Kraken by China Mieville

Hello Gentle Reader

I was first introduced to China Mieville from his novel "The City & The City," which was a alright novel. Kraken though does not seem to measure up to the expectations in which I had hoped it would have. Told through the eyes of a third person narrator, who is not objective, I can see that, there are some things, that just don't sit well with my appetite for literature and a good story.

Set in London, we as the reader are given two different coherent ideas of what this London is. There is the "Normal," London, which things obey the laws of reality, and then there is the alternate London where the laws of reality are not so much, obeyed. Yet they still have laws -- oddly enough.

Part of any fantasy really, I can see is that, the reader is always going to have to suspend a certain amount of belief, or view on reality and just kind of the let the story flow. One could compare fantasy in a novel or a story, to that of a magic show, that a spectator is watching. The spectator in a way kind of lets go and just enjoys the show, wondering how the magician did the illusion. Fantasy is the same way, it just suspends all belief, and is just entertainment.

"Kraken," for me, just didn't feel right. It felt, melodramatic at sometimes, such as when the police find out that two villains or rather evil people (if one could call them people) going by the name of "Goss," and "Subby," are back, I felt, unable to relate to who these two people where, at really was the danger of "Goss," and "Subby," though I was intrigued with these creatures, and wanted to know more about them, and where they came from and what they were.

I also felt like there were so many characters, to trying to figure out the same thing, that I was uncertain what really, was going on. At times I was unsure of, why certain people, where searching for a missing dead, and preserved giant squid, which apparently to a religion or rather a cult, is known as "Kraken," which they worship as their God.

There were times when I wondered who was the main protagonist, Billy Harrow -- the curator who preserved the giant squid -- Kraken God; or Dane Parnell one of the people who worships the giant preserved squid as a God.

Perhaps there were to many characters, and not enough characterization, for this novel to work with so many characters. As someone said on another blog or review, this novel is funny -- though sometimes i seemed to have missed humour -- its over lying story arch does not really work. However it may have worked, with short interlinked stories perhaps, which could allow the episodic chapters to become more detailed, look at the characters, their motives, and goals and reasons for wanting to the squid, rather then it being left out and sometimes feeling forced.

The potential for a great story is there. A bit more explaining and cutting down the amount of characters would make for a much more pleasing story rather then it being a cacophony of voices, and English slang.

That’s the only other problem really that I had with China Mieville's "Kraken," is the English slang that was presented in the third person narrator. I can accept and tolerate, that form of language in the characters, speaking. But when the narrator sounds more like a character rather then a objective person or fly sitting on a wall, looking around at the characters as they look for the squid. Perhaps though that is what China Mieville wanted, to be done with the third person technique is to have the third person character, be a character itself. I toyed with the idea that the third person narrator was London itself, though I can't say for certain and I certainly cannot say it is.

Is China Mieville's novel "Kraken," a good read? Yes. It is a great read? no, not really. However I don't think any book is really a great read for that matter. Every book has its flaws. Every story has its holes in it. China Mieville's fantastical novel, is not a beach read, or a pool side read, but one you more or less, need to pay close attention to. Its not a fuzzy story written together. Its densely packed, with a lot of English slang. A good read yes, but not a great novel, and certainly it did not really live up to the expectations i had for China Mieville after reading his novel "The City & The City."

Take Care Gentle Reader
Thank-you for reading Gentle Reader
As Always Stay well Read

M.Mary