Eureka Street by Robert McLiam Wilson (January 2018)
Eureka Street was the seventh and final book I reread back (way, way back) in December (1). I chose it with an eye on considering its candidacy as my potential ‘favorite book’ and, although I’m still not exactly sure myself, I think Eureka Street is in the top spot, though it does remain close with that damn Maniac Magee...
One up: Robert McLiam Wilson’s main point comes through pretty clearly in a short passage at the end of the novel: there is a difference between poisonous politics and beating up a twelve-year old (2). Kind-hearted reader, you may not find this a particularly compelling or insightful or even worthwhile message, not after reading over one hundred thousand words, but sometimes that’s what you get from a book.
Frankly, I don’t think the lesson was a waste of time at all. Pop on over to CNN or MSNBC or Fox News if you don’t agree, reader, and think about the idea while a bunch of rich folks in suits enthusiastically yell at each other between commercial breaks. All the big talk about unity or acceptance or working together is a non-starter among people who insist on giving talk the same weight as action.
One down: I likely mentioned this before but I simply cannot recall how I found out this book existed. This is highly unusual – for most of the books I read (or bands I listen to) I can usually recount a detailed origin story. Perhaps the mystery of how I came across this work added to how much I’ve enjoyed it (3).
Just saying: At one point late on in Eureka Street, protagonist Jake Jackson runs into an old acquaintance. Now, I have reason to believe this person is a character from another of Wilson’s novels. It would certainly be a delight if there were overlapping scenes in this author's various novels, don't you think, reader?
Footnotes / a sigh
0. Is this book really about anything?
One thought I dug into when I reviewed this book last year was about the mysterious graffiti that follows the characters around. Since the letters have no official meaning, they could really mean anything. And I think that's something to consider here for the book - Eureka Street can be whatever the reader wants it to be.
1. This one is for you, astute reader!
Eagled-eyed readers will note that I actually finished this book in January. Sue me, honestly. In my defense, I started reading in December. Or to be more exact, I started on my birthday, December 28.
2. What? This ain't what you said about this book last year...
Here is a link to that somewhat lengthier review.
3. Of course, what does this mean, right?
In the day and age of the toll-free Information Superhighway, what this really means is that I probably idly Googled ‘Irish novels’ or something like that and the search engine spit out Eureka Street. Oh, the magic of it all! I tip my cap to the part of my brain that erased this event from my memory – I prefer the illusion of having magically stumbled across this book, maybe as it lay forgotten in some gutter on a Cambridge side street.
