What do you think?
Rate this book
The Narrows: A Novel
From award-winning author Alexander C. Irvine comes a compelling, fantastical riff on history and World War II.
Spared fighting in Europe because of a bum hand, Jared wishes he could join the cause, instead of mindlessly sifting clay to be made into golems. But there is something that preys on his the devilish dwarf known as the Nain Rouge. In his youth, Jared once actually saw the Dwarf—a chilling creature that shows itself to individuals just before their demise. Now the Nain Rouge appears to be coming back for Jared himself.
Many have a profound interest in Jared’s childhood run-in with the Dwarf—including a German spy, Jared’s hateful foreman at the golem factory, and a shape-shifting Indian shaman. But what could a simple man who earns a meager living possibly have to do with espionage and dark deeds? While Jared toils invisibly in the bowels of Henry Ford’s plant, the answer is about to reveal itself in a cataclysm of mythic and sinister proportions.
Spared fighting in Europe because of a bum hand, Jared wishes he could join the cause, instead of mindlessly sifting clay to be made into golems. But there is something that preys on his the devilish dwarf known as the Nain Rouge. In his youth, Jared once actually saw the Dwarf—a chilling creature that shows itself to individuals just before their demise. Now the Nain Rouge appears to be coming back for Jared himself.
Many have a profound interest in Jared’s childhood run-in with the Dwarf—including a German spy, Jared’s hateful foreman at the golem factory, and a shape-shifting Indian shaman. But what could a simple man who earns a meager living possibly have to do with espionage and dark deeds? While Jared toils invisibly in the bowels of Henry Ford’s plant, the answer is about to reveal itself in a cataclysm of mythic and sinister proportions.
341 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2005
2 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Alexander C. Irvine
190 books198 followersAlexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. He also writes under the pseudonym Alex Irvine. He first gained attention with his novel A Scattering of Jades and the stories that would form the collection Unintended Consequences. He has also published the Grail quest novel One King, One Soldier, and the World War II-era historical fantasy The Narrows.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 15, 2015
Alternate history has many virtues, one being making the past more vivid to readers. The Narrows does this fine service for America in WWII, specifically Detroit. And how often does southeastern Michigan appear in historical fiction, or fantasy and sf, for that matter? Not often enough.
Irvine's novel focuses on wartime industry, and there's another unusual move for contemporary fiction. The main characters are factory workers, who (spoiler alert!) don't end up millionaires or leading a fantasy-fueled social transformation. Instead the book dwells with these people in their daily lives: working long hours, bickering with coworkers, worrying about bills, wrangling childcare, and making golems. I'm reminded of Richard Matheson's underrated Stir of Echoes in this regard. (Someday I need to do a study about the working class in Gothic lit)
Making golems? Yes. The Narrows is also a fantasy novel. Or, better put, it's an alt. history that includes some fantasy elements. The grand River Rouge factory complex busily produces bombers and jeep parts, while a secret department builds golem warriors out of clay. Another delight Irvine provides is making this credible, from the overworked rabbi in charge to workers trying to spot their products in newreels. Like Tim Powers, Irvine knits the fantastic credibly into the material world, as a kind of technology.
The novel's plot concerns skulduggery among different powerful actors around this golem line ("Frankenline"), and how they want to use our hero. Some of the book's emotional power comes from watching the protagonist cope with increasing weirdness, especially as it stresses his marriage. The Narrows comes close to cliches here, but usually stays clear.
Especially noteworthy is a second fantastic element, the inclusion of a Michigan folk character, the Nain Rouge. The dwarf attains mythic status early on, becoming something of a cthonic power over Detroit history and a demon to our hero's family. This pushes the novel more deeply into pure fantasy territory... until we learn to what uses Nain Rouge might be put.
Overall, The Narrows is an excellent alternate history and fantasy novel. It only weakens in the conclusion, which falls apart after a spectacular yet inconclusive climax. Many threads are left hanging, and resolution isn't really there. But it's a grand ride for the first 96%.
On a personal note, I found the novel compelling because I lived in Michigan for almost 20 years. I enjoyed reading about settings I know, and learning background I didn't.
