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The Word
William ‘s Lane’s disarming new novel, The Word, brilliantly satirises the ways in which we use language to define our lives. Kenric is an oddball advertising eccentric who possesses an unusual gift for language. The brands he names, sell. Yet he comes to believe advertising uses language too cynically. He is inspired by Maria to abandon the corporate world and establish a small residential community called The Word. The idealistic community relocates from Pittwater to a warehouse in industrial Mount Druitt, gathering about it others concerned with the misuse of language.
The Word is both a charming ensemble piece of unforgettable characters, and an astute and humorous exploration of the ways in which language beguiles and creates connections, but also misleads. Lane understands the human tendency to seek answers and directions in the unlikeliest of individuals but is happy to show us the folly of doing so. As such the novel parallels current world trends while evoking with candour Sydney’s watery beauty and suburban harshness.
The Word is both a charming ensemble piece of unforgettable characters, and an astute and humorous exploration of the ways in which language beguiles and creates connections, but also misleads. Lane understands the human tendency to seek answers and directions in the unlikeliest of individuals but is happy to show us the folly of doing so. As such the novel parallels current world trends while evoking with candour Sydney’s watery beauty and suburban harshness.
239 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2018
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About the author
William Lane
6 booksWilliam Lane lives on the North Coast of NSW, where he is raising three children. After completing an Honours degree in Australian Literature, he traveled and worked in a number of different jobs. In addition to reading and writing, his interests include music and education. He is currently completing a doctorate on the Australian writer, Christina Stead. William has had several critical articles on Stead published in literary journals, and his short story, Children’s Hospital, appeared in the anthology Things that are Found in Trees and Other Stories (2012).
His first novel, Over the Water, will be published by Transit Lounge in 2014. His second novel, The Horses, is due to be published by Transit Lounge in 2015.
His first novel, Over the Water, will be published by Transit Lounge in 2014. His second novel, The Horses, is due to be published by Transit Lounge in 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 4, 2018
The Word (Transit Lounge 2018) is the first book I’ve read by author William Lane, although he has published three previous novels and is also a literary critic specialising in the work of Christina Stead. This interest in words and what they mean becomes the subject of this rather strange but charming story of Kenric, an eccentric advertising executive whose life becomes something else altogether.
The story opens with Kenric and his wife Janis watching television. Janis is knitting, and the knitting instructions are inserted into the text almost like some form of abstract poetry. Kenric, meanwhile, is thinking about words. He makes his living thinking about words, choosing the exact and perfect words to express an idea or a concept about whatever product he is marketing, and to persuade the consumer to invest in that idea by making a purchase. He is remarkably successful at what he does, but the company he works for, The Firm, appears to be moving in a new direction. Janis works at The Foundation, and the book is peppered with similar organisations such as The Message.
When Kenric’s life begins to unravel – he acquires a new secretary, he develops a crush on a waitress, he realises his marriage is ‘empty and unhappy’ – he decides to resign, and to abandon his professional and personal life and start up a community called The Word, bringing together people who are similarly interested in language and equally opposed to the misuse of words.
The Word has its critics. It is labelled a cult, and Kenric a guru. The collection of its members come and go over time, never quite managing to collectively believe in the same ideals, or even to agree on the basic fundamental rules of the group’s operation. They initially live in a warehouse, and then move between two beach houses fortuitously available to various members. With everyone from ex-ashram hippies to criminals to lonely hearts, the group muddles along studying from dictionaries, completing crosswords, critiquing language, and reassuring everyone – including themselves – that the group is PHILOSOPHICAL not THEOLOGICAL.
I struggled with this book but I suspect it will appeal to people who love to dissect words – their origins, their meanings, the ways in which they can hurt and mislead and devour and arm. It is a satire, and there are some very funny, bright moments which made me laugh. There is a large cast of humorous and oddball characters. I think that the book includes messages about consumerism and advertising, about relationships, about loners and outsiders, about team-building and sects and lies and memories; about the search for happiness and those we choose to follow in its pursuit.
The story opens with Kenric and his wife Janis watching television. Janis is knitting, and the knitting instructions are inserted into the text almost like some form of abstract poetry. Kenric, meanwhile, is thinking about words. He makes his living thinking about words, choosing the exact and perfect words to express an idea or a concept about whatever product he is marketing, and to persuade the consumer to invest in that idea by making a purchase. He is remarkably successful at what he does, but the company he works for, The Firm, appears to be moving in a new direction. Janis works at The Foundation, and the book is peppered with similar organisations such as The Message.
