Book Report: 1988

1988
by Andrew McGahan

"McGahan takes Generation X down under, and the results are surprising. Set against the horizon of sea and sand in the remote Cape Don, quirky nihilism seems charming, if misguided. The stage is set for a twenty-something Heart of Darkness: Gordon and Wayne flee Brisbane for the promise of work and the hedonism of isolation--a weather station in a crocodile-infested swamp on a remote spit of land. Every three hours they have to make a weather check, a sure recipe for madness. As the tension mounts, McGahan diffuses it with humor and alcohol. Gordon never faces his dark heart, but he does endure a bad hangover. A refreshing twist, 1988 is not just an anti-Generation X novel but an anti-novel, where all our expectations are funneled into the desert, where they dry up and evaporate."
-Amazon.com

I started this book on the plane, after having been thoroughly disgusted by 'Rats', and was immediately calmed:


"There was an argument in Chinese outside my door. It happened often and in many ways I was beginning to hate the language. I rolled over and considered the digital clock. Nearly midday. Time, maybe, to get out of bed. I lat and listened for a while, looking down at my white round belly. It was hot in the room, a stale air of sweat and old sheets. The morning asthma weighed in. I groped around for the Ventolin, found it, sucked in the drug. Outside the voices rose, fell, moved along the hall, came back again. Maybe it wasn't an argument. Maybe it was just a loud discussion."


I have nothing but glowing comments for McGahan's superbly crafted novel. This is the story of people--of real, flawed, living characters who speak and think and act for themselves. The protag, Gordon, is a character I could identify very closely with. I was able to find an almost uncanny truth to his method of thinking. He cares about things more than he wants to, wants to do the job right, takes it all seriously even though he hates it. William, the slacker and pot-smoking artist who got them the weather job in the first place, calls Gordon a 'control freak'. Gordon can't understand why it makes him so angry when William doesn't do his share of the work--after all, they both hate the job and want to leave. It was only temporary anyway. In between weather checks, they drink and smoke. The island is untamed and empty: no people, no views, just them and a dilapidated old house. Gordon takes up smoking for something to do. They get drunk every night. By the end of the book, Gordon realizes he is, in fact out of control.

The writing is masterful. This is a story of slow, torturous boredom for the characters--and yet, the psychological deterioration and tension is palpable. Emotion bleeds from the pages. I was constantly guessing at what events were to unfold--usually wrong, but fascinated nonetheless. The subtlety of this book is the best I've ever read: the motifs and nuances fit like interlocking jigsaw pieces. Everything fit. The end is somewhat inconclusive, but yet, it's acceptable. It's a story to reflect upon and discuss. It's a story to read twice.

Five glowing stars out of Five for a gripping, raw character journey set in the most boring of places--but creating a story that's anything but.