The Nix is an epic novel that is 22 hours long on audiobook and was written by Nathan Hill. The story starts out with Samuel Andreson Anderson, a college professor of literature who is burned out and coping with junk food and hours online playing a video game called Elfscape. Samuel was abandoned by his mouth when he was eight years old. Now a lawyer has called him asking for his assistance in defending his mother who is in trouble for attacking a political figure. As he tries to help his mother he searches for where she was all these years and basically wants to know why she abandoned him. Samuel interviews his father, his grandfather and other people who knew her. The media portrays her as a radical leftist and a militant radical with a sordid past. All Samuel knew was that she lived in a small town in Iowa. Much of the story revolves around a protest demonstration in 1968 at the Democratic convention in Iowa. Some of the writing about Hubert Humphrey are hilarious. Samuel's maternal grandfather was born and raised in Norway. The Nix is the name of one of the magical house spirits that must be appeased or they will play tricks on you. One of my favorite characters is Laura Potsdam, one of Samuel's students who turned in a plagiarized term paper that she bought when she was in high school and is trying to use it again. Laura cheats on all her classes. Her thinking excuses all her actions. The interaction between Laura and Samuel is hilarious. This was a very enjoyable story.
No comments:
Post a Comment