Rating: 3/5
Is there nothing he can’t do? From movies to comics Keanu Reeves doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. And like some celebrities this passed year, the John Wick star is ready to expand his creative skills to the world of books, partnering with The City and The City (2009) author, China Miéville to create The Book of Elsewhere (2024), a strongly thought-provoking, character driven book whose tone and narrative voice while reflective can be a bit pretentious and overwhelming.
The Book of Elsewhere is set in a universe inspired by Reeve’s BRZRKR comic series (2021-) and follows 80,000 year old immortal Unute or B. Working for a secret US task force in exchange for them uncovering a solution to his immortality, B’s profession leads him to mysterious forces responsible for a miracle that might provide the answers he seeks. Truly cinematic. And certainly something Reeves would star in himself if given the chance. But don’t feel deterred by my statement. B and the conundrum of his existence is enough to lure readers into this story.
While the whole ‘immortal seeking the end’ trope isn’t exactly anything new, readers do get a sense of the long existential crises’ B has endured through the centuries. The changes in character perspectives flesh out and present B as an ambiguously fascinating figure with an almost Highlander-like origin to his existence. However at the same time the multiple voices combined with its style of narrative hindered the story.
Not only incorporating the use of the third person The Book of Elsewhere also uses the first and second which gives the book a disjointed flow and makes it difficult to stay focused, especially during its most reflective moments. As a result what should have been a simple collaboration ended up becoming more of a clash between creative minds through the story’s progress, upending its entertainment in favour of meaningful text.
From the general vibe I was getting from The Book of Elsewhere I felt Reeves and Miéville intended for the story to be a kind of Book of Job tale, a written account to a phenomenal event. In fact the book is even referenced in the story at one point. However, this imbalance ended up making its message overpowering and far too contemplative for me.
To put it plainly, The Book of Elsewhere will draw readers in with its characters and premises but as they progress through the story, the pondering and self-reflective tone can cause the mind to drift off.
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