The Raw Shark Texts

Overview

Eric Sanderson wakes up one day with no idea who or where he is. A note instructs him to call a Dr. Randle, who informs him that he is undergoing yet another episode of memory loss and that for the last two years--since the tragic death of his great love, Clio, while vacationing in Greece--he's been suffering from an acute disassociative disorder. But there may be more to the story, or it may be a different story altogether. As Eric Sanderson begins to examine letters and papers left behind by "the first Eric Sanderson" and the staggering tale they seem to contain, he and the reader embark on a quest to recover the truth and to escape the predatory forces that threaten to devour him. Moving with the pace and momentum of a superb thriller, exploring ideas about language and information as well as identity, The Raw Shark Texts is ultimately a novel about the magnitude of love and the devastating effect of losing that love.

Editorial Reviews

Hall's debut, the darling of last year's London Book Fair, is a cerebral page-turner that pits corporeal man against metaphysical sharks that devour memory and essence, not flesh and blood. When Eric Sanderson wakes from a lengthy unconsciousness, he has no memory. A letter from "The First Eric Sanderson" directs him to psychologist Dr. Randle, who tells Eric he is afflicted with a "dissociative condition." Eric learns about his former life--specifically a glorious romance with girlfriend Clio Aames, who drowned three years earlier--and is soon on the run from the Ludovician, a "species of purely conceptual fish" that "feeds on human memories and the intrinsic sense of self." Once he hooks up with Scout, a young woman on the run from her own metaphysical predator, the two trek through a subterranean labyrinth made of telephone directories (masses of words offer protection, as do Dictaphone recordings), decode encrypted communications and encounter a series of strange characters on the way to the big-bang showdown with the beast. Though Hall's prose is flabby and the plethora of text-based sight gags don't always work (a 50-page flipbook of a swimming shark, for instance), the end result is a fast-moving cyberpunk mashup of Jaws, Memento and sappy romance that's destined for the big screen.
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-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Steven Hall

Steven Hall was born in 1975. After completing a fine arts degree, he became one of the founding members of Manchester's Wet Nana and has produced a number of plays, music videos, conceptual art pieces and short stories. He lives in Hull, England.

Customer Reviews

• Awesome book

  Posted October 23, 2009 by Drew, Milwaukee, WI

  I couldn't put this book down from start to finish. I usually lose interest in many books, but not the case for this one. It was different than any book I've read or story I've heard -- I need to find another like it!

Additional Info

Imprint

Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Filesize

4.77 MB

Number of Pages

448

eBook ISBN

1555847684