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A Description of the Blazing World
After Morgan Wells’s wife leaves him, a postcard from France arrives. It is addressed to a Morgan Wells—but not the Morgan Wells who receives it. Desperate to be led out of his despair, Morgan decides to read the postcard as a sign and embark upon a surreal journey to find, observe, and meet the other Morgan Wellses in the city of Toronto.
On the day that a 2003 citywide p
...morePaperback, 325 pages
Published
November 10th 2010
by Broadview Press
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Michael Murphy's debut novel is set, very specifically, in Toronto during the month of August 2003, when a widespread blackout occurred knocking out power for millions of households in Ontario and the northeastern US. The action follows two distinct threads narrated in alternating chapters. A 14 year old boy with an overactive imagination has been sent to Toronto to stay with his brother and his brother's wife. The blackout occurs while he is there, and as a result of this event he comes across...more
Quite impressed with this one!
Simultaneously following the story of 14 year old protagonist during the 2003 Toronto Blackout and the story of Morgan Wells, a middle-aged man going through a mid-life crisis, this book is one that grips you instantly. It explores the themes of technology and a return to older means of communication, self-identity and identity theft, and the amusement of storytelling. The language is sharp - blunt at times - but carefully selected and clever. It not only steers yo...more
Simultaneously following the story of 14 year old protagonist during the 2003 Toronto Blackout and the story of Morgan Wells, a middle-aged man going through a mid-life crisis, this book is one that grips you instantly. It explores the themes of technology and a return to older means of communication, self-identity and identity theft, and the amusement of storytelling. The language is sharp - blunt at times - but carefully selected and clever. It not only steers yo...more
Tedious. Probably the only reason I finished it was because I was sitting in a waiting room for three hours with nothing else to do.
So many great things about this book. Murphy builds the tension throughout and drops subtle hints without unravelling the mystery until the end. His two protagonists, and their abundant anguish, their bleak outlook and questionable behaviour, are very strong, very compelling, offering many insights into how we are, our isolation. But the ending was a bit of a let down for me, like he took me somewhere and then said, 'just kidding.' Still, he's a hell of a writer and I'm stoked to read more from...more
Really great. Loved the dual narrative. I felt like I was reading two separate books for most of it, but in a good way--both were incredibly compelling. Great writing!
This book was an easy, hilarious read!
Mar 06, 2013
Michael Hingston
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Mar 01, 2013
Jen
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Nov 30, 2012
Foxglove Zayuri
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Nov 23, 2012
Evan Beazley
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review of another edition
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Aug 23, 2012
Awakes
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Apr 02, 2012
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Jan 14, 2012
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marked it as reviews-coming-up
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