10:04 - Ben Lerner

10:04 tells the story of a few weeks in the life of a writer living in New York. It's an eventful few weeks, and the books weaves from one scenario to another, ending up in a collage of events.

10:04 is based around the nameless narrator (I suspect his name might be Ben), who at the beginning of the book is told by his agent that a publisher has given him an advance in the strong five figures for his next novel, only he must make it more marketable than his previous debut. The narrator has recently been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, where his aorta is expanding and could be fatal if it grows much more. The narrator then starts off down a road of writing fiction, thinking about how real life could be reflected through the novel, if he just changes this person's name or that person's situation slightly, and how real life would prove the best inspiration, making the reader wonder how much of the book is based on Lerner's life - there are certainly similarities between the narrator's career and Ben's - both poets originally, who achieved surprise success with their first novels. The book seems to blur the lines between fiction and reality, and leaves us with something really remarkable.

The narrator is really what makes this book what is is. Self-deprecating, observant and deep-in-thought, he is a likeable guy who gives this book it's charm. He's got a lot going on, with his writing, and his best friend has asked him to father her baby through artificial insemination, and the new diagnosis as well as a few other situations he's found himself in. This all gives him plenty of food for thought, and various themes and ideas just keep popping up into the narrative. The idea of the future influencing the present - and more broadly whether the context through which we experience things effects our reactions to them - just keep popping up. This kind of idea which float around in the book hold the happenings and events together - it sews them up into a comprehensive narrative. Not so much a plot-driven story, but real life isn't plot-driven. This book is more of a window into the narrator's mind, which gives some extraordinary insight.

Lerner's writing has been criticised for being overly verbose - there are lots of words here I had to look up, but it isn't too distracting. It gives a the book a real style, and the narrator some real charisma. When this book hits the right notes it is amazing - the narrator walking through NYC being bombarded with billboards and texts and hearing Rihanna's Umbrella and all the other stimuli is immersive, even when he is walking through the city with his own thoughts sneaking in.

This really is a great novel - I think one of the smartest  I've read that's come out in the last 5 years. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on Ben's work in the future.