Through the Heart

4.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Kem, from the wagon community, is sold by his father into servitude in the Oasis, a massive, tank-like machine that travels from place to place, serving its Residents, or perhaps its Investors. As Kem unravels more and more of the Oasis' complex structure, he understands it less and less. But he's starting to feel there's something very wrong about it.

Review
Nobody (I assume) likes to feel stupid. I don't. Yet there is a very small number of authors whose books I really enjoy and yet never really feel that I've understood. Richard Grant is among that group (of four, I think, with A.A. Attanasio, Elizabeth Hand, and Paul Park). Much as with his protagonist Kem here, in this book I felt I lost in Grant's metaphors, constantly groping in the mist for what he was trying to say. The thing is, though, that rather than be irritated or feel that Grant just wasn't writing clearly, I loved it. I think Grant is an excellent author, and that, like Kem, I'm just not seeing the whole picture.

Through the Heart (set, perhaps, in the same world as Rumors of Spring) is straightforward in concept - Kem is sold into servitude in the giant, tank-like Oasis as it crunches through the world on a regular circuit. Kem rises (literally) through the machine and sees some of the outside world, but never really knows quite what it all means or what's happening. I didn't either, and maybe Grant didn't. But it's enthralling nonetheless.

Grant doesn't help himself with immense 50 page chapters. It's not easy to stop in the middle of one and find your place again, simply because so much is uncertain. And I felt that the ending was a little bit too much of a sop to readers like me, who just want something clear and definite to happen.

But (much as I said about Views From the Oldest House), while the above may not sound appealing to you, I promise there's a very good read here. In fact, all three of the books mentioned above are well worth a look. After this, (and I haven't read them all), I felt Grant lost his way a bit. But I highly recommend this book to anyone who's willing to work a little bit to enjoy a great story.

Why aren't his books out in e-form?