Official Review: The Tower of Babel by G. T. Anders
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alamorn
- Posts: 11
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- Latest Review: "The Tower of Babel" by G. T. Anders
Official Review: The Tower of Babel by G. T. Anders
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Tower of Babel" by G. T. Anders.]
The Tower of Babel is a short novel by G. T. Anders which takes a fascinating Biblical story and attempts to translate it into a more modern, something-punk context. The Tower is an industrial project made of half the city, and the novel focuses on a small group of environmental extremists dedicated to its destruction. The action begins three years after the group had originally disbanded, and is told from the point of view of artist Austin Feckidee.
It's difficult to describe The Tower of Babel, because at no point does The Tower of Babel describe itself. It claims to take place in the 1960s, but shows no worldbuilding coherent enough to warrant that, aside from the pervasive gender essentialism and misogyny. While the failure of worldbuilding is the most frustrating aspect from a narrative view, it is the nontraditional punctuation that makes it a frustrating read. Scenes are split apart by unnecessary line breaks, sometimes multiple times per scene. In traditional storytelling, this would indicate a scene change, and in order to throw the reader off, in The Tower of Babel it sometimes does. Mainly, however, it is meant to be some sort of emphasizing agent. The strange grammar is intentional, but poorly executed. Non-traditional grammar should be used in ways that emphasize key parts of the text or convey a state of mind. In The Tower of Babel, the non-traditional grammar is overused to the point where it detracts from the story.
If the reader manages to deal with the disjointed writing style, the lack of commas, the strange spacing and all the other little roadblocks thrown in to trip them up, there are many storytelling failures to make the reading experience even more frustrating. Austin Feckidee is an intensely annoying and unsympathetic narrator. He is a selfish, misogynistic coward, but worst of all, he is tedious. He is a one note character, and that note is self-pitying and filled with entitlement. Of the three named female characters, he is sleeping with one, who he seems to hate, and wants to sleep with the other, who he also seems to hate. The third does not have a speaking part, but is used to drive forward a man's plot. I recommend anyone who views women as complex human beings avoid this novel, as the pervasive misogyny quickly becomes frustrating and, again, tedious.
The Tower of Babel is overly ambitious. It attempts to weave sci-fi with an environmentalist lesson with romance with personal growth with Faulkner-esque prose. If there had been focus on any one of these topics, it may have succeeded. As is, the sci-fi wavers in and out of focus, introducing space-travel and aliens and then forgetting them in order to focus on Austin's failing art career. There is some sort of magic that is never fully explained in rules or cause. As Austin wavers between causes – art versus the environment – his indecisiveness becomes repetitive as he makes the same tortured decisions each time. And there are many times. The environmentalist message is undermined late in the book, after being a driving force throughout. The romance is the most grating of the plots, as it is not only poorly executed but poorly considered. There is no actual romance to become invested in, only loathing mistaken for love.
The idea behind The Tower of Babel is intriguing, especially for anyone who enjoys the Biblical version. Translating the themes of the Tower to the modern day is fascinating. However, G. T. Anders focused on the literal tower, not the messages of the passage. It loses much of the power of the idea, when the focus is not on the hubris of humanity or the punishment. Even then, it could have made an environmental or political point. It does not. The concept remains interesting, if not powerful, which prevents it from being one star. It is also too sloppily put together to warrant three stars.
All in all, The Tower of Babel is an interesting idea poorly executed. Important information is hidden until late in the novel for no discernible reason. The prose is florid, overwrought, and incomprehensible. The plot plods for the vast majority of the book, then shoves a huge amount of confusing action into the last few chapters. There is an unmistakable air of entitlement throughout, and the protagonist's negative traits and actions are never addressed or called out or condemned in any way.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "The Tower of Babel" on Amazon
The Tower of Babel is a short novel by G. T. Anders which takes a fascinating Biblical story and attempts to translate it into a more modern, something-punk context. The Tower is an industrial project made of half the city, and the novel focuses on a small group of environmental extremists dedicated to its destruction. The action begins three years after the group had originally disbanded, and is told from the point of view of artist Austin Feckidee.
It's difficult to describe The Tower of Babel, because at no point does The Tower of Babel describe itself. It claims to take place in the 1960s, but shows no worldbuilding coherent enough to warrant that, aside from the pervasive gender essentialism and misogyny. While the failure of worldbuilding is the most frustrating aspect from a narrative view, it is the nontraditional punctuation that makes it a frustrating read. Scenes are split apart by unnecessary line breaks, sometimes multiple times per scene. In traditional storytelling, this would indicate a scene change, and in order to throw the reader off, in The Tower of Babel it sometimes does. Mainly, however, it is meant to be some sort of emphasizing agent. The strange grammar is intentional, but poorly executed. Non-traditional grammar should be used in ways that emphasize key parts of the text or convey a state of mind. In The Tower of Babel, the non-traditional grammar is overused to the point where it detracts from the story.
