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The Rest of Our Lives
Ben Markovitz
216 pages
Faber & Faber
This short novel will appeal to readers who enjoy character driven literature that use a stream of consciousness technique in its narration. This kind of writing allows readers to understand the character’s internal thoughts as they go, much as many of us do in real life. We are right there, in Tom’s head, experiencing his life as he does, as he goes on a road trip to figure out what has gone wrong. He is in a marriage that is unraveling as his children are growing up and assuming lives of their own. He takes his daughter to college and just keeps going instead of returning home to an obviously failed marriage where neither party seems motivated to pick up the pieces.
I chose the novel because the idea of a road trip to figure things out appeals to me and because of the attractive cover (I am a sucker for that). Unfortunately, however, I very soon realized that this was not the book for me. Stream of consciousness style prose does not work for me; I find it too meandering and confusing. It is certainly a legitimate and recognized form of narration, but is not one that interests me. I have read very character driven novels before and while my patience for them has definitely waned as I have gotten older, they still can appeal to me if certain conditions are met. I need to like at least one significant character. No one needs to be perfect; indeed, a book with flawless characters holds the interest of few because there is no complexity or conflict, either internal or external. However, there needs to be something to grab on to. I must empathize with them on some level and understand what they are seeking. In this novel, I just cannot find any character that does this. A couple coming apart can be a wonderful conflict for a novel. I can hate one and love the other. I can like some things about them and not others. But here I really dislike both and have a great deal of difficulty wondering why they were ever together in the first place.
I also, as I said earlier, love the idea of a road trip as way to figure things out, as a basis for a work of fiction. Tom stops along the way and sees different people who have been in his life previously. Some of these individuals are people who have not been in his life for decades and wonder why he is there. Still, this could work, if there is a reason that person could help him figure things out.
They don’t. They just seem to be there.
Tom then experiences a personal crisis along the way. The foreshadowing of this was done fairly well, and the reader expects what ultimately happens. However, there is no real resolution of the crisis, nor is there any real revelation or transformation of the character by the experience. When I finished this short novel, I felt cheated because I did not understand what the outcome was and why.
This novel was nominated for the Booker Prize and must therefore be considered by many to be of literary merit. For me, however, the style, the characters and the plot (or real lack of one) made me actively dislike it. I recognize that others may feel differently but there was nothing in it for me except for the fact that it is very short, which is something. However, I will not be reading any more of Mr. Markovitz’s books and it does make me seriously wonder if any of the Booker Prize nominees are for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for providing me with the opportunity to read this novel, even though it was not for me. All of the opinions in this review are my own. One and a half stars rounded to two.
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