Asymmetry

Starred review from January 29, 2018
Halliday, recipient of a 2017 Whiting Award, crafts a stellar and inventive debut, a puzzle of seemingly incongruous pieces that, in the end, fit together perfectly. In the early aughts, young NYC book editor Alice embarks on an affair with Ezra, a surprisingly kind older novelist. As the American military conflict in Iraq escalates, Alice and Ezra flit into and out of each other lives, bonding over the Red Sox, Scrabble, and Ezra’s failure to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. After a health scare lands Ezra in the hospital, Alice must decide the future of their relationship. The second, decidedly different section follows Amar, an Iraqi-American of complicated provenance who has been detained at Heathrow Airport on his way to Iraq. Alternating between the customs official’s curt interrogation of Amar and flashbacks to his life in America, the sequence draws the background violence of the earlier section violently into the foreground without sacrificing any of the former’s momentum or humor. A singular collision of forms, tones, and arguments, the novel provides frequent delights and never explains too much. Any reader who values innovative fiction should treasure this. Agent: Chris Parris-Lamb, Gernert Company.

Four narrators breathe life into Lisa Halliday's thought-provoking and elegant novel. Of the four, Candace Thaxton is the most effective; her youthful voice brings warmth and wry humor to the story of an editorial assistant's relationship with an award-winning writer several decades her senior. Aden Hakimi, recounting the harrowing subplot of an Iraqi-American man who is detained on a trip to see his brother, also gives a engaging performance, adroitly capturing the character's seemingly calm demeanor while hinting at the turmoil beneath. Unfortunately, the final and shortest section, written as an interview between the award-winning writer (Arthur Morey) and a radio host (Fiona Hardingham), feels staged and unnatural. This small misstep aside, the audiobook is an appealing listen. E.C. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

June 1, 2018

Be warned: this three-parter, four-narrator delight requires utmost attention. But be assured: rewards aplenty await. With crisp, almost staccato delivery, Candace Thaxton affectingly presents Part 1, "Folly," in which editor Alice and author Ezra share 97 years between them. Hint: Alice is 27, but the age difference doesn't prevent falling in love. Part 1 abruptly gives way to Part 2, "Madness," in which an Iraqi American economist is detained in London's Heathrow Airport en route to visiting his brother in Kurdistan. Narrator Aden Hakimi modulates effortlessly between explication and emotion; however, production quality proves uneven as numerous phrases sound as if they were rerecorded in a tunnel, then clumsily reinserted. The final, shortest section mimics a real-life BBC radio show, "Desert Island Discs," in which Fiona Hardingham adeptly interviews Arthur Morey as Ezra some years after "Folly." Part 3 is of utmost narrative importance as the illuminating connections are revealed; alas, it's aurally the most disappointing, with a haltingly spliced question-and-answer format as well as the dissonance between indulgent, almost grandfatherly Ezra in Part 1 and newly robust, self-satisfied Ezra in Part 3. VERDICT Despite directorial miscues, Halliday's debut is so strong as to outshine any production stumbles. Libraries should prepare for substantial demand. ["Full of choices and of opposites--young/old, seasoned/novice, American/Iraqi--this thought-provoking book is evocative of the world we live in today. Highly recommended for readers of literary fiction": LJ 2/1/8 starred review of the S. & S. hc.]--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

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