The Affirmation (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

...but I think that the disturbing ending would have been somewhat spoiled if I'd read the review by "thatwhichfalls" before I read it. An incisive review, thatwhichfalls, but why the spoiler?

Not so much a book as a maze. The main character, after having a really bad few months, goes to ground in a cottage in the English countryside. There he starts writing an autobiography which, for other reasons, he sets in an alternative post global warming UK. Sadly for the reader expecting a straightforward examination of someone having a breakdown the alternate version of our hero is also writing a fictional autobiography. The two narratives sort of merge - not in a "parallel worlds" way, but more in the sense that the two versions of the main character are actually writing each other into being. If you've ever seen that picture of a cube that can be perceived as either coming out of the page or going into it, depending on how you look at it, you might get an idea of how disorientating this book is. The last sentence of the book is the last sentence of the autobiography of the character living in the current version of England. Which he actually writes in chapter two. Perhaps more of a closing in spiral than a maze. It's structurally complex, but it's also achingly sad - the main theme seems to be loss - of family, of location and in the end of actual self. A desparately lonely book - it appeared, scared all the proper reviewers stiff and vanished.

Priest offers a dazzling account of nebulous reality, crumbling identity and schizophrenia. Unfortuantely, Priest like many others before him, has been incorrectly labeled a science fiction author. Nothing, especially in this case, could be further from the truth. Priest is concerned with the nature of our reality, the ways in which we as inhabitants perceive and interpret it, and the uses of fantasy. Without a doubt, "The Affirmation" requires a rereading and can only be helped by readings of related philosophy texts (see Berkeley & Dennet).

A young man whose life is going to the dogs (lost father , job, girlfriend...) retreats into a small country house to undertake a journey to self-discovery trough memory. It all ends in tears, as reality itself comes tumbling down on him. Underneath it all there is a terrible clarity of madness