If the reader manages to deal with the disjointed writing style, the lack of commas, the strange spacing and all the other little roadblocks thrown in to trip them up, there are many storytelling failures to make the reading experience even more frustrating. Austin Feckidee is an intensely annoying and unsympathetic narrator. He is a selfish, misogynistic coward, but worst of all, he is tedious. He is a one note character, and that note is self-pitying and filled with entitlement. Of the three named female characters, he is sleeping with one, who he seems to hate, and wants to sleep with the other, who he also seems to hate. The third does not have a speaking part, but is used to drive forward a man's plot. I recommend anyone who views women as complex human beings avoid this novel, as the pervasive misogyny quickly becomes frustrating and, again, tedious.
The Tower of Babel is overly ambitious. It attempts to weave sci-fi with an environmentalist lesson with romance with personal growth with Faulkner-esque prose. If there had been focus on any one of these topics, it may have succeeded. As is, the sci-fi wavers in and out of focus, introducing space-travel and aliens and then forgetting them in order to focus on Austin's failing art career. There is some sort of magic that is never fully explained in rules or cause. As Austin wavers between causes – art versus the environment – his indecisiveness becomes repetitive as he makes the same tortured decisions each time. And there are many times. The environmentalist message is undermined late in the book, after being a driving force throughout. The romance is the most grating of the plots, as it is not only poorly executed but poorly considered. There is no actual romance to become invested in, only loathing mistaken for love.
The idea behind The Tower of Babel is intriguing, especially for anyone who enjoys the Biblical version. Translating the themes of the Tower to the modern day is fascinating. However, G. T. Anders focused on the literal tower, not the messages of the passage. It loses much of the power of the idea, when the focus is not on the hubris of humanity or the punishment. Even then, it could have made an environmental or political point. It does not. The concept remains interesting, if not powerful, which prevents it from being one star. It is also too sloppily put together to warrant three stars.
All in all, The Tower of Babel is an interesting idea poorly executed. Important information is hidden until late in the novel for no discernible reason. The prose is florid, overwrought, and incomprehensible. The plot plods for the vast majority of the book, then shoves a huge amount of confusing action into the last few chapters. There is an unmistakable air of entitlement throughout, and the protagonist's negative traits and actions are never addressed or called out or condemned in any way.
I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.
***
Buy "The Tower of Babel" on Amazon
Latest Review: "The Tower of Babel" by G. T. Anders
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gtanders
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 03 Jan 2013, 11:26
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Hi Alamorn,
I appreciate you taking the time to read my work. I'm sorry it frustrated you so much. It frustrates me now, too. I honestly regret publishing the book when I did, as I have begun to sense some of the same problems you described.
I was aware of Austin's regrettable characteristics. My hope was that these would appear to the reader as real flaws in his character (such as we all have). However, this probably failed, due to poor craft on my part. I did not know the book came across as touting misogyny. I did not intend that at all.
Re: the punctuation and formatting--dear god, this is perhaps my biggest regret with the novel. I had just read The Sound and the Fury (your Faulkner radar was spot-on), and I was feeling a bit jaunty. I have considered a revision, perhaps an overhaul, as I have grown so much as a writer in the last two years or so.
To keep it short... you've given me a lot to think about. I appreciate your time in reading and analyzing.
All the best,
George (G. T. Anders)
I appreciate you taking the time to read my work. I'm sorry it frustrated you so much. It frustrates me now, too. I honestly regret publishing the book when I did, as I have begun to sense some of the same problems you described.
I was aware of Austin's regrettable characteristics. My hope was that these would appear to the reader as real flaws in his character (such as we all have). However, this probably failed, due to poor craft on my part. I did not know the book came across as touting misogyny. I did not intend that at all.
Re: the punctuation and formatting--dear god, this is perhaps my biggest regret with the novel. I had just read The Sound and the Fury (your Faulkner radar was spot-on), and I was feeling a bit jaunty. I have considered a revision, perhaps an overhaul, as I have grown so much as a writer in the last two years or so.
To keep it short... you've given me a lot to think about. I appreciate your time in reading and analyzing.
All the best,
George (G. T. Anders)
