Spilling Clarence [Paperback]

Clarence was the name of the town where Anne Ursu's story unravels. The town is home of a pharmaceutical company which prides itself with the memory retrieval pill Deletrium. An explosion of the company's manufacturing plant not only disturbed the hush of the town but sent an immeasurable waft of memory-provoking gas throughout town. While the plant assured the chemical spill of Deletrium was not toxic; the medical substance did trigger brain receptors and unleash memories that were repressed in the brain. The inevitable outcome was a retrieval of memories, pleasant and painful, caught up with townspeople who had been exposed to the vapor.

Bennie, a psychology professor, was among those who in the least appreciated the chemical as it brought back painful memories of his deceased wife Lizzie. Bennie is a single-father who raised 9-years-old Sophie. Bennie's mother, Madeline, who lived in a retirement home, recounted her stricken years as a mother and widow. Susannah, an aide at the retirement home and took care of Madeline, also got her share of grieving reminiscence about her mother who suffered from mental illness. Her fiance Todd was a student at a local college working toward his degree. While the book mainly focused on the three aforementioned characters, Ursu's rich but not sating narrative touched on many other townspeople and their pasts. Even the paltry characters were etched.

The book deals with grievances of the pasts and how diligently people tried to put behind the painful loss. As intriguing as it may be, the book also brought to surface the nature of loneliness. It seemed to me that the troubled past, the bitterness, the sadness had imposed such formidable hurdle in the characters that they couldn't break away from their loneliness.

I want to remind fellow readers that this book is quite promising as Anne Ursu's debut novel. While Ursu doesn't play around with winding skeins of words that unspool and render elegantly like some of the most acclaimed prose stylists of our time; her writing is taut, crisp, and clear. She bears the tour de force to take her readers back and forth in time to make reference to reminiscence and to weave together various incidences in the lives of her characters. This is done somehow seamlessly and not obscurely.

Spilling Clarence is a relatively short book. It would be a perfect choice for a summer read though parts of it (the reminiscence) can be very depressing. I read it out of the curiosity for its unique and tantalizing premise and slipped it in between my arduous reading projects for a breath of fresh air. 3.8 stars.

This book speaks to the power of love, especially when Bennie's mother was talking to him about the first time she saw him with Elizabeth,"The two of you were magic to each other. You both swelled over with life. You were radiant together. I will never forget it. I have tried to write about it and cannot find the words. Your love was ancient, literary. It was the way it was supposed to work. You never believe such a thing is possible until you see it in real life.
And I see it, that love, every time I look at Sophie. She is a remarkable child. And she would have to be, coming from such a blessed union."

The book also however, spoke to the loneliness of people and the barriers that make connecting so hard. Most of the characters were able to knock down those barriers but somehow there was still a sadness about them.

I had mixed feelings about this book but still would recommend it for an interesting read.