O posibilă problemă de viață și de moarte

by Ben Stephenson

Chiar dacă are doar zece ani, Arthur Williams știe o sumedenie de lucruri. Știe totul despre trilobiți și despre poduri, că nu vrea să fie prietenul Victoriei Brown și că arțarii suferă îngrozitor atunci când li se extrage seva. Știe că tatăl lui zboară probabil într-un balon cu aer cald deasupra Pacificului sau pune gazon în vreun oraș. Mai știe că Simon, tipul care se preface că-i e tată, nu face absolut nimic interesant. Dar când Arthur găsește un caiet jerpelit în pădurea din spatele casei, tot ce are sunt întrebări. De ce oare autorul, Phil, este atât de trist și de ce se termină caietul la pagina 57? Dar mai are și alte întrebări: De ce unii oameni renunță la alți oameni? De ce renunță la ei înșiși?

Genres: Fiction, Canada

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2012

About the author

Ben Stephenson is the author of the novel A Matter of Life and Death or Something (Douglas & McIntyre, 2012). It prompted CBC Books to name him one of ten "Canadian Writers to Watch."

His work has appeared in The Puritan, EVENT, Joyland, King Skateboard Magazine, Best Canadian Stories, and other places. He participated in writing residencies at the Tatamagouche Centre and the Banff Centre. His visual art, including sculpture and installation, has been exhibited in various galleries, and he is the creator of the microGALLERY, a literal hole-in-the-wall artist-run center, located in the space left behind by a missing brick in one of NSCAD University's walls.

He grew up in New Brunswick, earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University, and an MFA from the University of British Columbia.

Reviews

[Nicole Lundrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly touching, bursting with emotion, and chock full of profundity. Several times I had to stop reading, and just be still for a moment. Such a simple and beautiful story. I won't forget Arthur for a long time, if ever.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a little long. I skimmed over a lot of parts. Good premise though...

[Beatrix · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book as I like stories that are presented through different perspectives. Ben Stephenson writes through the eyes of Arthur, a 10-year old boy who finds a diary in the woods. We then get to read the diary of Phil, who’s an adult man. Add to that, most surprisingly, a few chapters written through the perspective of the trees in the wood. These perspectives alternate throughout the book to help Arthur investigate the questions of his life and the mystery behind the diary.

It starts of well, I especially liked the presentation of the book which includes some quirky line drawings and an inside cover design that matches well the storyline. And it turns out that our young boy is a fun narrator to read. Even the trees sound interesting, at first. But the novelty wears off fast.

Arthur’s perspective was the most fun to read. Even as an adult reader I felt I could relate to him quite well. It did get frustrating for me after a while that his investigations were not leading anywhere. The trees became rather boring quickly as they simply cannot provide any action or deeper insight from their limited vantage point. Most difficult to read were the passages of the diary. It gets clear quickly that Phil is a severely depressed guy who is just rambling on in his diary about the hopelessness he feels in life. And the more I read those pages the more I lost hope that there could be anything good coming from it. It was just painful to read and I couldn’t even develop any sympathy for the poor man.

I ended up skipping through most of those passages in the second half of the book, hoping that at least little Arthur’s narrative would provide me with some more interesting developments. But not much came out of those pages either. His questions remain mostly unanswered as well. This might reflect the reality of life to some degree - but makes for a very unsatisfying read.

[Aaron (Typographical Era) · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’re often told that there are three sides to every story: yours, mine, and the truth. In the case of debut novelist Ben Stephenson’s A Matter of Life and Death or Something these three sides are voiced respectively by a precocious ten year-old boy named Arthur Williams, the journal entries of a man known only as Phil, and a forest full of trees that with seemingly endless time on their hands have become masters of impartial observation.

Arthur is a young soul that is wise beyond his years in many ways, but he hasn’t yet grown into the mentally maturity needed to grasp and cope with life’s more perplexing issues. He’s adopted, he knows it, and he finds his “father” Simon to be a dreadful bore of a human being. His days are filled with dreaming up new and ever more exotic adventures for his real dad to be undertaking as a way of justifying the man’s absence from his life. He longs for the day when the two will be spectacularly reunited in a gloriously joyful moment that will surely mark the exact second in time that both of their lives truly feel complete.

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[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive debut from a young author. Told from three perspectives, this story of growing up and innocence lost has as one of its main characters the extremely endearing Arthur Williams. A 10-year-old boy gifted with both an active imagination and profound logic, Arthur holds the weight of the world on his slight shoulders. When he discovers the abandoned notebook of a young man named Phil, he's confronted on page 43 with information he isn't quite sure he can handle. The reader is allowed to delve into the interior thoughts of both Arthur and Phil and in the process feels a deep empathy for both of them, as they each struggle with the inherent challenge of growing up - Arthur beyond boyhood and Phil towards a mature adulthood. Though he would more than likely squirm at the thought of it, more than once I wanted to wrap Arthur up in a big hug and tell him life works out just fine - whatever that means. But somehow, once you've finished the book and notice Arthur has managed to stick around inside your head, you know that he'll figure that out on his own one day.

