10:04 by Ben Lerner - 4.5 stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

10:04 by Ben Lerner - 4* - My Review

This is an unusual book. The plot is non-linear and episodic. The protagonist, Ben, is a professor on sabbatical. He has received an advance to expand an article he wrote for the New Yorker into a full-length novel (similar to what Lerner is doing in 10:04). He considers himself more poet than novelist. He has an issue with his heart, which may (or may not) be related to Marfan’s Syndrome and is undergoing testing. He has been asked by his platonic best friend, Alex, to be the father of her child via intrauterine insemination. He serves as Big Brother to eight-year-old Roberto. He attends a writers’ retreat in Marfa, Texas, where he intends to work on his novel, but gets distracted by writing poetry and partying.

It is hard for me to articulate exactly why I enjoyed this book so much. It is creative, though occasionally digressive. The writing is erudite and clever. There are many literary and film references. It contains two hurricanes, and environmental themes pop up throughout the story. Our concept of time is a key theme, and the title is taken from Back to the Future. Other recurring elements include making art, walking, procrastinating, and ruminating. It is definitely not going to be for everyone since it does not have a discernable plot. It is a contemplation of our collective anxiety, and the constant worrying that accompanies life in today’s world (and this was written before the pandemic). It seems to me to be a reminder to enjoy life in the present rather than fretting about the future or reliving the past.

“I decided to replace the book I proposed with the book you’re reading now, a work that, like a poem, is neither fiction nor non-fiction, but a flickering between them. I resolved to dilate my story not into a novel about literary fraudulence, about fabricating the past, but into an actual present, alive with multiple futures.”

4.5