July Book club review: dark matter
On July 16, our book club met to discuss our chosen book of the month, ‘Dark Matter’ by Blake Crouch. ‘Dark Matter’ is a fast-paced, light sci-fi read that asks big questions while keeping the reader turning the page. The main character, Jason Dessen, is kidnapped and knocked unconscious very early on in the book. He wakes up in something out of a Twilight Zone episode - he does not recognize his surroundings, but everyone around him believes they know him. They also believe that he has just returned triumphant from a mission that Jason has no recollection of. This launches the reader into a disorienting tale that asks big questions about how we go about grappling with the decisions that we make, as well as the realization that we may already have everything that we want or need in this life. Our book club agreed that the thrilling, fast-paced storytelling in ‘Dark Matter’ made for a quick read, and the sci-fi elements of the story did not bog down the narrative. However, it felt like much of the potential thematic and emotional impact of the book was left on the cutting room floor in exchange for a too easily digestible read. We also found that the book’s notions of alternate realities and a multiverse were interesting and unique. The pseudo-scientific concepts successfully served the narrative and Crouch didn’t dwell too long on them. However, many of those concepts did not hold up under even moderate scrutiny. In addition the characters in ‘Dark Matter’, even the main protagonist Jason, were not sufficiently realized. The female characters in the book hardly served a function beyond a narrow, in some cases exclusively romantic purpose relating to the male main character. Ultimately the book spurned some engaging and impactful discussion within the group. During the session we also chose our next book, Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer Prize 2020 novel ‘Demon Copperhead’. We’ll discuss that novel at our next meeting on August 20th at 6pm at the downtown Tucson location of Borderlands Brewing Company. Please do not hesitate to come to our book club sessions whether you read the book or not - we’d love to see you there regardless!
Written By: DRSC Member Willie
