Intimacy

In this somber novel, Crawford (Seed) details one man's nightly habits, reveling in the complexity of seemingly insignificant minutiae and how they shape human lives. Friday evening, on a "night like thousands before," a meticulous man plans his own death. The wind roars outside his seaside home while he strips off his clothes after a day at work and quietly reflects on his life and physique. The unnamed narrator attempts to mentally trace and cast off the everyday patterns that restrict his movements. He allows his imagination to run free as he sheds items that limit him and conceal his body: shoes, jacket, watch, socks, belt, keys, and wallet. Each accessory prompts him to reconstruct lost moments in a search to uncover what keeps him bound to his current existence. Never looking "too far ahead or, for that matter, too far back," the speaker's exploratory voice pairs well with the use of past tense in a narrative that builds narrative momentum throughout. The novel is consistently unfolding and yet it is very contained; this establishes a persistent sense of tension and suspense that keeps readers engrossed. The narrator's desire to escape a banal life and his frustration with his own fear are very relatable, and lead the story to interesting revelations. (Apr.)