The Cyclist: A Novel [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Viken Berberian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2002

"The Cyclist" is a stunningly original novel about food and political violence. It's a psychological ride into the tropics of terror, to the edges of our national and existential borders: the ones set at birth, the ones we are born into.

The enigmatic narrator is a young trainee of the Academy, a terrorist group in the present-day Middle East. This unnamed, transnational pawn has a single mission: to deliver a bomb by bicycle to a hotel, where it will explode, killing hundreds of civilians. But his story is anything but simple.

Combining surrealism, tragedy and humor, "The Cyclist" is a journey into the unsettling workings of the terrorist mind. Even as the narrator ponders his mission, only his musings about food and love reveal clues to his nationality and his agenda. But can such a zestful connoisseur also be a true agent of political violence?

Witty and wildly inventive, "The Cyclist is a remarkable debut from a gifted novelist.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In his debut novel, Viken Berberian offers a rich and vital portrayal of a prospective Middle Eastern terrorist. The Cyclist explores the background and motivations of its unnamed narrator, a Lebanese terrorist-in-training given the task of detonating a bomb (delivered on his bicycle) at a luxury hotel outside of Beirut. Much of the novel's first half takes place in a hospital, wherein the narrator, seriously injured after a collision on his bicycle, shares details of his past and ruminates on his extreme political sentiments and love of food and bicycling. As the day of his planned sacrifice draws near, new obligations arise and he gradually realizes the possible ramifications of his proposed retaliatory strike. Berberian skillfully constructs a humanizing account of a man who is a witness to acts of cruelty, who is driven by fear, anger, and hope of retribution.

In recognizing the cyclical nature of Middle Eastern conflict, the novel suggests the courage required of those similarly victimized to resist fatalism and act nonviolently in support of peace. Berberian displays sensitivity toward--and insight into--a difficult subject, and his evocative, detailed descriptions enliven this often maligned and misapprehended region. The novel's vibrant metaphors and similes associate typically contrasting elements, illustrating the complexity of life in an area where the relative frequency of bloodshed colors and politicizes every aspect of it. Berberian's perceptive and unconventional eye adds dimension to a region and a growing ideology in desperate need of understanding, and makes The Cyclist an important as well as enjoyable work. --Ross Doll

From Publishers Weekly

A terrorist prepares to attack a Beirut hotel in Berberian's first novel, a thinly plotted but stylistically alluring character study that begins with the anonymous narrator laid up in a hospital after being clocked by a Mercedes while riding his bike. As his girlfriend, Ghaemi Basmati, helps nurse him back to health, he ponders the ultimate ride he will soon take to a seaside hotel with a backpack full of plastic explosives. He also recalls his terrorist training at "the Academy," where the attack was referred to as a "baby," terminology that becomes more ironic when the cyclist learns that Basmati is pregnant with his child. Throughout his musings, though, the narrator seems as obsessed with food as he is with the success of his mission, meals and delicacies functioning as both metaphor and sustenance as he flashes back through his life. The final attack takes place during a bicycle race, and while the plan is for the narrator to survive, he imperils both himself and the mission by getting caught up in the race. Berberian is a thoughtful writer, delivering a compelling psychological portrait, one that will probably earn him an audience based on the public's increased interest in terrorism. But the story peters out as Berberian tries to stretch the plot: in many respects the book might have worked better had it been kept to novella length. That quibble aside, there's enough meat on the bones here to leave readers curious about Berberian's future efforts. Agent, Melanie Jackson.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Printing edition (March 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743222830
• ISBN-13: 978-0743222839
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,522,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Viken Berberian is the author of The Cyclist (Simon & Schuster/2002) and Das Kapital: a novel of love & money markets (Simon & Schuster/2007). Berberian has contributed to the the New York Times, the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, Le Monde Diplomatique, the Los Angeles Times and Inculte, a French literary and philosophical quarterly. His novels have been translated to French, Hebrew, Dutch and Italian. He is the recepient of a writing fellowship (2009-2010) from the Centre National du Livre of the French Ministry of Culture.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I found the book rare, highly original, May 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cyclist: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a provocative and poetic book about the Middle East.
In structure and language I rate it highly original. It reminded me of Michael Ondaatje's English Patient--turned on its head. The attention to detail is almost obsessive. It's Berberian's rare
and origianl use of language which distinguishes this book from
good fiction and sets it a cut above the rest. The language is
evocative of an Enfant Terrible's: at times angry, at times ironic, at times deeply humane. Not afraid to challenge. I would
have wanted to see more of that in fact. But there is certainly
fire in this book.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual & Thoughtful Debut, August 4, 2002

By 

A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cyclist: A Novel (Hardcover)

Berberian's 'The Cyclist' is, put simply, the thoughts of a terrorist as he recovers from a bicycle accident and prepares himself for another terrorist mission. But Berberian does much more than tell a simple story. While in the hospital, the main character/narrator goes through a mental journey of his life and what is important to him. I think readers will be surprised at what they'll find. This man has a love of cycling, a love for fine food, love for a woman...and all of these loves blend together to make him more than just a faceless terrorist. Don't get me wrong, the book is NOT endorsing terrorism in any way, but rather giving us a glimpse of what might go through the mind of a terrorist as the designated act of destruction draws near. A very short book (187 pages) that can be read in just a couple of hours, 'The Cyclist' deserves to be read and discussed.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brave new world, May 21, 2002

By 

"gardiyev2000" (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cyclist: A Novel (Hardcover)

Is this book the product of creative chaos cast into
a pit of hell and emerging phoenix-like, in triumph?
I have to say yes. The protagonist's obsessions inform
nearly every page. His language, like him, transcends
convention, making him difficult to forget. Our Cyclist
is elliptical yet highly informed. The attention to
cultural detail is (for example, the way milk is stored
in plastic bags, the type of cookies eaten during Purim,
even the fruit shakes sold in Beirut which are named
after world despots)deliriously delicious. Some of the
sentences are permanently burned into my subconscious.
I highly recommend.