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Speaking to No. 4
From America to France and Eastern Europe to Japan, this quest for a woman who has disappeared is a psychological mystery and an architectural odyssey in one.
Where is Alma? A future husband—No. 4—is desperately seeking his fiancée, who has disappeared. To locate her, he is interviewing her three former husbands, her sister, and ex sister-in-law. Could she be hiding in a French monastery? A Japanese shukubo (temple lodging)? Or maybe she is the victim of a belief in a Balkan creation myth?
Written in six voices that come together in a seamless and often comical narrative, Speaking to No. 4 is both a psychological mystery and a meditation on our construction of space. As husband No. 3, the Architect, says to husband-to-be No. 4, “Think of Japanese space as a novel in which the main character is absent.”
Where is Alma? A future husband—No. 4—is desperately seeking his fiancée, who has disappeared. To locate her, he is interviewing her three former husbands, her sister, and ex sister-in-law. Could she be hiding in a French monastery? A Japanese shukubo (temple lodging)? Or maybe she is the victim of a belief in a Balkan creation myth?
Written in six voices that come together in a seamless and often comical narrative, Speaking to No. 4 is both a psychological mystery and a meditation on our construction of space. As husband No. 3, the Architect, says to husband-to-be No. 4, “Think of Japanese space as a novel in which the main character is absent.”
224 pages, Paperback
First published November 29, 2022
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About the author
Alta Ifland
10 books173 followersBorn in Transylvania, Romania; grew up under communism; emigrated to the United States in 1991. Studied French literature and philosophy in France. Writes (and translates) in French (second language) and English (third language).
Books:
Voix de Glace/Voice of Ice (prose poems; French/English; Les Figues Press, 2007). 2008 Louis Guillaume Prize.
Elegy for a Fabulous World (short stories; Ninebark Press, 2009). Nominated for the 2010 Northern California Book Award in Fiction.
Death-in-a-Box (short stories; Subito Press, 2011). 2010 Subito Press Fiction Prize.
The Snail's Song (prose poems; Spuyten Duyvil, 2011)
Books:
Voix de Glace/Voice of Ice (prose poems; French/English; Les Figues Press, 2007). 2008 Louis Guillaume Prize.
Elegy for a Fabulous World (short stories; Ninebark Press, 2009). Nominated for the 2010 Northern California Book Award in Fiction.
Death-in-a-Box (short stories; Subito Press, 2011). 2010 Subito Press Fiction Prize.
The Snail's Song (prose poems; Spuyten Duyvil, 2011)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 3, 2023
Lots of the chapters consist of a somebody talking. But people simply don't speak in full, convoluted sentences - Ifland should not have put "..." around lots of her writing. Problematic for a book that has 'speaking' in the title.
Lots of other convoluted & rather unbelievable stuff in the content too. Felt bloated for its 205 pages. There's the occasional interesting reflection about 'spaces', but basically these characters are infatuated with themselves (satire?) - as is Ifland with her themes and her slow multi-perspective reveal trick.
More reviews on Weighing A Pig Doesn't Fatten It.
Lots of other convoluted & rather unbelievable stuff in the content too. Felt bloated for its 205 pages. There's the occasional interesting reflection about 'spaces', but basically these characters are infatuated with themselves (satire?) - as is Ifland with her themes and her slow multi-perspective reveal trick.
More reviews on Weighing A Pig Doesn't Fatten It.
January 1, 2023
A man's fiancée, Alma, disappears a few weeks before the planned wedding and he visits her three ex-husbands in search of her (he is the No. 4 of the title). Each encounter is a chapter and each is narrated by the person visited. The various narrators tell stories that circle around the central mystery. Most of the male characters are unnamed and only referred to by profession or number.
Each successive interview brings a unique perspective that deepens the mystery of Alma's disappearance. Much of the novel occurs in monasteries and these austere settings add to a feeling of detachment where the characters observe each other with the cold detachment of entomologists studying bugs in a display case.
This telling and retelling of stories is reminiscent of Rashomon just as the device of a series of narrators speaking to a inquisitor is reminiscent of Citizen Kane. There are an astonishing number of diverse scenes set in locations across the globe. But this is not a cinematic book, instead it is a fascinating exploration of motive and desire.
Each successive interview brings a unique perspective that deepens the mystery of Alma's disappearance. Much of the novel occurs in monasteries and these austere settings add to a feeling of detachment where the characters observe each other with the cold detachment of entomologists studying bugs in a display case.
This telling and retelling of stories is reminiscent of Rashomon just as the device of a series of narrators speaking to a inquisitor is reminiscent of Citizen Kane. There are an astonishing number of diverse scenes set in locations across the globe. But this is not a cinematic book, instead it is a fascinating exploration of motive and desire.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews