The Second Life of Samuel Tyne

by Esi Edugyan

[clementine]

Ahh, I really wanted to like this! I very much enjoyed Edugyan's recent Giller Prize winner Washington Black and was delighted to find a copy of her first novel at the thrift store for a mere five bucks. But I guess it's pretty clear that this is a first novel.

Here's what I liked about this book: the descriptions of the small Alberta town's xenophobia were very realistic. Samuel and his family were not met with outright racism, but the way people spoke to and about them was very clearly a function of their view on outsiders, particularly Black, immigrant outsiders. The Tyne family dynamics were deliciously horrifying. I liked the ideas of second chances, and the futility of trying to shed a dissatisfying or wasted past. The guilt Samuel and Maud felt over leaving Ghana behind was interesting, though I wish that had been further explored.

However, the execution just felt very off to me. The characters were extremely opaque - which may have been deliberate, but which was a choice I just couldn't quite jibe with. Perhaps their lack of development served to underscore how hollow they are, beaten down by unsatisfying circumstances, but I just wasn't sure what I was supposed to sink my teeth into. The spooky twins were the centre of the story, but the climax of their evilness was rushed. In general the pacing and writing itself felt very choppy. So little actually happened for so long that when we reached points of drama it just felt empty. Then the narrative moved so quickly past these things, didn't take the time to explore the pathos of them.

Just not for me, I guess!