Irvine's novel focuses on wartime industry, and there's another unusual move for contemporary fiction. The main characters are factory workers, who (spoiler alert!) don't end up millionaires or leading a fantasy-fueled social transformation. Instead the book dwells with these people in their daily lives: working long hours, bickering with coworkers, worrying about bills, wrangling childcare, and making golems. I'm reminded of Richard Matheson's underrated Stir of Echoes in this regard. (Someday I need to do a study about the working class in Gothic lit)
Making golems? Yes. The Narrows is also a fantasy novel. Or, better put, it's an alt. history that includes some fantasy elements. The grand River Rouge factory complex busily produces bombers and jeep parts, while a secret department builds golem warriors out of clay. Another delight Irvine provides is making this credible, from the overworked rabbi in charge to workers trying to spot their products in newreels. Like Tim Powers, Irvine knits the fantastic credibly into the material world, as a kind of technology.
The novel's plot concerns skulduggery among different powerful actors around this golem line ("Frankenline"), and how they want to use our hero. Some of the book's emotional power comes from watching the protagonist cope with increasing weirdness, especially as it stresses his marriage. The Narrows comes close to cliches here, but usually stays clear.
Especially noteworthy is a second fantastic element, the inclusion of a Michigan folk character, the Nain Rouge. The dwarf attains mythic status early on, becoming something of a cthonic power over Detroit history and a demon to our hero's family. This pushes the novel more deeply into pure fantasy territory... until we learn to what uses Nain Rouge might be put.
Overall, The Narrows is an excellent alternate history and fantasy novel. It only weakens in the conclusion, which falls apart after a spectacular yet inconclusive climax. Many threads are left hanging, and resolution isn't really there. But it's a grand ride for the first 96%.
On a personal note, I found the novel compelling because I lived in Michigan for almost 20 years. I enjoyed reading about settings I know, and learning background I didn't.
September 7, 2019
Alex Irvine writes a story of an average working class guy in WWII Detroit, working a factory line because of his crippled hand. This factory happens to be making golems.
Welcome to an alternative history of industrial Detroit, where the appearance of the Red Dwarf (the Nain Rouge) presages disaster for the city, time after time in history. Our protagonist, Jared Cleaves, had a childhood encounter with the Dwarf in an incident that led to the injury to his hand, but Detroit hasn't been destroyed since then, and various government services take an interest in Jared because they think he's the key to Detroit's future and the production of armaments for the war.
In his books, Irvine personalizes his everyday characters with an authenticity that contrasts with the strange happenings that occur to them. This book is a good example of a man trying to save his family and marriage while fending off threats from various individuals and trying not to be the patsy for the organizations that are pressuring him.
This is a very readable book, with the action gliding along efficiently. There is a lot of interesting background about Detroit in 1943, and the nature of a city shifted onto a wartime footing. There are, of course, histories written about wartime Detroit. But if you like golems, imps, Nazi spies, and shady government agencies in your history, you will enjoy this book.
Welcome to an alternative history of industrial Detroit, where the appearance of the Red Dwarf (the Nain Rouge) presages disaster for the city, time after time in history. Our protagonist, Jared Cleaves, had a childhood encounter with the Dwarf in an incident that led to the injury to his hand, but Detroit hasn't been destroyed since then, and various government services take an interest in Jared because they think he's the key to Detroit's future and the production of armaments for the war.
In his books, Irvine personalizes his everyday characters with an authenticity that contrasts with the strange happenings that occur to them. This book is a good example of a man trying to save his family and marriage while fending off threats from various individuals and trying not to be the patsy for the organizations that are pressuring him.
This is a very readable book, with the action gliding along efficiently. There is a lot of interesting background about Detroit in 1943, and the nature of a city shifted onto a wartime footing. There are, of course, histories written about wartime Detroit. But if you like golems, imps, Nazi spies, and shady government agencies in your history, you will enjoy this book.
September 8, 2020
I've never been interested in alternate history because I honestly think it sounds boring and this book proved my hunch right.
The premise is promising: Jared Cleaves makes golems in the WW2 effort because, due to an accident when he was a kid, he cannot serve overseas. There's also some other urban fantasy elements going on (tengu, hex bags, imps, etc). These things are briefly mentioned and end up serving nothing in regards to the plot or really being involved at all.
Jared is intensely unlikable. He whines that his wife makes more money than him. He whines that he isn't overseas shooting Nazis. He whines that he can't tell anyone about his job. He whines because he has the hots for one of his wife's friends and seems to think they'd totally do it if he wanted even though she literally never speaks to him in the entire book. He whines that his wife won't touch him (maybe because she's busy working full time and raising a baby and has an incel for a husband?).
Throughout this book you'd think (and it's suggested) that Jared has some big destiny coming up... except Jared doesn't do anything in this book. Instead, things happen to him. He gets tapped for multiple cloak-and-dagger missions that go no where. He saw a spooky and testicle-obsessed mystical dwarf years ago. He has weird dreams.
