Sam and Claire suffer in proximity to their daughter and blossom, briefly, apart, as other parents seem to when their community hooks up for a picnic. Despite the fact that the novel seemed cast in the same mould as Kevin Brockmeier’s The Illumination(where Brockmeier had a sudden outbreak of light shining through all wounds, Marcus has language, specifically, or at first, the language of children, becoming toxic) and despite the back cover quote from Remainder author Tom McCarthy which left a bad taste in my mouth (‘ The Flame Alphabet drags the contemporary novel… back toward the track it should be following’ – thanks Tom for pointing out the correct path, itself clear to you, us lesser mortals should be treading), I was, as I say, really looking forward to The Flame Alphabet.Ĭentring on Sam, who narrates, and his wife Claire and their daughter Esther, the novel opens largely in situ and then flits back and forth from the seeming present to the near past, fleshing out how the characters came to find themselves in the position they do (although ‘fleshing out’ may be too strong, the skin hangs loose on the bones). In addition to the fact that I remember the quiet fuss around one of Marcus’ previous book, The Age of Wire & String (which made it one of those books I meant to read when I got time), I was also, I must admit, impressed by the battery of names providing cover quotes to The Flame Alphabet itself: Michael Chabon, Rick Moody, Jonathan Lethem, all of whom wax themselves into a froth to be the first to proclaim the book a classic. I have to say, I was looking forward to this book before I read it.
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