Nothing is Equal

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Lisa Halliday's 'Asymmetry' is a book of two halves, since there are two distinct story-lines, one following on from the other without any evident narrative connection between the two. If that has put you off, then don't let it. This is a novel that is aptly named, since it is full of surprises which defy easy definitions - indeed I would say Halliday's main purpose is to challenge easy definitions, about everything. But that does not stop her story-telling keeping the reader glued to every page. On top of which there is humour everywhere - often in the most unlikely places - underlying the tenderness behind one of the truths she wants us to see; namely that "there is no such thing as a matching pair."

The first story is about Alice, a young New York editor, who slips into an affair with a world-famous, much older writer called Ezra Blazer. I have to confess that when I realised the way the tale was going my first thought was, uh-oh, with such a massive age difference (we are talking forty odd years), this is either going to be a deeply cringing relationship, or one utterly devoid of credibility. I could not have been more wrong. The deepening and unlikely bond between the old writer and the young girl totally worked, both as something of an at times hilarious physical experiment for both parties and as an exploration of a strengthening emotional connection that takes on a terrible poignancy once Blazer's greater age starts to catch up with him and real decrepitude sets in. Somehow Halliday manages to make even this funny too, deploying a tender humour that tightens our attachment to her protagonists. We see that while Alice may be a directionless young dreamer and Blazer a hardened, successful old man, life's pitfalls trip them up in equal measure.

The second narrative could not be more of a contrast. It is set in a detention room at Heathrow airport, throwing the reader into the middle of an interrogation of someone called Amar, an economist en route to Kurdistan. The immigration authorities are suspicious and want answers, even the most innocent of which prompts yet more questioning. For a while we do not know what to believe either; and this is the point. We are like the interrogator; on the face of it there is nothing to warrant this detention, but our distrust of what we do not know or understand is deeply rooted. When communications break down we are all complicit.

For the final section of the novel Halliday takes us back to Ezra Blazer, making an appearance on the famous UK Radio programme, Desert Island Discs, in which guests are asked to choose music and talk about the ups and downs of their lives. Ezra duly does so, reflecting on his legacy, his life, and his loves. There are no concrete conclusions, only Ezra's memories, hopes and speculations; he is just one more person, who happens to be a writer, trying to make sense of things.

Halliday's writing is original, compelling and full of bruising truths. 'Asymmetry' casts important light on the way our world is riddled with random power-plays, imbalances, prejudices and preconceptions, forcing us not only to see these trip-wires for what they are, but to recognise the great weight they place on the quest we each to face, to live decently and be our best selves.





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