This book is incredibly boring for the first 100+ pages, then some plot happens, then it goes back to being boring. The writing style is weirdly vague so you're not sure what's happening. The author doesn't italicize internal dialog so you you can't identify what's Jared's internal thoughts and what might be someone telepathically communicating with him. The building to the mysterious ending is NOT worth it and the book just kind of ends in an extremely dissatisfying way. Also there's weirdly a LOT of racism and n-words. I understand this is during a racist time but c'mon man.
Unless you seriously love WW2 alt history, don't bother.
The premise is promising: Jared Cleaves makes golems in the WW2 effort because, due to an accident when he was a kid, he cannot serve overseas. There's also some other urban fantasy elements going on (tengu, hex bags, imps, etc). These things are briefly mentioned and end up serving nothing in regards to the plot or really being involved at all.
Jared is intensely unlikable. He whines that his wife makes more money than him. He whines that he isn't overseas shooting Nazis. He whines that he can't tell anyone about his job. He whines because he has the hots for one of his wife's friends and seems to think they'd totally do it if he wanted even though she literally never speaks to him in the entire book. He whines that his wife won't touch him (maybe because she's busy working full time and raising a baby and has an incel for a husband?).
Throughout this book you'd think (and it's suggested) that Jared has some big destiny coming up... except Jared doesn't do anything in this book. Instead, things happen to him. He gets tapped for multiple cloak-and-dagger missions that go no where. He saw a spooky and testicle-obsessed mystical dwarf years ago. He has weird dreams.
This book is incredibly boring for the first 100+ pages, then some plot happens, then it goes back to being boring. The writing style is weirdly vague so you're not sure what's happening. The author doesn't italicize internal dialog so you you can't identify what's Jared's internal thoughts and what might be someone telepathically communicating with him. The building to the mysterious ending is NOT worth it and the book just kind of ends in an extremely dissatisfying way. Also there's weirdly a LOT of racism and n-words. I understand this is during a racist time but c'mon man.
Unless you seriously love WW2 alt history, don't bother.
January 7, 2013
Didn't love this. I felt, many times throughout the story, like yawning and putting the book down. There were just so many other books clamoring for my attention, and I just couldn't be bothered by the slow-drag of this one. Although I kept returning to it, doggedly, like a factory worker back to his job, day after day. Perhaps it was Mr. Irvine's loving depiction of a daughter completely glued to her father, perhaps it was the foggy, heated exhaustion of a wartime city pumping out materia for the homefront ... perhaps it was the story of a protagonist who, not too bright, gets caught up in something much bigger than they are ...
I didn't think that this was a stellar read, but a lot of it stuck with me after I finished it. I didn't give much of a damn for any of the side characters, or even any of the nebulous antagonists, but I cared deeply for the family at the core of the story. I didn't even - and this is a first for me - give a damn about the supernatural elements which were a fundamental part of the world-building of this novel. I could've cared less for golems, frost-giants, tengu, etc. (also, I was pretty perturbed that the author decided to pluralize 'tengu' as 'tengus' ... I could write it off as protagonist naivete, but ... I don't know. It rankled.) I loved the daughter, and her strange, wild courage. I loved the wife and her reticence to accept anything. But it wasn't enough. It simply wasn't. I felt like it tried to be a wartime noir, but never quite achieved the efficiency that a noir (i.e., Chandler, Hammett) would have been able to employ. It gets tangled in its own mythology.
I think this is a world worth exploring, and I enjoyed my time in it, but I think maybe I would have enjoyed another author's delve than Mr. Irvine. I might try his other offerings, but I can't say I was wowed by this one.
I didn't think that this was a stellar read, but a lot of it stuck with me after I finished it. I didn't give much of a damn for any of the side characters, or even any of the nebulous antagonists, but I cared deeply for the family at the core of the story. I didn't even - and this is a first for me - give a damn about the supernatural elements which were a fundamental part of the world-building of this novel. I could've cared less for golems, frost-giants, tengu, etc. (also, I was pretty perturbed that the author decided to pluralize 'tengu' as 'tengus' ... I could write it off as protagonist naivete, but ... I don't know. It rankled.) I loved the daughter, and her strange, wild courage. I loved the wife and her reticence to accept anything. But it wasn't enough. It simply wasn't. I felt like it tried to be a wartime noir, but never quite achieved the efficiency that a noir (i.e., Chandler, Hammett) would have been able to employ. It gets tangled in its own mythology.
