Atomic Road

by Grant Buday

Fiction. October, 1962, the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Clement Greenberg, the art critic of the 20th century, is more interested in silencing his rival Harold Rosenberg than with the threat of nuclear destruction. Greenberg is driving from New York to the Emma Lake artist colony in Saskatchewan, where he intends to shut Rosenberg up once and for all. With him is infamous Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser. The 1950s were Greenberg's decade. Abstract expressionism was the genre he championed. Yet by 1962, everywhere Greenberg looks he is bedevilled by Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup cans, just as everywhere Althusser looks he sees capitalist decadence. Althusser, who escaped prosecution for strangling his wife on an insanity plea, is heading to a Saskatchewan hospital for LSD therapy. Pursuing them is Jean Claude Piche, a veteran of the conflicts in Indochina and Algeria, contracted to execute Althusser for the unpunished murder. Greenberg, however, has plans for Althusser to commit one more killing before Jean Claude gets hold of him. Yet before this urbane trio can cross from North Dakota into Saskatchewan they meet the enigmatic arch patriot Swen, who has plans of his own. ATOMIC ROAD charts its own comic course between historical accuracy and fictional invention.

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 11, 2018

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

☢️/☢️☢️☢️☢️☢️

There are only so many books you can read in a year, and if you're looking for a nuclear, reality-bending, Canadian fiction, head to Y: Oppenheimer, Horseman of Los Alamos instead of Atomic Road. This one is too heady, too stuck in between genres, and too darn specific to grasp the interest of just any reader picking it up for a hoot and a holler.

It's marketed as a comedic journey but there isn't much that's funny about it... just confusing. If anyone can untangle this complicated compendium of chemical craft, please let me know. But seriously, don't rush to let me know because I'm not holding my breath.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any other example of abstract-expressionism-as-novel that I've read in the past, this one follows the same formula: one third coherence, one third confusion, and one third drugged-out insanity. Sometimes they follow each other sequentially, sometimes they interact simultaneously...but at all times it leaves behind a head-scratching reader. That said, the lovely prose and the strange cast of characters makes this more of an entertaining "Twin Peaks-ish" that is far more readable than similar books. There is a fascinating journey taking place in this novel...but I wish I could pull it out of the tall grass.

[Petrina Dorrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bromance road trip. Not everyone’s cup of tea but good read and well written.
https://quillandquire.com/review/atom...

[Rennie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird but not wonderful. An original idea and some nice turns of phrase etc but not enough to pull it to 2 stars although for male readers it might be more accessible and therefore more highly rated.

[Readgina · Rating 2 out of 5]

No. Just no.

[John]

Review available at Foreword Reviews.