Pym

This novel takes a group of six African Americans to Antarctica at the behest of a professor who was recently denied tenure. He is trying to track down the real story of Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, with the help of the recently discovered diary of one of Pym's shipmates. In Antarctica they find large white neanderthal-like humanoids living in large, elaborate ice caves under the surface. They also find Pym who, inexplicably, is around 200 years old, and a landscape painter living in a bio-dome.

The novel is a mash-up of a 19th Century adventure novel, a commentary on race (portrayed in many facets, but mostly starkly in black vs. the whitest of the white humanoid creatures), a comic buddy story, and an exploration of Poe's original work.

It is all enjoyable and parts, like the depiction of the 200 year old Pym who believes all the African Americans are slaves and the Antarctic creatures are gods, is particularly humorous and well depicted. But most of the central characters are really caricatures and much of the plot development feels slightly haphazard. Nonetheless, there are not many other books like this one. ( )

I am glad this novel brought my attention to the absolute craziness that is Poe's Pym. I have not read it, but the highlight reel presented in this book further convinces me that Poe is not a writer American culture should celebrate.
More specifically to this novel, I found it interesting and enjoyable, but not particularly special.
The commentary on academia will definitely entertain anyone working in that field- the main character's frustrations will probably feel very familiar. The sci-fi turn of the second half of the book is pretty funny, and would appeal to genre enthusiasts, but the two parts just don't totally hang together as a cohesive whole. I feel like the satire of the realist half disappears when things get weird and the stylistic shift was a little too much. Fun read, accurate commentary on the academy and race relations, but not quite to my tastes as far as novel construction goes. ( )

Mat Johnson's Pym is nothing less than an absolute masterpiece. It is easily among the top 5 books I have ever read in my life. Johnson continually shows a razor sharp wit in crafting his protagonist's consciousness -- at different moments, his observations had me heartily laughing out loud at his incisive or absurd insights, giggling at the silliness of the fantastical realm he finds himself in, and chuckling bittersweetly at the comically framed horrors that are sometimes described. A lot of the genius of this work inheres in Johnson's deep understanding of how absurdity can resonate profoundly with reality and his sensitivity to the poignancy of its actual presence in real life.

If you like literary heavyweights who write compelling plots in sophisticated and original ways, try this book. If some of your favorite comedy (in any medium) is dramedy, try this book. If you are sensitive to the presence of race in American life, try this book. If you appreciate the absurd, try this book. ( )

I debated adding a shelf labelled "Racism" because that is one of the recurring themes of this fascinating novel, one of three "sequels" to Poe's problematic "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym." Johnson uses the frame of Poe's novel to structure his consideration of whiteness, racism and slavery. I found it thoughtful, relevant and insightful. ( )

Uh...okay? After a rapturous review from the AV Club, who can't always be trusted in their take on books, I'm willing to let this hang out on my TBR list for six months before realizing I've forgotten why I thought it sounded good and killing it.