Books in Canada
Of plot, character, and design in The Mole Chronicles, the best feature is design. Rarely has a controlling metaphor-the presence of dysplastic [unstable] skin moles in this case-been, well, so controlling. Brown’s narrator, a young, disaffected, and rather aimless fellow who has left Vancouver for Montreal, depicts his life in terms of the moles (and their removal) with which he and his sister gave been afflicted since their youth. Yes, the moles are quasi-repellent and take some getting used to, but they also hilariously mutate into comic book superpowers (Mole Man, Sue Storm), spies (moles) and engage in clever wordplay (dotcoms, connect-the-dots). BMX bikes, the Montreal Ice Storm, and the history of public swimming pools also play roles in this mole-boy drama.
This is very much a young man’s narrative, fearlessly macabre, romantic, shot through with unexpected laughs. During one of his trips to the doctor for mole-removal, he shares these thoughts as the doctor announces it’s twenty dollars for the needle: “This surprises me. This talk of monetary exchange. And I thought we were getting along so well.” In the book’s increasingly mad world, medical scientists at both ends of the country hatch mad plots, and urban graffiti squads mutate advertising slogans to get their message out. Moles may be hidden by the afflicted, but the past consistently stalks the present-“every scar tells a story”-until all is revealed in the clear light of day.
Nancy Wigston (Books in Canada)
Product Description
Andy Brown's first novel follows a sibling relationship told through vignettes, each story centred around the removal of a mole. From this premise, Brown's novel expands the associations of moles from skin disease, to the burrowing animal, to secret societies and espionage, to tell the story of familial dysfunction, culture-jamming, eco-terrorism, and regret in the lives of young adults in the 1990s. Moving from the urban decay of Montreal to the beaches of Vancouver and back, and reflecting on diverse cultural and historical phenomena - BMX racing, The Fantastic Four, bush parties, lifeguard obsessions, and the Montreal Ice Storm - "The Mole Chronicles" is an engaging and innovative debut novel.
