theMystery.doc

Life. Prepare to haul around the five pound 1,600+ page novel titled, theMystery.doc, by Matthew McIntosh for several weeks. I started and finished this book with admiration and confusion. If I had to answer a question about the subject of the novel, I would ramble about it being about life, and identity, and God, and spirituality, and loss, and laughter, and writing. The form and structure of the book are unusual. There are lots of blank spaces, disconnected phrases, photos, asterisks by the dozens, and blank pages. Sometimes it took me a half hour to read fifty pages; other times I turned fifty pages within five minutes. Still, it takes a while to immerse oneself in a big book like this that includes a ribbon placeholder. When I closed the last page, I felt refreshed. I felt like I had a new understanding of the decade or so after 9/11. I felt, as always, that life itself is a mystery. Take a look at this novel and consider giving yourself over to it. I’m glad I surrendered myself to a form and structure that kept me off balance, just like the cover image, and just like life. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase themysterydotdoc from amazon.com.