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My friends never understand that I am untroubled when I observe that often I go unnoticed. I have even shown the effect to my wife when we encountered a friend coming the other way. It doesn't disturb me - as a young person I thought people were deliberately looking the other way, but now I know better.
Having said that I hasten to add the I don't believe even in a small measure the fantasy that Christopher Priest weaves in this novel. But does he weave a fantasy at all? Even after this second reading I am unsure where reality sits. But it is a wonderful read, reflecting as it does on visibility (wanted and unwanted) and invisibility (not being seen or noticed, wanted or unwanted).
Other recommended titles:
Christopher Priest: 'The Affirmation', 'The Separation'
The author seemed able to take the familiar feelings of being ignored, disenfranchised, excluded, feeling as if you somehow live in a parallel world unable to take part in the world proper, and elevate these to an art form. the characters have the necessary despair and desolation in their spirits to convince you and have the appearance of living reasonably normal lives. However, they don't. The work is perhaps something of an allegory in that the characters experience some of the same problems with which we are all familiar, although to a pathological degree.
The book starts slowly but quickly becomes very compelling and, while being typical of Chris Priest's work insofar as it's low key in it's method, it's frightening in its implications and builds to a terrifying conclusion. I was able easily to suspend my disbelief and was for a while afterwards visited by disquieting thoughts similiar to those provoked when I first read 1984.
Tremendously enjoyable and a very good work.
