Just as in any good magic show, the reader is left wondering what, precisely, is fact and what is illusion, no doubt exactly as Galloway intended. The narration switches between Martin’s life in the present day, Martin’s life in 19, and details of incidents in Houdini’s life. Galloway weaves many known facts and real people from Houdini’s life into his novel, bringing to life historical facts and anecdotes whilst constructing his mystery. I killed him twice.†Intriguing, to say the least. Or does it? Martin tells us “I didn’t just kill Harry Houdini. In response to this, your brain will invent new memories.†The reader does well to keep this in mind as Martin tells the tale of his encounter, as a young man, with the famous Harry Houdini, an encounter that ends with him causing Houdini’s death. Martin Strauss admits upfront to being an unreliable narrator after all, his doctor has just told him “Yours is a rare condition in which the damage that is being done to your brain does not destroy cognitive function but instead affects your brain’s ability to store and process memories. The Confabulist is the fourth novel by Canadian author, Steven Galloway. Imaginative, intriguing and ultimately, very moving.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |