About the Book
If he suddenly found what surrounded him unbearable, it was because it was artificial
Everything had been designed and manufactured, and he was trapped in it
Philip Notman, an acclaimed historian, attends a conference in Bergen, Norway. On his return to London, and to his wife and son, something unexpected and inexplicable happens to him, and he is unable to settle back into his normal life.
Seeking answers, he flies to Cadiz to see Inés, a Spanish academic with whom he shared a connection at the conference, but his journey doesn’t end there. A chance encounter with a wealthy, elderly couple sends him to a house on the south coast of Crete. Is he thinking of leaving his wife, whom he claims he still loves, or is he trying to change a reality that has become impossible to bear? Is he on a quest for a simpler and more authentic existence, or is he utterly self-deluded?
As he tries to make sense of both his personal circumstances and the world surrounding him, he finds himself embarking on a course of action that will push him to the very brink of disaster.
Format: ebook (402 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 11th April 2024 Genre: Contemporary Fiction
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My Review
I’ve only read one other book by Rupert Thomson and that was back in 2016, a historical mystery called Secrecy. How To Make A Bomb is very different. Firstly it’s not set in 17th century Florence but in the present day. Stylistically it’s different too. Each sentence in the book starts on a new line, there are no quotation marks or full stops, but plenty of commas and the occasional question mark.
I liked the idea of a malaise created by the modern world with its proliferation of choices and where everything has been designed to the nth degree. For Philip Notman this ‘civilisation sickness’ manifests itself both physically, as he experiences bouts of intense nausea and dizziness, and psychologically, as he starts to question the artificiality of modern life. ‘Everything I see around me has been thought about. Everything has been made.’
Leaving his wife Anya behind because he fears she won’t understand what he’s experiencing – and who could blame her – he retreats to a house in a remote part of Crete in search of a simpler more unconnected lifestyle. ‘He had clicked on unsubscribe.’
It offers a temporary respite but he becomes unnerved when he learns about the violent history of both the house and the island. Various events make him conclude that positive action, as opposed to eloquent manifestos, is sometimes the only way to achieve change.
I enjoyed the observational humour, such as Philip’s experience of navigating the Duty Free zone at the airport, the ‘glitzy, tyrannical no-man’s-land that lay between Security and the Departure Lounge’. I also enjoyed the insights into the early days of Philip and Anya’s relationship when he seemed like a genuinely funny and appealing person. And I liked the fact that often the wisest insights came from female characters. However, as the book progressed, for me, Philip’s story began to resemble more a mid-life crisis than an earth-shattering revelation about modern day life. And the ending left me a bit puzzled. Did he actually carry out his plan or did he just imagine doing it? Although maybe we’re being invited to think about what might cause someone to take such an action…
How To Make A Bomb was one of those books that made me wonder if I was quite clever enough to understand what the author was attempting to communicate. But it was fun trying.
I received a review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley
In three words: Inventive, witty, thought-provoking
About the Author
Rupert Thomson is the author of more than a dozen acclaimed novels, including Barcelona Dreaming, Never Anyone But You, Katherine Carlyle, Secrecy, The Insult, which was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize and selected by David Bowie as one of his 100 Must-Read Books of All Time, The Book of Revelation, which was made into a feature film by Ana Kokkinos, and Death of a Murderer, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel of the Year Award. His memoir, This Party’s Got to Stop, was named Writers’ Guild Non-Fiction Book of the Year. He lives in London. (Photo: Amazon author page)
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