9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"So you're not into this alchemy thing for the fun of it?", June 12, 2005
This review is from: Gods of Aberdeen: A Novel (Hardcover)
In this highly accomplished cautionary tale, Eric Dunne a 16-year-old working class boy, obtains a scholarship to attend the prestigious Aberdeen University in Connecticut. Having been bought up as an orphan in a Stulton tenement, a New Jersey slum, he's more than willing to kiss goodbye to life on the wrong side of the tracks for the esteemed and exultant ivory tower of learning and scholarship.
Eric's budding genius, however, hasn't prepared him for life as a freshman, and he has to hurriedly negotiate the world of academia with the temptations of girls, the incessant hard drinking, and the seemingly never-ending partying. But Eric is overjoyed at being given this opportunity, and secretly hopes to "make a smudge on the burnished wood and marbled floors" of the University's hallowed halls.
Eric eventually gets a job working in the Library for Cornelius, a crazy old librarian who is whispered to be over one hundred years old. Rumor also has it that Cornelius is killing pigeons in his search for immortality; a rumor that is given even more weight when Eric stumbles across a grave of the birds when walking in the woods. Even more suspicious is the decaying corpse of a dead cat found in the local stream.
The young freshman soon becomes involved with a group of spoiled rich kids, and is offered a prestigious job as part of an elite research team headed by Dr. Cade, an aloof, standoffish history professor. Professor Cade "a man of incomparable intellect and linguistic prowess," is currently writing a scrupulously researched three-volume saga about the medieval era, and is of the opinion that Eric, with his meticulous skills in Latin, would be an invaluable addition to the team.
Taking up residency at Dr. Cade's home alongside the teacher's reverential group - including the alcoholic Howie, the sexuality ambivalent Dan, and the scientifically pragmatic Art - Eric begins to notice some creepy goings-on: Howie drinks far too much, and Art appears to be overly obsessed with altering his consciousness through psychoactive drugs. There's medieval experiments being carried out in the attic, incessant talk of the ancient art of alchemy, and the quest for the Philosopher's Stone, the supposed the mythical elixir of eternal life.
Eric is immediately drawn to Art, and during their winter break travels with him to Prague where he learns just how obsessed Art is with learning about the mysteries of everlasting life. Art is rooted in expediency and mysticism. He's a firm believer in the existence of ghosts and malevolent spirits, but when Eric's world unravels after the inexplicable death of a close friend, the young man learns just how pragmatic and hardheaded the enigmatic Art actually is.
Micah Nathan fills the pages with historical and literary allusions, with references to Chaucer, Constantine, Charlemagne, and St. Augustine flourishing throughout the narrative. The book is full of mysteriously moody and gothic intrigue, with Eric having to face a new crisis almost at every turn. Every new tragedy puts another manacle around the poor boy's wrist and demands the he "build up the calluses to bear it."
The Gods of Aberdeen is engagingly beautiful and exquisitely written (the decriptions of Prague in winter are particulary redolent). It's not just a coming-of-age story for young Eric, but also a story involving the ramifications of maintaining an insular academic mentality. This is what happens when these trust-funded, child-like collegians, who have unwittingly anointed themselves the "Gods of Aberdeen," are ultimately left to their own devices.
Nathan effectively shows them up for who they really are - a bunch of unhappily flawed and spoilt bookworms, who are also remarkably unscrupulous and amoral, A group of students who are ultimately inept at negotiating the real world. It's all very chilling and unsettling, and profoundly disturbing; but it also makes for an absolutely terrific and riveting read. Mike Leonard June 05.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No Ordinary Thriller, June 24, 2005
This review is from: Gods of Aberdeen: A Novel (Hardcover)
I don't normally read thrillers, so when a friend of mine recommended Gods of Aberdeen, I started reading the book warily--and could not stop turning the pages. This is no ordinary thriller. Set in the rarefied and gothic atmosphere of an exclusive New England college, this is the story of an untimely death, as well as of a young man's journey of self-discovery. Nathan's considerable powers of description allow the reader into the high pressure world of Aberdeen and its mysterious academic cabal, but also into the inner life of Eric Dunne, a sixteen-year-old prodigy who, while researching medeival history, learns much about fear, mortality, and the darkest corners of the human heart.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Apprenticeship of Eric Dunne, July 29, 2005
This review is from: Gods of Aberdeen: A Novel (Hardcover)
So here we are, folks, with yet another boy-goes-to-college-meets-smart-kids-faces-moral-dilemma first novel. Why should we care? Why should we even bother?
I didn't want to like this book. I wanted to snicker at what I believed was an obvious riding-of-the-coattails. "Rule of Four," "Prep," you name it, it's already been done, right? And then I opened the first page...and Nathan had me at "I remember Aberdeen College well."
Call me a sucker for good prose. Call me easily seduced by brutally honest portayals of spoiled youth. Call me a fan of writers who take a subject (in this case, alchemy) I know absolutely *nothing* about, and by the end of their book I feel like an expert.
Yes, this book is about the search for the Philosopher's Stone. But to place it in the category of an academic mystery would be a mistake. The Philosopher's Stone is Nathan's MacGuffin, a plot device used to show us the loss of innocence of 16 year-old Eric Dunne, a freshman at Aberdeen College. Eric's a poor orphan from New Jersey, and Aberdeen College is an ivy-covered liberal arts college in Connecticut. There's a mysterious death, a quest for the ultimate truth, and along the way Eric grows up. We grow up with him.
Alchemy is about transformation, which mirrors the central theme of this book. Eric Dunne arrives at Aberdeen College, and leaves an adult. He's heartbroken, lied to, given booze and drugs and basicallly everything else that happens to naive freshman, and we're with him all the way. Damn if this book didn't make me miss college...and also realize I'm glad college is over.
So where do I place this book among my literary faves? Surprisingly high, considering it's a debut novel from a young author. Nathan's descriptions can be a bit much at times, and the first third of the novel moves slowly, but we are rewarded for our patience. You can see Nathan becoming a more confident writer (especially Part II), and as Nathan's skills grow, so does Eric Dunne.
I'm hesitant to call this book my favorite beach read of the summer, because it's more than that. It's not light reading, nor is it dense, overstuffed prose. It's quite unlike anything I've ever read before...call it Umberto Eco with a plot we can actually all relate to. Or call it a beach book for the intelligent reader. Either way, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. And watch out for dark ponds.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
