Customer Reviews

The Tesseract

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

After spending all last year giving "The Beach" to friends and telling them how good it was, it's nice to finally have another book to rave about. Something about Alex Garland's writing really speaks to me. I finished "the Tesseract" felling as I had when I finished "the Beach", like it was a book I wished I'd written myself. Its simultaneous allowance for stark reality, comic-book fantasies and mythological backgrounds, is really stunning. There's so much to this book, and all the real-time action takes place in maybe half an hour. I don't think that this is better or worse than "the Beach", I just think it cements Garland's reputation as a serious writer of fiction for my generation, and I'm already looking forward to his next book.

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading Alex Garland's incredible debut, The Beach. I was hoping for similar excitement and fast-paced adventure. Well, I definitely got that in spades! The Tesseract is so much more realistic and dramatic, and I was feverishly turning pages to find out how this tesseract would unravel.

Told in four parts, The Tesseract begins with Sean, a sailor on the shipping waters of Manila, waiting in a seedy, run-down motel for the gangster, Don Pepe, and his motley crew. Then the story switches gears entirely and begins the tale of Rosa, a woman who remembers her first love, Lito, through flashbacks. This part of the story is told gently and almost romantically. The next story follows two Filipino street kids, Vincente and Totoy, as they wander the streets of Manila in search of hand-outs and a little excitement. Finally, the fourth part, a gritty and fantastic conclusion, has all three stories violently entwined.

I'm positive this novel was no easy feat to write; however, Alex Garland has done it flawlessly. The stories within this novel are powerful and dramatic, some violent, one wistful and romantic, and all are stunning and solid. A perfect novel to pick apart and invoke energetic discussions. Some things might go over novice readers' heads (when one of the characters, Alfredo, waxes philosophic), but for the most part it is easily understood. A highly recommended novel about how your destiny can be shaped by strangers, and how forces beyond your control can come crashing into your life in a moment's notice. Brilliant.

I am surprised that so many people on Amazon did not like this book. The purpose of the novel is not to illustrate the Philippines for those of us who want to travel there nor is it supposed to be a mere thriller. Granted, it may be too complex and elaborate at a few points, but these points help serve the ideas behind the novel. It is about the chaotic nature of how lives come together for absolutely no reason and how we come to explain the tragedies that occur in our lives. Some of the characters use religion(corazon) while others subscribe to sciense (alfredo), but what I think Garland was trying to do was show how senseless life can seem at times and how we deal with that. It is very compassionate and mature, and for those who wanted more of "The Beach" I can only say that to expect that of an author is very narrow minded and not realistic. It you have the time check out The Tesseract because it is an interesting and unique read that is both exciting and intelligent.

This book a page-turner just as "The Beach" was, but I loved this book more. "The Beach" was thrilling and filled with adrenaline, but when Garland turns his attention to character development in more "normal" settings (although not without violence) he surprises you with even more profound thoughts about human life, destiny, chance, truth & reality. "The Tesseract" seems a more mature book, and the details of Manila and its surrounding areas are so real, you feel like you yourself are running down the grimy streets of the slums, trying to salvage your life. Garland proves himself a master of character portrayal by having vastly different people inhabit the same book & even interact with each other. From destitute street kids to a well-to-do doctor to a European fleeing gangsters, Garland shows that no matter what level of society, all humans have thoughts, fears, concerns, dreams. These poignant glimpses of human emotion make this book impossible to put down. Can't wait for his next book!

There are about 90+ reviews to this book so far, and if you choose, you can read them all. As best I could tell, those who didn't like "The Tesseract" tend to be disappointed because it is not like Garland's first novel, "The Beach." But if you judge this on its own merits -- which I did, not having read The Beach -- I think you will be pleased.

If you read the reviews, you'll get the impression that this is a crime novel, too. I think that would be a mistake... Others may focus on characters (a mistake, too).

I believe this novel's star is its structure. The story threads that are here (there are basically three of them) are all fine, but they are laid out so as to support Garland's effort at an intricate structure. The novel starts off somewhat linear, but then retraces itself from another character's view... And with each retelling, it gets less linear, and the non-linearity gets more complex. Now, the interesting thing for me is that as Garland build in ever greater complexity from the weaving of the story lines, the characterizations do not suffer. The story could have been more linear, and the story would have been just as fine - - that is, the characters would made as much sense, and the story would have made as much sense. But Garland has made a clear choice in his telling, and I'm all for it.

