Comments on: The Antagonist, by Lynn Coady

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:53:40 +0000

BiP: As you can see from the comments, those who like this book tend to really like it. Coady is a very good story teller — there is nothing complicated about her and she is skilled at taking care not to reveal too much too soon. I look forward to seeing where she heads from here.

By: BuriedInPrint

BuriedInPrint — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:22:02 +0000

The aspect of this novel that I most enjoyed was the intricate dance between what is known by each man (the letter-writer and the recipient), what is assumed to be known (most often it’s Rank assuming but others, too, like the police man in that early scene), and what the reader can assemble as truth/understanding based on what s/he thinks is known.

I think that takes a good bit of skill, keeping us in the dark “just enough” (because of course we are not a part of this exchange: it’s very personal stuff), and feeding us “just enough” to keep us turning those pages. And to make it all look chaotic, accidental, too, because of course Rank’s emotions are overwhelming and he is not a writer.

Admittedly, I am already an admirer of Lynn Coady’s writing (I read her collection Play the Monster Blind earlier this year), but The Antagonist is something else entirely. Yes, I’m hooked. But I can also see, as you’ve said, that some readers just would not connect with this tale.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:52:30 +0000

Deborah: A few weeks after reading it, I would say this is one of those books that is edging up in impression — some of the better scenes do keep coming to mind. I still wouldn’t characterize it as a must read, however. A good one, certainly, but I can understand the decision to let it pass by (that observation, of course, probably means it is certain to win the Giller).

By: Deborah Serravalle

Deborah Serravalle — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 11:53:25 +0000

Thanks for the review, Kevin. I heard the author on CBC and found the premise for this story interesting. Especially with the recent, heartbreaking revelations of hockey enforcers in the news. Your observations,.however, gives me a little more information about the novel. And the comments made by others are also insightful.

So for now, with so many books, so little time, I don’t think this is one I’ll pick up.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:23:11 +0000

Rick: It was the characterization that worked best for me — and I have to say does come back some weeks after finishing the book. I may have been a little harsh with my intitial impressions of this one, although I’d say that was more a reflection of how good some of the other books on the longlist were (I’d still take Laferriere and Blaise over this one, even if it is better than I originally thought).

By: RickP

RickP — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:03:44 +0000

I’m about half way through. I’m hooked for sure but I’m trying to figure out if it’s because of the writing or because it reminds me of my childhood.

I grew up in an isolated mining town on the east coast and although I didn’t know someone exactly like Rank, I sure knew lots of characters like Mick Croft and even Rank’s father. the characters at university were also very familiar.

I’ll need to complete it and think about it for a few days to get a better read on my feelings about it.

By: alison

alison — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:16:48 +0000

I just finished The Antagonist last night. I came to it slightly reluctantly as I thought it would be about a hockey enforcer and my interest in hockey isn’t that strong.
I was taken by the premise right away, and in fact it moved so quickly into Rank’s rants (as emails can so suitably offer) that I didn’t mind not reading portions of Adam’s book.
I so often agree with you Kevin that I am surprised, and don;t know what it says about me, that I found Rank to be an empathetic character. I found his descriptions of being an adult in a child’s body stopped me long enough to ponder those hulks that so many of us knew in our youth and dismissed by stereotype. I like how Coady lead us through the stereotype from an insider who is really an outsider’s point of view (by that I mean I think she did a great job of letting us see how Rank ended up in those situations in a way that put the reader in the situation and yet not of it because of Ran;s adult perspective.
From time to time I did find myself thinking Coady is such a good writer, but surely Rank, history teacher or not, would not be eloquent or assured in words, (in fact he read more like an English teacher than history, as he never talked about history or historians, but about Prufrock and literature.
I kept reading, delighted by the approach, wondering about the big act of violence that was surely coming, and while it finally did appear, I have to say that the moment we discover how his mother had died, to me was truly heartbreaking and managed to explain so much without overtly trying to explain anything.
So yes, flawed, but a good read.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:16:43 +0000

Janice: A few weeks after reading it, I would say the parts that I liked are living better in memory than the parts that I didn’t — a worthwhile read, but not a great book.

By: Janice Collins

Janice Collins — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:51:00 +0000

I also read the book and at first I thought it seemed to be copying Catcher in the Rye’s style but I was glad when this didn’t seem to be the case. I must say I enjoyed the book. I don’t think it was a great book but it was thought provoking.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:51:47 +0000

Thanks, David — I can’t help but wonder if the elements of the book that did strike me ended up getting in the way of my appreciation of Rank as a character.

I had the same reaction to Adam’s book that you did. Initially I was eager to see what had set Rank off — the idea that it really was nothing started to form quite early and I liked the way that Coady all but confirmed that in the end. Rank was a literary explosion waiting to happen.