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4.0 out of 5 stars
Huge, but worth it, Jan 3 2011
This review is from: The Instructions (Hardcover)
This is not a book. It's a cinderblock, a wedge of cheese, something which could be used to press all the leaves on a single tree. In short: it's huge.
There is something tantalizing about a large book. It's the ability, if the story is a good one, to stay in the world for a protracted period of time, to really allow the characters to simmer, leaving time for the flavours to become as rich as possible. This is the reason why I was drawn to Levin's hulking mass of a book. That, and I saw him read at a bar in Toronto and was impressed.
The story is deceivingly simple: it takes place over four days at an elementary school and consists of a boy, Gurion, who may or may not be the Jewish messiah. That's all you really need to know. It's clear that Levin is a fan of David Foster Wallace. The book is filled with philosophical ruminations and tangents--most of them work, some of them don't, but the ratio works favourably for Levin. There is also a lot of action. And even some spilled blood. It is a revolutionary tale after all.
Ultimately, I was satisfied with this book. Of course, in 1030 pages there are going to be moments when you put it down out of boredom, but those moments were far and few between and most of the time I found myself drawn into the crazy world of Aptakisic elementary school. Gurion is a wonderful narrator and a beautifully flawed character and the book is populated by similarly complex and difficult to pin-down characters.
This book is not David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest (although there are moments where I think Levin hoped it would become that), but it is very good in its own right and worthy of the aching hands you'll get trying to prop it up while reading.
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