Customer Reviews

The Narrows

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's World War II and Hitler's army is marching across Europe. The United States is at war, and they're using everything in their arsenal, including magic. Jared Cleaves wants to do his part, but a childhood accident keeps him from the front lines.

Instead he is put to work at Henry Ford's (yes THAT Henry Ford) plant in Detroit. He is one of a select few who spend their days shifting through clay, clay that will be used to make golems who will be sent over to fight on the front lines. What Jared doesn't know is that he's being watched by secret powers, and soon, he is reluctantly drawn into spying for different parties that are all vying for an edge that will bring the war to a close.

Alexander C. Irvine spins a masterful tale that is one part history lesson and another part fantasy. His is a parallel world where golems are raised from clay, Indian shamans can transform into ravens, and a mysterious dwarf, whose appearance portends destruction for the city of Detroit and maybe the world, makes an appearance.

Armchair Interviews says: The Narrows takes a bit of getting use to. It's not a fast read since the main action is broken up with poetic interludes. At times these breaks in the action can be distracting when they lean towards the surreal, but in Irvine's hands it all comes together in a satisfying and exciting ending.

It takes me weeks often several months to find a book that is just right, one that has the right combination of skilled writing and atmosphere. Irvines' "The Narrows" is such a book. The poetic asides, characterization and the elements of the supernatural which are blended so skillfully are just pitch perfect. I read the blurb, and decided against purchasing it from Amazon, but then I had an opportunity to actually begin reading it in my local bookstore and decided that I had to purchase it. The plot is an odd one, Golems, Nazis and Henry Ford but this book is wonderful and a great addition to my collection of "magic realism".

I'm not much of a war story reader, and I haven't read many spy thrillers, but this book is sort of a mix of both of these things with a heavy dose of cynical fantasy thrown in, and I really loved it.
I think you can truly judge the merit of a book by the opinions of the crossover readers who might not usually pick up such a book. I couldn't stop turning the pages, as there was an intriguing revelation every few pages or so. The dialogue was very natural and the description was minimalist but well done. The character development also was pretty good, but the book really shines on its action.
I found the golems to be very interesting characters and was fascinated by their actions throughout the story.
If Irvine was able to get me reading about one aspect of life in America during World War II, he's a brilliant writer indeed, because I usually avoid that sort of thing. I'll definitely be looking for more of Irvine's writings.

During WWII in Detroit, Jared Cleaves is unable to serve in the military due to a hand injury he suffered as a child that leaves him 4-F. Jared is embarrassed to stay behind among mostly women and children as he feels healthy enough to fight in spite of his hand and wants to help his home country in the war.

The Office of Esoteric Investigation selects Jared to work on the Top Secret Ford golem project aptly dubbed "Frankenline". However, he still remains depressed that he cannot enter the war zone as he desperately wants to share the dangerous load most males and the golems must bear. Pushing to become deeper involved, Jared soon realizes he may have leaned too hard on a weird door when he becomes a key player in a scheme to tap into the supernatural power of imps that "live" underneath the Motor City. However, he soon concludes that these supernatural creatures are impossible to control and will run rampant throughout Detroit unless Jared can stop them.

THE NARROWS is a fabulous alternate historical fantasy that provides a wild ride through 1943 Detroit as the Nazis look like kindergarten students when compared to the imp storm troopers. The story line is action-packed from start to finish, but driving the plot is the wonderful Jared who just feels he must do more than he is doing. When he gets his wish and meets up with the underground and some weird Feds, he learns plenty of lessons about receiving what you ask for. The supernatural creatures seem natural adding to a fine thriller, but the besieged Jared keeps the fabulous tale together.

Harriet Klausner

I was captured by the first line ("Midnight in the golem factory"), and was engaged in the world for the first forty pages. Unfortunately I could not feel anything for the shallow characters. I felt as if Irvine was trying to show us a day in the life of 1940s what-if America, but instead just felt yanked through did-you-knows about the era. Could not feel any real life from the characters, let alone purpose.

Interesting hook that fell flat with execution. Two out of five stars.

The Narrows does a nice job mixing genres (in this case Science Fiction, Fantasy and the Historical Novel), to give us an engaging story of the Second World War. The hero, Jared Cleaves, helps to build golems (mythical Jewish creatures made of earth) that are sent against the Nazis. Certainly the delicious irony of this is not lost, but the story also mixes intrigue and a nice dash of baseball (clearly Mr. Irvine's passion, as it plays a prominent role in so many of his books). You get a real sense of the time and place of the novel, and the characters are well-drawn.

So if you want a good read and enjoy baseball, World War II, or a nicely woven plot, this book won't disappoint. My only complaint is that since the novel is set in Detroit, we don't actually get to see Jewish golems bashing the crap out of Nazis, but that doesn't really diminish a fine effort at storytelling.

Usually when you read a book, you can guess what the author is trying to tell you. Either it's an emotional story about some problem, or a detective/PI trying to solve a murder/crime, maybe it's even a sf writer trying to tell a future or alternate history story.

But, I can't for the life of me figure out what Irvine is trying to say in this novel. It's almost as if it was a class assignment that had to be a certain length and related to WWII.

Most of the characters are one dimensional, and you never (at least I didn't) have any reason to care what happened to Jared Cleaves or his family or Detroit for that matter. Except for the excursion into magic dwarfs, golems and a dragon, the fantasy aspect is pretty thin.

Very disappointing after all the hype.