Schopenhauer's Telescope: A Novel Review

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Schopenhauer's Telescope: A Novel ReviewGerard Donvan's novel "Schopenhauer's Telescope" take as it's focal point an act that was carried out all too often during Europe's tortured twentieth century: the digging of a mass grave. One would expect that such a setting would provide for a rather limited narrative, but as it turns out, the opposite is true. "Schopenhauer's Telescope" sprawls in every direction, touching upon a host of topics and exploring so many themes that it is sometimes to its detriment. Nonetheless, this is a powerful novel, that succeeds far more often than it fails.
The central characters are Baker and Teacher; they share a conversation in an unknown field in an unknown European country as the Baker digs what is clearly intended to be a grave. As I mentioned above, their conversation meanders across a host of topics, but one recurrent theme repeats itself, or perhaps two that intertwine. The theme is history, but the two men have drastically different feelings about what it means and how it should be studied.
The Baker views history as an inexorable tide, something to be survived rather than engaged, because survival is the core purpose of his existence. The Teacher, on the other hand, views history as a living, breathing thing; something that cannot be understood in its entirety, but which can be embraced and learned from.
While this conversation is fascinating, the most intriguing element of this book is the dichotomy it sets up between the two men. What are their roles? How have they each found their way to this snowy field? The reader is left uncertain as to who holds the power in the relationship until well into the narrative, and even then, one is left to question which man really understands the world, and more importantly, his place in it.
Unfortunately, the novel is at times horribly over-written. Donovan enjoys playing with various approaches to his narrative, and generally speaking he is successful. However, there are times when form trumps substance and this can make for tedious reading. Moreover, over the course of two ill-advised segments, he reveals one of the characters (saying which one would be a major spoiler) to be somewhat insane, which significantly curbed any sympathy or compassion I might have felt for him. Moreover, it is difficult to judge the mentally ill for their actions, and the book's endgame suffers somewhat as a result.
That said, the positives in "Schopenhauer's Telescope" more than outweigh the negatives. At its best, Donovan's writing borders on poetry, and his style represents a genuinely original voice. This is a novel rich in ideas and philosophy, but it is also a novel that raises more questions than it answers. What is a life well lived? What makes life worth living? Is evil absolute, or does it need to be taken in context? These questions just scratch the surface, and I suspect that additional readings would reveal additional questions, and that furthermore, other readers will take away completely different questions. "Schopenhauer's Telescope" is just one of those books that can be interpreted a dozen different ways by a dozen different people without any of them being wrong. While far from perfect, Donovan's work is among the best I have read this year, and will, I am certain, stay with me for some time to come.
Jake MohlmanSchopenhauer's Telescope: A Novel Overview

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