Horror Book Review Project
A Dark Matter
Peter Straub
Doubleday
Hardcover, 416 pages, $26.95
Review by Sheila Merritt
Peter Straub is a writer who embraces literature and literary allusions. In A Dark Matter, there is a subliminal suggestion of a quote from an L. P. Hartley novel, The Go Between: “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” In Straub’s novel, the past isn’t just a place where people do things differently; they also see things differently. This is the ultimate horror exercise in point of view: A psychedelic excursion into the remembrance of things past.
The story is one of great complexity. Straub plays with layers of narratives and disjointed reminiscences. The book is not a quick or easy read, but the payoff is great. It requires a commitment by the reader; he or she must be an active participant. Passivity is not allowed.
A life altering event occurs in 1966. Four high school friends, two college frat boys, and one beautiful groupie hanger on, join forces with a charismatic spiritual guru for a mind bending, magical mystery tour. There are no drugs involved, only a willingness to tamper with the cosmos. Abstaining from the event is Lee Harwell. Lee becomes, over the next forty years, an esteemed bestselling author. Still, his nonparticipation in the ritual haunts him. His wife and the three male friends who took part in the ceremony were forever changed by it. The wife, also named Lee but called “The Eel” in her school days, slowly began to lose her sight after the event. She eventually becomes completely blind, but has greater insight and independence than her male pals; they bear psychic scars from the experience. During the rite, one of the frat boys is viciously killed, and the other goes missing. The Eel has refused to discuss what happened with her husband; it was his choice not to be there, and so she shuts him out. His interest in the occurrence becomes rekindled many years later by an incident in a restaurant/bakery. An unruly customer reminds Lee of one of the friends damaged by the occult experiment. Through stream of consciousness introspection, the author’s interest in the past gets sparked. Loose ends demand to be tied.
Unfinished business or lack of closure is catnip for a writer; particularly one who needs a push or motivation in his work. Harwell, despite his success, is going through a crisis of confidence. He thinks that younger writers can trump him. The beauty of youth causes him to yearn for the unfulfilled and the unattainable. His mission in interviewing the three friends carries with it some substantial hurdles: Communicative difficulties and point of view are the greatest. Here Straub has a field day with the possibilities; the subjectivity inherent in history and memory is intriguingly addressed. Each man gets to spin his own tale, and even the groupie gets her chance to recall her experience. Straub’s treatment of her is extremely fine; employing the perception element not only from the story she tells, but how she is perceived by others. Initially, Lee and one of the friends are impressed by how well she’s aged. Then, during the course of the interview, her personality reveals unflattering character traits which cause the men to scrutinize her more carefully. They see the tell-tale signs of her cosmetic surgery as well as the chinks in her armor.
It is The Eel, however, who is the woman of consequence and consequences in the novel. Both a fulcrum and a focus, her take on what happened is the emotional center of the tale. Her recollection has the phantasmagorical elements featured in the others’ renderings, but with more detailed interpretation of their possible meaning. After her recitation, there is a sort of spiritual cleansing; she and the three guy chums purge metaphorical and real demons. For author Lee, his wife has opened a door, and let him in. She also leads him to two other doors; behind them, the proverbial lady and the tiger. Then, comes the comprehension that they both are aspects of the same thing.
In A Dark Matter, Peter Straub reaffirms his mastery of the labyrinthine genre defying novel. It is peppered with references to famous works of literature, and a smattering of film citations, which enhance the story line; there are no gratuitous attributions. The book intricately delves into the aftermath of some long unspoken personal horrors. Straub reflects upon, and tweaks, the premise that a single point of view is but a thread in a very large tapestry.
Note: This is the Hellnotes contribution to The Winter Chills Book Review Project which was proposed by Dylan at MonsterLibrarian.com. You can read the other reviews from participating websites by clicking on the links below. But before you do, please let me once again express my sincere gratitude to Sheila Merritt. Hellnotes would be missing an essential element if Sheila wasn’t helping out with her reviews. She continues to amaze me with her insight, her appreciation of the genre, and her ability to thoroughly dissect a novel. Sheila contributed the above review. She’s a special reviewer and we’re honored to be able to carry her reviews in Hellnotes. Thanks, Sheila!
