The Divers’ Game by Jesse Ball
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jesse Ball has his own mysterious energy, and it is as strong as ever in The Divers’ Game. The novel is extraordinarily poignant.
The society in which the book is set has divided itself into two classes. Members of one class have the power to kill members of the other class. They don’t need a reason. There’s no legal procedure; they’re allowed to do it, and sometimes, they do.
The simplicity of his language and mastery of tone sweep you into the setting. It’s only afterward that you start to wonder about symbolic resonance. Meaning creeps in, afterwards.
Few readers of this book will understand what’s going on beneath the surface. Jesse Ball won’t say, for reasons that will be obvious to those who also understand. Nobody will say. I certainly won’t.
It’s like an optical illusion. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And most people will never see it. But the ritual mutilation of the thumbs is a dead giveaway.
Don’t worry about it. He’s a beautiful writer, so tender and poigant. Whatever that undercurrent is, it’s probably not something you’re guilty of. He’s telling the truth when he says that he writes instinctually. The issues the novel touches are far too complex for mere symbolism.
That’s why he said, in an interview about the novel, “I expect there will be a few people in various places around the world who will find it makes sense. At this point, my audience is that: just a few people here and there around the globe.”
Hi, Jesse. Here I am. It makes perfect sense to me.