When Kenric’s life begins to unravel – he acquires a new secretary, he develops a crush on a waitress, he realises his marriage is ‘empty and unhappy’ – he decides to resign, and to abandon his professional and personal life and start up a community called The Word, bringing together people who are similarly interested in language and equally opposed to the misuse of words.
The Word has its critics. It is labelled a cult, and Kenric a guru. The collection of its members come and go over time, never quite managing to collectively believe in the same ideals, or even to agree on the basic fundamental rules of the group’s operation. They initially live in a warehouse, and then move between two beach houses fortuitously available to various members. With everyone from ex-ashram hippies to criminals to lonely hearts, the group muddles along studying from dictionaries, completing crosswords, critiquing language, and reassuring everyone – including themselves – that the group is PHILOSOPHICAL not THEOLOGICAL.
I struggled with this book but I suspect it will appeal to people who love to dissect words – their origins, their meanings, the ways in which they can hurt and mislead and devour and arm. It is a satire, and there are some very funny, bright moments which made me laugh. There is a large cast of humorous and oddball characters. I think that the book includes messages about consumerism and advertising, about relationships, about loners and outsiders, about team-building and sects and lies and memories; about the search for happiness and those we choose to follow in its pursuit.
September 18, 2018
he Word seems very apt for our times. It’s a novel of disillusionment.
The central character Kenric is an advertising man, but not like the smart, shallow types usually portrayed in fiction and film. He is a man who loves words, and his gift is that he’s brilliant at coming up with one-word names for products that then become bestsellers and often iconic products as well. (Like the adman who came up with the word Vegemite, I guess, or Dove, or Rinso). But Kenric is quiet and unassuming and takes a lot of time doing quiet thinking before his genius comes into play, so of course he is vulnerable when a dynamic New Broom called Quick takes over the advertising agency. The reader can see between the lines when Quick starts spouting corporate management rubbish at Kenric, but Kenric doesn’t see what’s coming.
Kenric has a depressing marriage with Janis, whose desire for human company breaks into his musings on The Word, so it’s not surprising when he leaves to set up a bizarre community in a grotty warehouse in Sydney. Unlike the cults and hippie communities which it mocks, their group (which is called ‘The Word’) is devoted to exploring how words work. They have sessions on grammar, the Greek and Latin roots of words, and even ‘tongue’ talking’ which is like so-called speaking in tongues, i.e. it’s gibberish yet they conjure meaning out of it.
To read the rest of my review (and enter the giveaway (before 23/9/18) if you are an Australian resident) please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/09/18/t...
The central character Kenric is an advertising man, but not like the smart, shallow types usually portrayed in fiction and film. He is a man who loves words, and his gift is that he’s brilliant at coming up with one-word names for products that then become bestsellers and often iconic products as well. (Like the adman who came up with the word Vegemite, I guess, or Dove, or Rinso). But Kenric is quiet and unassuming and takes a lot of time doing quiet thinking before his genius comes into play, so of course he is vulnerable when a dynamic New Broom called Quick takes over the advertising agency. The reader can see between the lines when Quick starts spouting corporate management rubbish at Kenric, but Kenric doesn’t see what’s coming.
Kenric has a depressing marriage with Janis, whose desire for human company breaks into his musings on The Word, so it’s not surprising when he leaves to set up a bizarre community in a grotty warehouse in Sydney. Unlike the cults and hippie communities which it mocks, their group (which is called ‘The Word’) is devoted to exploring how words work. They have sessions on grammar, the Greek and Latin roots of words, and even ‘tongue’ talking’ which is like so-called speaking in tongues, i.e. it’s gibberish yet they conjure meaning out of it.
To read the rest of my review (and enter the giveaway (before 23/9/18) if you are an Australian resident) please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2018/09/18/t...
September 30, 2018
Many will find themselves disillusioned by corporate greed (or at least grappling with the ethics of commercial enterprise) and in that context the best application of one’s time and energies, at one time or another. In
The Word
, Lane has taken a very interesting, and extreme slant on those moments of mental inquisition. Much clever wordplay is woven into the fabric of entertaining, often cutting dialogue between this group of odd-bods, ostensibly brought together by a united cause or viewpoint, the manipulation of language. But many have secrets and motivations far less altruistic, and exert power in the group dynamic by chipping away at others insecurities.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews