Genesis: A Novel

Reviewed by Steven Hansen, Small Spiral Notebook Two things in the novel Genesis that are transparently biblical in reference (if not in proportion) are a flood about halfway through, and the protagonist, Felix Dern's physiological mandate to 'Be fruitful and multiply,' with every female he has ever known. 'Known,' that is [insert wink and nudge here]... biblically speaking. Humanity isn't drowned out, though, in this good book, and Felix Dern is not the progenitor of a nation. Though, owing to his almost perfect intercourse-to-conception percentage, he could be if he had sex more often. But he hasn't and, therefore, isn't. Good thing, too, because like most actors, psychologically speaking, he's a mess. An actor ... [is] most confident when they are not themselves ..., and no matter what they do, no matter their curses, there'd be no price to pay when the curtain falls, no child to bear and rear and feed forevermore, amen. Procreation -- personified by Felix, or Lix for short (a punny contraction because of all the female boots he licks) -- seems to be author Jim Crace's point. Felix, in particular, is a forgettable character; whereas Lix, the hyper-potent sperm donor, is the singularly ubiquitous Man. For one so fertile and flamboyant, for one so arrogant in costume, Felix Dern, the showman, was--offstage--surprisingly shy and timid. That was, in rising middle age, his major flaw, his main regret--and also his saving grace. Ironically (is the irony intentional?), the same flawed saving grace could be said to be working for the novel's plot, which consists of dinner and a movie, followed by an almost book-length Felix this-is-your-life flashback showing how, when and where and with whom each of his happy accidents (or curses?) have been conceived. There is nothing in Genesis on an epic scale, no angel-heralded deus ex machina to turn certain doom into instant triumph. There is nothing turbo-charged or ostentatious, and in the hands of a lesser writer, the book could have easily turned out as entertaining as all the begats in Leviticus. Even when the narrative drags in spots, it is picked up and redeemed by Crace's consistently beautiful writing and the epigrammatic lines that periodically fall onto the page like manna from the sky: Everything's exotic and amusing when the object of your journey is a body and a bed. We need to flirt and covet strangers for the health and spirit of our marriages. Juveniles had all the fun. The trick for adults, then, was to act like juveniles. These little darts of wisdom scattered throughout the narrative are like candy sparkles on a cake: they don't do much to the overall flavor, but the added color is nice. This is not to say that Genesis is a superficial confection, just one with enough visual pizzazz to appeal to those who like to stare in the bakery window at all the pretty dainties on display. And, if Crace ever stumbles across this review, he may be cringing once he gets to t

I had not read the author before this volumn, but did find Genesis quite interesting, held my attention throughout. Whether it's good or bad I could relate in many ways with our hero as he reflected on his loves and relationships. Give this book a try.

GENESIS may not live up to Jim Crace's monumental peak of writing he reached with BEING DEAD, but I think it deserves much more examination than those who dismiss it as a work of Ego onanism. The very nature of the story of an Actor who struts the stage and movie screen but is shackled in his personal life by his inability to connect to the women with whom he finds himself is perhaps too obvious a metaphor for men today, but it is a well developed metaphorical journey none the less. The majority of the action takes place in a 'magical realism' atmosphere - The City of Kisses - which is besieged by bizarre police activities, odd floods, and bohemian eateries and bars that bounce us back and forth in time as well as place. Our Actor (Lix, to give him his name) is cursed with being hyperfertile, so much so that every women with whom he copulates becomes pregnant immediately. How Lix manages these various (six in number) affairs and marriages and the offspring that result from his curse is the line of story we follow - or try to. Were it not for the glorious word working such as 'Love is enacted by small things. Love is what you do with what you've got.' and 'No one's to blame, but passion is not intended to endure. The overture is short or else it's not the overture. Nor is marriage meant to be perfect. It has to toughen on its blemishes. It has to morph and change its shape and turn its insides out and move beyond the passion that is the architect. Falling in love is not being in love. Waiting for the perfect partner is self-sabotage.' then perhaps this book would not deserve our close attention. And I think it does. When passages such as these are used for a moment of meditation, then GENESIS has a lot to say about how we are functioning in this discombobulated world.. And if Jim Crace does only that - makes us stop for a moment and observe the Human Comedy - then reading this book has its rewards. Let's see where he goes next.

Jim Crace writes novels rich in imagination and ideas, and his GENESIS is no exception. QUARANTINE (1988), for instance, follows Jesus's forty days in the desert from the desert's perspective, and the award-winning novel, BEING DEAD (2000), involves two decomposing corpses. Not surprisingly, there are those of us who follow Crace's literary path through strange and imaginary territory rather compulsively.In a recent New York Times' interview, Crace described GENESIS as "a novel based on the Darwinist impulse," in which he examines the ease with which his protagonist can "hand on his gene packet" (12/03/03). Felix Dern (aka "Lix") is a celebrated, intellectual actor and singer living in a police state (p. 7), plagued with sudden floods and riots, and called the City of Kisses (formerly known by Rousseau's "truer title," the City of Balconies). Every woman Lix dares to sleep with bears his child (p. 3). Crace's novel follows Lix for roughly twenty-six years of his life, from his final year as a theater student and anarchist at an Arts Academy, to a night spent stranded in his car with his second wife, Mouetta, on their wedding anniversary. Along the way, Crace explores Lix's sexual encounters with five different women resulting in six children. For Lix, "to be so fertile was a curse" (p. 28).GENESIS is quintessential Crace. Equally elegant and intriguing, Crace's novel is a testament to the uncontrollable force of sex and love in a time of police barricades, surveillance, and cattle prods. Crace promises his next novel will "about America's medieval future," in which Americans board crowded ships back to Europe. Hopefully, Crace will never grow tired of spinning his imaginary yarns.G. Merritt

If you are a writer, or care about words, you surely already know who Jim Crace is.If you don't, it is time to acquaint yourself.Jim Crace is one of the few important authors producing work today.This is a book to be treasured.The Guru Has SpokenWormtownReview dot com