Jesse Ball

A woman "examiner" and a man, her "claimant, " move into a small house where the examiner teaches the claimant the most simple functions and monitors his progress, until an encounter at a party raises doubts about everything he has learned.

A Cure for Suicide

Brittney Wilson

Patty M.

What the hell did I just read? This book was so bizarre that I couldn't put it down. I don't even think I would be able to coherently summarize this book for someone who hasn't read it. The concept and execution of there being a "cure" for those who want to kill themselves is something I couldn't wrap my mind around. Jesse Ball's style of writing and use of language are equally unique and intriguing, while also evoking vagueness and the sense of mindless rambling. Overall, a very strange, slightly unsettling reading experience that I would prefer not to re-live.

Leafling

The entire time I was reading this book, I was completely fascinated. I've been a fan of Jesse Ball's since I read Silence Once Begun, and this novel doesn't fail to bring another dose of quiet, haunting weirdness. I finished this book in two sittings and only stopped during the first sitting, because I absolutely had to go to bed. You find a nameless "examiner" teaching a nameless "claimant" very, very basic tasks as if he is first being introduced to being a human, despite being an adult. The claimant is told he almost died, but is now healing in the Gentlest Village. It takes a while for the claimant to catch on to what she's teaching him, but once he does, some other memories start to boil back to the surface. We watch their interactions and then we sometimes get to see the examiner's notes about the claimant's progress:

 "Claimant is matching given data with remembered data--a troubling development."


I really, really don't want to spoil anything about this book, because figuring out what's going on and why is what makes reading this book exciting. The characters are clearly in some strange, sterilized and bureaucratic dystopian system. This is reflected throughout by how alarmingly straight forward the writing is. Especially in some of the stilted, taught dialogue. My only real complaint is that in the last third of the book we get to see the claimant's past, but it's written in a style in which it's being told to someone else. And we're frequently reminded of that. After experiencing such stark, distant prose, it would have been nice to be immersed in the claimant's memories with more casual writing.

I adored the ending. It might bother some people, but I loved the feeling and questions I was left with. What do you need to learn to be human? Do you lose yourself when you lose your memories? How much treatment for depression is too much?

If you like your mysterious literary science fiction a little experimental with some shades of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this will be a great read.

Full review: http://outlandishlit.blogspot.com/201...

A Cure for Suicide

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