Seven Types of Ambiguity, by Elliot Perlman

Only about ten minutes ago, I finished this book, with tears in my eyes.


The basic plot to the book is simple. A guy named Simon, who is obsessively in love with his ex-girlfriend from University, Anna, stops by her son's school one day after school and takes him home. It seems crazy, and Simon accepts that it's an irrational act, but he does it anyway. He can't even explain why he does. The boy, Sam, is returned only a few hours later, not at all worse for the wear.

What makes this book such an intriguing read is the way its laid out. There are seven parts, each written from the first-person perspective of one of the characters involved in the plot. The interweaving of the characters is amazing...it is in this that it feels a little too overdone. Everyone is too connected to everyone else. But it does do a lot to add drama and tension as each part advances the plot of the story. One of the parts is just dialog. About sixty pages of just dialog.

It is full of esoteric bits of wisdom, which just sound right and you take for granted. I don't know enough about psychology to say whether it's carefully researched (which I suspect it is) or if the author was just making it up, but the way it's presented really draws you in. It's written in a very simple style, lulling you into a complex weave of events with eloquently simple sentences.

The characters are people that you can feel for. You can identify with Simon's obsessive love, Anna's devastation at being in a completely broken marriage, and the rest of the cast trying to make it through whatever misfortune life has set on them. There aren't really any bad guys in this book, but I can't say they're all good guys either. They're...well, they're just people.

The ending is ambiguous, to some extent. The reader is left with the feeling that they know what happened, but hope and wish that they are mistaken. The ending that is hinted at is not one that anyone could want.

At 620-some pages, it's a bit of a hefty read, but it's such a wonderful style that I got through it in 3 days...and enjoyed every minute of it.