obvious quality of the writing, because the aspect of the interaction between Gideon and the Devil and the subsequent events after his disappearance had plenty of potential to offer up an exciting tale. I'd read Douglas Coupland's [[''Girlfriend in a Coma]] '' which is not a million miles away in terms of concept and enjoyed that much more because the big event happens a lot sooner, giving time for the concept to be explored fully, something that Gideon Mack lacks.
The early part of Mack's life is told well, despite not holding much interest for me. With the exception of Gideon Mack and the feisty Catherine Craigie, none of the other characters really struck a chord. I did think that some of the them could have done with a little more flesh on their bones, too. People like Mack's best friends James and Elsie seemed rather two-dimensional for my tastes despite the close emotional bond between them. Reading through this part of Mack's life, I was reminded of Iain Banks' [[The Crow Road]], not in terms of characters but as a general vibe that I couldn't quite put my finger on.