* * * * * * * * * * *

OK, beyond the structure, what do we have? As several other reviews point out, it's basically three character lines which converge. One involves a smuggler holed up in a hotel for a meeting, who misinterprets a series of events, and the same sequence of events from others' eyes -- leading to an intense gun battle. The second story involves a family whose lives will intersect with the escaping smuggler, and the events that led to their point in the story. The third involves two street urchins and their pursuit of the gun battle (and events leading to their chase). Each narrative is gracefully provided with details to make the thread seem rich with emotion and independence. As a result, no one thread dominates, and characterizations of this as a "crime novel" pay too much attention to the initial thread surrounding the smuggler.

I truly enjoyed reading this novel - - it's a great display of artistry and skill.

Great book, detailing a small moment in time (although not exactly run of the mill!) and how all the protagonists got there. Based around a shoot out in a dodgy hotel, it first deals with the two sides of the shoot out. Once they move the gun play outside the hotel it starts to affect others (not suprisingly!) and they affect others etc. The book breathes life into the bystanders, rather than just the core 'interesting' characters, and how each of their actions affect the others. It's hard to say much else, other than it's hard to put down and if his books keep getting better like this I'm seriously looking forward to number three!

Let me first say, that if you are picking up this book in the hopes of another story like "The Beach" you will need to re-adjust your view of Alex Garland before jumping in. The Beach was one of my favorite books of the last few years, but with The Tesseract, Garland has surpassed my expectations. His new novel is a thrilling read and an experiment in plot construction. His gritty style is out in full force as usual, this time on the streets of Manilla. Fans won't be disappointed, as Garland weaves another complex tale set in a foreign tropical surrounding that, once again, allows you to lose yourself in another world. If you have read The Beach, you already know that it is an incredible book. Once you read The Tesseract you will see that Garland is an incredible writer as well.

The Tesseract is the second novel from Alex Garland, author of the popular The Beach, which was also made into a movie starring Leonardo diCaprio. Set in the Phillipines it is split into three basic parts with a few subplots thrown in for good measure. The first story has Sean waiting for gangster Don Pepe in a small cramped hotel room, not knowing what will become of him. This first part is particularly well evoked, with Sean panicking and trying to guess how his predecessor died. This has the most similar narrative style of Garland's previous book, as it is both fast-paced and deceptively descriptive, managing to convey perfectly what's going on in very few words.

The second part involves a long series of flashbacks of a middle-class Phillipino woman named Rosa as she pieces together her past. This is much more gently written, with a constant contrast between who Rosa is and who she used to be. Garland ensures that when the climax of the story does come that it's not only shocking but makes the reader reevaluate what has gone on before.

The final story is about two street kids, how they came to live on the streets and their relationship with one another. This is definitely the most gritty part of the novel and Garland ensures us that this is not the backpacker's paradise that The Beach was but an urban hell. Thankfully though Garland refrains from dipping into sentimentality, preferring to unflinchingly describe the inner turmoil of his characters than exploit their depressions.

The Tesseract is one of those books that will definitely keep you hooked but unfortunately it does suffer when compared to The Beach, which was just that little bit more exciting. Also unfortunate is the book's very format which virtually forces its reader to pick a favourite story and character. Still, that doesn't take away from the fact that compared to most modern novels this is excellent and is well worth picking up.

If you're looking for another Beach, foget it. Garland takes 10 giant steps forward to create one of the most unique and satisfying novels of the year. Lyrical, visual and exhilarating. Can't wait to see where he goes next.

For starters,The Tesseract is a much better book than The Beach. Why everybody wants to knock it so much is a mystery to me. I kept thinking that it should have been a book of three short stories but ultimately Garland ties things together in a masterful way.

The only flaw is a blatant and somewhat pretentious attempt at incorporating the whole 'Tesseract' theme. He actually sells his own book short by doing this. Let a very good,tight story speak for itself. Not to compare the two, but what if instead of Moby Dick, Melville would have called his book 'A ship captain explores inner meaning and life's struggle with the hunt of a whale as metaphor.'..That aside, read this book as it is brilliant in parts with great movement through time with fascinating and gripping characters.