WHEN IS IT ENUF?
Tom’s Crossing begins, as expected, subverting expectations. It gives the vibe of an oral history from the jump, with the prologue being read by (potentially) an alias written as E.L.M. and translated by an odd string of symbols. There is a stylistic flair to the text, as if it was a story told around a campfire. That's at least how I read it.
There is a rather large info dump contained within the prologue, which I did not expect. The loose descriptions I've gathered up until this point and the plot beats, I had expected to last for at least a quarter of the book. I'm going to do my best to avoid direct spoilers, but in this case, I feel it's fair: in the epilogue, a prominent character is dead and a focal character steps into the limelight.
It's hard not to be overwhelmed by your own expectations if you have any history with MZD's previous work. Will there be any direct connection to House of Leaves or The Familiar? Will it delve into existential horror? You know there's going to be an emotional gut punch somewhere, but will you know when to anticipate it? I've already experienced many and at this point haven’t even escaped the prologue. [1]
That's the main thing that comes to mind, when finally cracking the spine and starting Tom’s Crossing. What were my expectations, and is it even possible to avoid any biases being such a huge fan for so long. I've seen it countless times, especially in music, the tired refrain of "this sounds nothing like their old stuff," and incessant bitching about something important to the audience evolving or changing and their reluctance to give the new material a chance. I guess I tend to have more faith in artists I appreciate and I do not usually fall into this pitfall. I'm not going to do that now. I'm in for the ride, no matter how far the story may deviate from my usual tastes... so far, it has not disappointed me. I'm hooked. Kind of makes me want to ride horses again. Believe it or not, I did as a kid. Rode this old horse named George at a farmer’s tiny ranch up near my grandma’s when I was around five years old. [2]
Having said all of that... I'm enjoying the vague nature that the unknown narrator is providing. I'm a huge fan of having a known, earth-sundering event having transpired in the narrative, and everyone except the audience knowing exactly what that event was. I told my girlfriend that I call it the "giant circle stamp" strategy.
You have your story. You have the simplified beginning and end... and you plant a huge stamp in the center of it, an obscuring, dense, and impassable stamp. Let your bastard characters now try to make their way through it.... and that's exactly what I'm picking up here. The narrator refers to some terrible, incredible event. A mountain falls. Are they being literal? Who does it... and how? We're strapped in for the ride. [3]
Nonetheless, we know that MZD lives and thrives upon unreliable narration, and I'll let my biases influence this: I trust every sentence only tenuously, and the fact that it's being dictated only affirms that belief. The narrator says, multiple times, things along the lines of, "depending on who you ask..." and then provides their own belief. You're a clever beast, Tom’s Crossing.
Let's see where this goes. [4]
