Shirker [Hardcover]

Chad Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Hallucinatory and erotic, Shirker is a terrifying exploration of violent and sexually charged obsessions, as powerful and mystifying in its way as was William Hjortsberg's Falling Angel, and as original and fresh as Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.

Using the form of a mystery, but clearly eschewing the formula, Taylor has crafted a tale that is built word by word and idea by idea on a foundation of storytelling skills that are rare and brilliant. The result is a novel that is compulsively and obsessively readable, matching the drive that sends its hero, Ellerslie Penrose, as close to the edge as anyone is likely to want to go.

Set in New Zealand, Shirker opens with a deadly discovery by Penrose, a part-time futures broker and full-time existentialist; it ends with him facing more questions than he might have imagined. In between, he trawls through a series of events and places as bizarre as they are fascinating, learning the depth of the evil against which he is pitted and which he must counter with no weapon or help other than his own wits.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Futures broker Ellerslie Penrose, the narrator of New Zealand author Taylor's noir thriller (the first of his novels to achieve U.S. publication) has been living alone in his office in downtown Auckland, dealing with his clients over the phone and getting little sleep. Other than seeing Wilhelmina, a waitress at the Regent Hotel with whom he occasionally has sex, Penrose spends all his time working. One day, cutting down an alley, he runs into several policemen gathered around a glass recycling bin. Penrose finds a wallet in the gutter and shows it to a cop. Mistaking his gesture, the cop waves Penrose through. That is all it takes to involve him in the murder of Tad Ash, whose smashed body is in the bin. Penrose keeps the wallet and begins his own investigation. When he calls on Dede, Tad's twin brother and now the sole proprietor of an antique shop the twins ran, Penrose is told a strange story. Tad owned a valuable Victorian phenakistiscope, an instrument resembling a stereoscope that produces moving images. A diary written on its rotating cardboard disks tells the story of a 19th-century adolescent named Palmer. In 1875, in a moment of terrible crisis, he "leapt" out of time and space, an action that enrolled him in a slower temporal dimension and retarded his aging process. More research leads Penrose to a downtown brothel, where he meets Miranda Sunde, the woman who sold Tad the disks; she was Palmer's mistress. Despite all the evidence he gathers, Penrose is loath to believe in Palmer's miraculous leap until a tragedy occurs. Taylor's surreal plot never quite achieves plausibility, but his clever atmospherics and an assured command of language keep the reader intrigued. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In this mystery noir, an isolated, perhaps deranged narrator explores a murder victim's life for no real reason, becoming increasingly unhinged by what he uncovers. Ellerslie Penrose, a futures trader (as he claims; his actual business seems a figment of his own imagination) lives in a Chandleresque office in a mostly abandoned building in downtown Auckland, New Zealand. On his way to a business meeting, he comes upon a crime scene in an alley. Police are processing the stabbing death of a man found in a dumpster. Penrose finds the victim's wallet and, instead of handing it to the police, pockets it; having absconded with a vital piece of evidence, he feels compelled to continue sleuthing. Penrose's inquiries (jangled by interrogation from suspicious cops) lead him to an antiques dealer and a sought-after erotic Victorian diary that eerily connects to the murder and Penrose's own half-life. A mystery about meaning. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802733506
• ISBN-13: 978-0802733504
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,971,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chad Taylor is the author of the novels DEPARTURE LOUNGE, PACK OF LIES, HEAVEN, SHIRKER and ELECTRIC, and the short story collection THE MAN WHO WASN'T FEELING HIMSELF. HEAVEN was released as a feature film by Miramax in 1998. His latest novel is THE CHURCH OF JOHN COLTRANE.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, original mystery, February 20, 2001

By 

J. N. Mohlman (Barrington, RI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shirker (Hardcover)

This novel could be interpreted in a number of different ways, and I by no means claim that mine is definitive. What I am sure of is that it operates on two very different levels. The first is an engaging, well plotted murder mystery. The novel begins with a scene from the end and then jumps back in time. This, coupled with the almost 18th century prose, serves to immediately catapult the reader into a confused, uncertain plot. And that's perfect, because that's how the characters perceive their world.

The second level is where things get a little more murky. I see at least two arguments as to the underlying theme of "Shirker". The first is a statement on how our modern society has left us awash in information (and memories) to the point where it is impossible to move forward due to the baggage of the past. The second speaks to being true to one's self. More specifically, it refers to holding on to what is truly important, recognizing what is truly important, in a world drowing in irrelevance.

Ultimately, this is a novel that will mean different things to different people. That's what makes it special; not only does it entertain the reader with an intelligent mystery, it also leaves the reader thinking about something bigger. I know it will stay with me for a long time.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Many intriguing twists of plot in a surreal atmosphere, March 1, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shirker (Hardcover)

A police action involves bystander Penrose, who picks up a man's wallet at the scene of a crime and becomes involved in a stranger's life. From a questionable antiques store to a policeman convinced that Penrose has something to hide, Shirker provides many intriguing twists of plot in a surreal atmosphere.