[Lori Bamber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tender, gripping and wildly imaginative, this book is David Foster Wallace-level brilliant.

To the Quill and Quire writer who reviewed it, I just have to say: Please do some research on clinical depression. First, "disturbed" is an extremely simplistic and derogatory term with which to describe someone who is clinically depressed, and secondly, there is no valid evidence whatsoever that people who are clinically depressed don't experience "moments of crystalline lucidity."

Based on the promise shown here, I'm hopeful that international critics will one day be referring to A Matter of Life and Death or Something as "Stephenson's initially under-appreciated first novel."

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite what I was expecting. The description of this book put me in mind of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close", which I loved, so perhaps I went into this one with unrealistic expectations. I kept compaing Arthur to Oscar from "Extremely Loud" and found that I didn't enjoy Arthur nearly as much.

I found the excerpts from Phil's journal to be very difficult to read and/or follow, which maybe was the point overall. Ultimately I found Phil's contributions a tough slog, not very enjoyable.

I did like how Arthur resolved things in the end. That very last chapter reveals most, not all, so it was a nice wrap up I think.

Nt my favourite, but ok.

[Ann Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully quirky. I don't imagine I'll ever read another novel that features trees as characters. (That's just a minor subplot in the book, but it's an indication of the author's creative and unconventional take on novel-writing.) Definitely one to pick up if you're intrigued by what's possible in a novel. Not everything this author attempts works brilliantly, but I admire his writerly courage in attempting bold and unusual things.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really fast read. It's an intriguing mystery written from three perspectives: a 10 year-old boy, the woods behind his house (this is better done than it first sounds), and the diary of a sad man named Phil. The boy finds the diary and discovers the tragedy of Phil. He then takes it upon himself to discover who Phil was and what happened to him. It's a first-rate debut novel.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was like rolling out of bed, looking out the window, and capturing that perfect moment when the world looks beautiful. It was an utter joy to experience this book.

[Melinda Worfolk · Rating 3 out of 5]

It reminded me a bit of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I loved the parts narrated by Arthur, a precocious 10 year old who spends lots of time wandering in the woods near his home; one day he finds a journal in the forest and after he reads it, sets out to find the person who wrote it.

Arthur's narrative (which features lovely little line drawings illustrating his extensive fantasy and dream life) is broken up by sections narrated by the trees in the forest (yes, that sounds weird, but it's actually pretty effective) and excerpts from the journal. To be honest, the journal entries were a tough slog for me. I started to glaze over when reading them. However, I think this might be intentional given the person who is supposed to have written them.

Overall, a good first novel.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is told from the point of view of 10-year-old Arthur Williams, who finds a journal in the woods and begins an investigation of the neighbourhood in an attempt to find out who its author (Phil) was, what happened to him, and how the book came to be in the woods. Along the way, he struggles with his relationship with his (adopted) dad Simon; Simon's budding love interest, Maureen; and the interests of his friend Victoria, who wants him to be her boyfriend.

The book is well-written from the POV of a 10-year-old boy. Arthur makes a lot of lists, mis-spells certain words, and is always "shaving" his milk mustache. It's a fast read, especially since you get curious from the start about Phil and what exactly is written on page 43 of his journal.

[Athena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting, yet mildly depressing read. I found it slightly underwhelming in the sense that I felt the author was building towards some great climax, but fell a bit short. A few questions and loose ends were left hanging. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. It is written from the first person perspective (that of 10 year old Arthur); the style is reminiscent of Emma Donaghue's Room. Interesting idea and easy to read.

[Sub_zero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esta novela me produce sentimientos encontrados, tanto que no tengo ni idea de si la historia me ha gustado o de si he entendido bien el mensaje que pretendía transmitir el autor. Estamos ante una obra deliciosamente narrada, original, apasionada, delirante y por momentos, desgarradora. Sobre las páginas de la novela flotan multitud de ideas bastantes buenas por separado pero que no llegan a cuajar de manera conjunta. Es brillante. O espantosa. O algo así.

[Tamara Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I really wanted to love this book but it was a little too "Debbie downer" for me. The story didn't pull me in and compel me to read more. Getting through it felt a lot like work. I loved Arthur's voice as the protagonist. Otherwise, meh.

[Jen Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough (full disclosure, I work with the publisher) to read an advance readers copy of this book and I absolutely fell in love. The main character, Arthur, is a charmer, and his world view will make you laugh, cry, and transport you back to childhood (in a good way).

[Austen Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and charming and thoughtful and all-around-wonderful! This is a special book indeed.

[Linda]

Hard to get into initially..was confused with the 3 different persons..interesting for a first book.

[Penny (Literary Hoarders)]

Just won this from the 49th Shelf! Cool!! #canlit!

[Jessica Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

so far so good!!!