The Gone-Away World [Paperback]

I'm a reader given to pronouncements like: I hate science fiction. And for the most part it's really not my cup of tea. Well, The Gone Away World is undeniably science fiction, and it is the most interesting novel I've read in quite some time. The back copy on the galley I read compared it to Kurt Vonnegut meets Joseph Heller meets Mad Max. I immediately assumed that was hyperbole of the worst kind, but damn if that doesn't sum it up perfectly!

How can I describe the plot? As the novel opens, we're in a post-apocalyptic version of the world we know. We meet our first-person narrator and his team of trouble-shooting compatriots. Something possibly disastrous has happened, and they're off to save the day--as long as they'll be adequately compensated for the job. That's what they do. They're the Haulage & Hazmat Emergency Civil Freebooting Company of Exmoor County, a tight-knit group of life-long friends and war buddies.

The first chapter was about 30 pages, and I have to admit it was very strange and confusing, but undeniably funny. After that first chapter set in the novel's present, the clock is rolled back several decades, and the next 275 pages tells the life story of the unnamed narrator. And suddenly the book became far more accessible, because there were references to things like Elvis Presley and Tupperware. It was a world I could recognize. And gradually all the weird stuff from the first chapter was explained. What was the "Go Away War," why it was called that, and how the radically altered (not for the better, I can assure you) world came to be. It's a strange, deeply disturbing story leavened with a lot of humor and some wonderfully whimsical and likeable characters.

Around the 300 page mark, we are back where we were at the top of the novel, and our heroes are off to save the world. But nothing goes according to plan. And just when you think you've got a grasp on the rules of this strange world and this odd novel, Harkaway pulls the rug from under your feet and suddenly all the rules change and everything you think you know has changed!

This is a dense and challenging 500-page novel. Some parts of it are wonderfully light and comic. Other parts were so dark and disturbing I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading. But I did continue, often forcing friends to listen to me read pages of text aloud. The language is fabulous and the many tangents and asides are priceless--such as a meandering discussion of the role of sheep in times of war. Other times it's a single sentence such as: "You have to worry about someone even mimes find creepy." that you want to stitch onto a pillow and place on your couch.

I wouldn't recommend this novel to everyone I know, but for readers with an open mind and a tolerance for absurdity, satire, and speculative fiction it's a must read. It may be one of the best debut novels I've ever read. It is the most interesting novel--period--that I've read in years.

With all the promotion accompanying the publication of this book the story probably needs little introduction? However just in case: it is set in Britain in the not very distant future. We join the story and after the Go-Away War when civilisation relies upon and lives within reach of the globe encircling Jorgmund Pipe; and who knows what inhabits the regions beyond its reach? Problem: the pipe is on fire and professional trouble-shooter and all-round hero Gonzo Lubitsch and his crew are hired to extinguish the fire - but there is more to the fire, and the pipe than it seems. As we follow the charismatic Gonzo and his best friend (our apparently happily married narrator) in their exploits the story takes us back to their childhood and the time before the Go-Away War; we learn of the origins of their friendship, follow them to university and through military service and their subsequent involvement in the Go-Away War. Then we pick up the story again post-War; and this is when we learn of the effects of the fall-out, as well as more about the mysterious Jorgmund Company; we gradually understand the disastrous mess of a world which the Jorrmund Pipe appears to dominate and sustain.

But what really makes this book something special is the quality of the writing. It is writing of such eloquence it simply demands to be read. Nick Harkaway (son of spy thriller writer John le Carré aka David Cornwell) juxtaposes the ordinary and the absurd with such naturalness that we almost don't question it; we might just pass it by if it were not so hilariously funny at times; such is the writer's skill. Every page is a pleasure and one wants to dwell on and enjoy each word, but one is torn between lingering at leisure and becoming absorbed in the detailed byways the story regularly takes and the urgent desire to learn what happens next. One thing we can be sure is that what happens next rarely predictable.

As the story unfolds we encounter a wide range of unforgettable characters in addition to our two main protagonists. I'll mention just one as it will also give an indication of the time setting: our narrator's boyhood martial arts instructor the octogenarian Mr Wu of the Voiceless Dragon School, born in the 1930s, a wise, subtle and unassuming man who is relentlessly pursued by his family's arch-enemy the Ninjas, and whose very young female assistant sleeps on his couch. In addition to an array of interesting characters we should add a parade of weird and wonderful creatures.

The Gone-Away World is an amazing tale; it is a fantasy, an odyssey, an epic; it is story of upheaval and disaster, of nightmare monsters becoming reality, of loyalty and friendship, an adventure encompassing tense drama contrasting more leisurely pursuits, a story which takes us along the way, with unhurried confidence, on many detailed diversions and anecdotes, a story which jumps from the mundane to the surreal, even miraculous. But all the while the full comic potential is fully exploited, and it is all the funnier for the masterful writing, for the wry humour is as often found in the choice of expression, the turn of phrase, as in the ongoing events.

That our very likeable and unassuming narrator remains nameless is not inconsequential, it is crucial to the plot; and his loyalty to his friend Gonzo despite some most surprising events might also prove to be the salvation for what is left of the world. It has been likened it to A Clockwork Orange, Catch 22 or Brave New World; it is reminiscent at time of A Hitchhikers Guide . . . Whatever comparison may be made, one thing is beyond question: it is without doubt an eminently enjoyable read and a cracking and original escapade.

If all you are interested in is a quick-fire story which hurriedly gets to the point wasting no time you may in truth find this a laborious read. However if you enjoy reading for the shear pleasure of reading, if you enjoy the liquid flow of words, if for you the adventure of the journey is as important as arriving, you are sure to enjoy The Gone Away World.

"Go Away, World!"

That's what I wanted to say each time I was reading this beautiful book and real life intervened.

I picked it up because Joe Hill (another of my new favorite writers) mentioned on Twitter that The Gone-Away World was maybe the best thing he had read in 2011.

That served to instantly place the book on my to-read pile.

My only regret is that I didn't read this book sooner. I love post-apocalyptic fiction, and it's safe to say this is the funniest book of that sort I've ever read. Very intelligently-written too.

The story is set in a world in which humans develop a weapon that can just 'unmake' things (make the enemy Go Away, so to speak). So there are large swatches of the globe--cities, countries, people, who have been eradicated thusly. When the only thing that allows civilization to exist (an enormous structure known as the Jorgmund Pipe) catches fire, the protagonists are called into action to sort things out. Add to this an immersive flashback sequence that completely explains how humanity got into such a dire predicament in the first case, and you have a tale that will just not quit.

Great plot, memorable characters, furious action, even something in the way of a love story. This book has it all. The best thing for me, though, was Harkaway's writing. His prose was constantly a pleasure to read.

Read it, and if you can get through the first couple chapters, you will love this book. I guarantee it.

Deserves the HIGHEST possible recommendation.

9.50/10.

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