Hallucinating Foucault
Sarah Schiefer

My personal tastes when it comes to literature often reveal themselves as addicted to the dark and disturbing. It seems this is the case with much of the population these days, and for this, and many other reasons, Patricia Duncker’s first novel, Hallucinating Foucault was all I desired and more.

In this novel, we are introduced to a young, and remarkably intriguing, yet nameless narrator. He is a graduate student attending Cambridge University, and is writing a dissertation on the work of the French novelist Paul Michel. This character, who happens to be quite a life force himself, scandalized his society with his transgressive literature and his brazen display of homosexuality. He then goes mad, and has not been seen in public for over nine years. Locating this remarkable man then becomes the narrator’s quest.

The journey that follows, taking him from the university to a remote insane asylum, and then to a deserted beach in the south of France, soon proves to be quite an adventure for our narrator. Their meeting transforms him from simply his reader, to his lover, and the relationship which evolves between the two creates a narrative which I could barely put down.

The jacket cover of the book calls it sensually overpowering, and intellectually provocative, and after my own reading of the novel, I must agree. It brings up a most confusing and rarely examined relationship, that between an author and his/her reader. It examines to what extent there is a connection between the two, and how this connection influences the lives of both. I was completely enveloped in the story, and found myself striving to reach the end, never knowing what may happen next between the two lovers.

I think another reason I was so enthralled with this novel is that the characters are so interesting even on their own. Each of the few participants in the story has some sort of rich and remarkable personality themselves, and it seems that the combination of these characters was almost just waiting to be written. They interact perfectly with one another and the plot line seems to run a very natural course, ending in a way I didn’t expect in the least (another aspect which I love in a novel).

Overall then, I must say that this book is definitely worth reading. It is not difficult reading, and can probably be covered quite easily in a weekend, but that is one weekend you will be glad you spent with your nose in a book. I know I was. If this introductory novel was any indication of the novels Patricia Duncker plans to continually be producing, I will definitely be in line to purchase the next one.