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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Nix in Books

Dec 4, 2017  
The Nix
The Nix
Nathan Hill | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Glorious, extravagant, epic family saga
It's hardly surprising Meryl Streep has bought the rights to this debut novel by Nathan Hill, which explores relations amongst several generations of a family.

It spans nearly fifty years, with flashbacks to student protests during 1968, from the present day, and the travails of an academic, struggling to engage with lazy and disaffected students, and playing ‘Elfscape’, an online role-playing game that works along the lines of World of Warcraft. The narrative perspective moves around quite a bit in the first few chapters, but a strong theme quickly emerges.

Samuel Andresen-Anderson is the principal protagonist, and is a genuinely empathetic character. Far from perfect, he is beset with irritations, ranging from the cheating and ignorance of many of his students to the family upheaval suffered during his childhood, which still troubles him more than twenty years later.

Behind all this is the story of Faye, Samuel’s mother, who walked out on her family more than twenty years earlier, and who is catapulted into the public consciousness following a sudden impulsive act. This offered Hill the opportunity for some acute observations about the motives and actions of the student rebels from the late 1960s, while also exposing the hypocrisies of the establishment and the cruelties of some of the police during those troubles. In between, the author even delves into Norwegian folklore.

The writing is fine – clear and accessible - and Hill manages the complex storylines admirably. Moving backwards and forwards between the late 1960s, late 1980s and 2011, the plot never flags. This was a long novel, but very entertaining throughout.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) Dec 4, 2017

Thanks @Sarah! I've already been inspired by some of your suggestions such as Libby! Did you like Solaris?
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Sarah (7798 KP) Dec 5, 2017

I did enjoy it, I'll be honest though I didn't even know it was anything other than a film until i saw your review!