Helpful Score: 2
I loved "Pym" for its humor, swooping fantasy, and unexpected profundity. The story within a story (within a story...) structure at first seemed coy, but ended up working successfully as it revealed so much more than a love/hate relationship with Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket." "Pym" both parodies and flatters this earlier work in a seesaw of imitation and criticism that mirrors main character Chris Jaynes' own complicated relationship with race.
More than anything, I appreciated the fearless imagination employed by author Mat Johnson to unearth the overwhelming (and typically invisible) subject of Whiteness. Wrapping the chilly subject of the long history of US racism in a hilarious tattered robe of a tale, "Pym" takes risks that will make it one of the greats of American literature.
More than anything, I appreciated the fearless imagination employed by author Mat Johnson to unearth the overwhelming (and typically invisible) subject of Whiteness. Wrapping the chilly subject of the long history of US racism in a hilarious tattered robe of a tale, "Pym" takes risks that will make it one of the greats of American literature.
Mat Johnson's Pym is a completely off-the-wall satire: part academic musing, part throwback adventure à la Jules Verne, part unsolved mystery.
Protagonist Chris Jaynes has just been denied tenure, because he was more interested in researching Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, than in being the token black professor on the diversity committee. When Jaynes stumbles across evidence that at least part of his favorite novel was based on fact, he and his buddy Garth head off to the South Pole to check it out. They join up with an all-Black crew and run into a lost tribe of...well, I won't spoil it for you, but the old-fashioned sci-fi trope is a great setup for cuttingly funny insights into race, academia, art vs. pop culture, etc., etc.
The novel appeals to me as a teacher of literature, a fan of science fiction, and a person who thinks we ought to be able to laugh a little more about race. Everyone will find someone to identify with in Jayne's crew, from his Black Power cousin to his unemployed friend; from his ex-girlfriend's new husband, a sellout entertainment lawyer, to a gay couple with an adventure blog. Then there are the hilarious sendups of the white conservatives who are piping Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck into their Antarctic getaway. It's a satirical romp that may leave you scratching your head but it's well worth the read -- or listen. JD Jackson does an excellent acting job on the audio CD, creating unique voices for all the characters, black and white, male and female alike.
Protagonist Chris Jaynes has just been denied tenure, because he was more interested in researching Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, than in being the token black professor on the diversity committee. When Jaynes stumbles across evidence that at least part of his favorite novel was based on fact, he and his buddy Garth head off to the South Pole to check it out. They join up with an all-Black crew and run into a lost tribe of...well, I won't spoil it for you, but the old-fashioned sci-fi trope is a great setup for cuttingly funny insights into race, academia, art vs. pop culture, etc., etc.
The novel appeals to me as a teacher of literature, a fan of science fiction, and a person who thinks we ought to be able to laugh a little more about race. Everyone will find someone to identify with in Jayne's crew, from his Black Power cousin to his unemployed friend; from his ex-girlfriend's new husband, a sellout entertainment lawyer, to a gay couple with an adventure blog. Then there are the hilarious sendups of the white conservatives who are piping Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck into their Antarctic getaway. It's a satirical romp that may leave you scratching your head but it's well worth the read -- or listen. JD Jackson does an excellent acting job on the audio CD, creating unique voices for all the characters, black and white, male and female alike.
I really enjoyed this - one of the more original books I've read lately. It manages to be funny while making interesting points about race and academia.
