"The Raw Shark Texts" is a debut novel written by Steven Hall.
I had to read this book for a class and usually class assigned books are not always enjoyable, at least that has been my experience. This is one class assigned book I actually loved and would recommend.
The book set up differently from most books. Some text in the book is positioned to portray something visually.
The book can be difficult to follow at times because there is so much going on. If you've read and are a fan of "House of Leaves," I think you would really enjoy the book.
It begins with a man, Eric Sanderson waking up on his floor with no recollection of who he is, where he is or any prior knowledge of how he got there. Eric then finds notes from his old self "Eric Sanderson One" left for him to help him piece his life back together, trippy right? I don't want to spoil the book for anyone but I'll spill one thing, the Ludovician is a conceptual fish that feeds on memories and it is after Eric Sanderson.
The book has been compared to "Jaws," "The Matrix," and "Eternal Sunshine" of the "Spotless Mind."
The book is beautifully written. It could be considered a thriller, a love story or a book about coping with the loss of a loved one. It made me laugh, it made me scared and it brought tears to my eyes.
"It’s a stark thought that when we die most of us will leave behind uneaten biscuits, unused coffee, half toilet rolls, half cartons of milk in the fridge to go sour; that everyday functional things will outlive us and prove that we weren’t ready to go; that we weren’t smart or knowing or heroic; that we were just animals whose animal bodies stopped working without any sort of schedule or any consent from us."
-Steven Hall, "The Raw Shark Texts"
A good read for Christmas break coming up, I definitely recommend!
