Spurious: A Novel

Beguiling, Excruciatingly Thought Provoking, and Dark, and Absurd

Contemplating the id, the ego, and humanity at large through criticism of the self. An interesting approach, and so I loved this book. Laughed almost the entire way through it. The sarcasm. The idiotic generalizations. The hate/loathe/detest relationship the two characters have with one another vis-à-vis the idea of living in general, and the damp reminded me of the scene in the movie "Eraserhead" where the dirt and vegetation take over the apartment. Much the same as our characters here fear the idiocy that is taking over their existence. I do love a plotless story, and yes, it did remind me of Beckett. Existence here for Lars and W. is stripped down to the most random, mundane, and hopelessly belittling conversations imaginable, and that banality invites all sorts of philosophical interpretation. They are stupid. They have achieved nothing of value. They drink too much. Whine too much. Hate and love on each other too much, and more importantly, they are not Kafka. Though, and I quote: "W. is a mystic. One day he might become properly religious. He says that he might. Sometimes he feels on the verge of religion." And Lars, a prophet of sorts: "Somewhere on the other side of the wall, life has reached a new level. Somewhere, damp mutters to itself; damp dreams, there behind the wall. And what will it say when it comes to itself? What will it say when it wakes up? Read more