I think this is a world worth exploring, and I enjoyed my time in it, but I think maybe I would have enjoyed another author's delve than Mr. Irvine. I might try his other offerings, but I can't say I was wowed by this one.
January 14, 2009
Not to be confused with another book of the same name (book titles can't be copyrighted, so there are many duplicates out there), The Narrows by Alexander C. Irvine is an original historic thriller that I started reading out of boredome at a friend's house and ended up getting hooked by the fascinatng story line of a WWII factory in Detroit secretly producing golems. But the thing that's interesting is that the main character who tells the story, factory worker Jared, doesn't seem to think it's all that strange that there's a mystical rabbi creating these clay soldier-monsters, not as strange as the many spies following him around nor the appearance of a dwarf from his childhood. What I really liked about the book what that it was totally unpredictable, well written with restraint and perfect pacing. I had to finish just to see what happened, but it was an enjoyable ride before I got there.
January 17, 2009
Books such as this are why I've decided I need to keep a list of everything that I read. I found this one by browsing the "new books" shelves of my local library; I had never heard of the author or book beforehand. When I tried to recall the title or author to add to my list, though, I couldn't. Was it "The Straits", "Detroit", "Nain Rouge"? It took some lucky googling to find it.
The book is a great, odd gem. It has it all: WWII-era Detroit, spies, golems, and of course the harbinger of Detroit, the Nain Rouge. This book defies genres. Is it a spy novel, mystery, history, sci-fi, fantasy? All, and none.
The book is a great, odd gem. It has it all: WWII-era Detroit, spies, golems, and of course the harbinger of Detroit, the Nain Rouge. This book defies genres. Is it a spy novel, mystery, history, sci-fi, fantasy? All, and none.
July 31, 2010
Jared Cleaves has problems. Excluded from the army by a couple of bum fingers, Jared contributes to WWII-era Detroit’s war effort by building golems in a secret Ford factory, removing scrap metal from lumps of clay that are then brought to life by a no-nonsense rabbi. Not only that, but his wife makes more money than he does, his mother-in-law hates him, and he’s haunted by dreams of a red-skinned dwarf instigating Detroit’s fall.
Such is the world of THE NARROWS by Alexander C. Irvine. It is a world in which magic is unusual but by no means unreal and the supernatural doesn’t preclude the daily grind.
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/fanta...
Such is the world of THE NARROWS by Alexander C. Irvine. It is a world in which magic is unusual but by no means unreal and the supernatural doesn’t preclude the daily grind.
More: http://www.bookgasm.com/reviews/fanta...
June 12, 2014
There's almost something here, in Alex Irvine's alternate history where Ford Motors is churning out golems in a secret project to win WW2 while the federal government tries to track down creatures from folklore, but it just doesn't seem to deliver. Everything comes together at the end, in a way, but this sort of feels like one of the golems themselves - there's certainly movement, but there doesn't seem to be that spark of life. It kind of feels like Irvine came up with a hell of a first chapter, and then phoned it in from there. Some interesting ideas, but not a lot of interesting execution.
December 20, 2007
I guess my expectations were too high after thoroughly enjoying Scattering of Jades, but The Narrows just didn't do much for me. The whole idea of the U.S. Army setting up a golem assembly line in Detroit during WWII sounded promising, but it seemed like the story took forever to get anywhere, and the final revelation about what was REALLY going on at Willow Run wasn't worth the wait.
October 18, 2008
Kind of a weird book with its Judaic magic, Henry Ford intrigue and WWII espionage theme, but a vivid step back into 1940's Detroit. The D has a rich, multicultural history with all kinds of interesting locales, and this book captures it all. I enjoyed it, but am not sure that many non-Detroiters will. Highly recommended for the 313 crowd.
February 12, 2009
This was a very interesting urban fantasy which mixed the fantastical with the historical time period. I liked how Jared tried to do the right thing even when things were difficult at home and at work.
September 27, 2010
This one opens just before the US gets involved in WWII, and our main character works on the "Frankenline" in Detroit's Rouge River Ford plant making golems to fight for the Allies. I really enjoyed it. If one squints hard, one could read this as alternate history.
December 31, 2014
Strange and just ok
A sort of combination of historical and science fiction that tries to do too much and doesn't succeed. Had to force myself to finish in the hopes it might have a decent ending, but shouldn't have bothered.
A sort of combination of historical and science fiction that tries to do too much and doesn't succeed. Had to force myself to finish in the hopes it might have a decent ending, but shouldn't have bothered.
April 7, 2009
It was ok. What with all the really cool subject matter, it could have been waaaaay better.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews