This book caught me by surprise. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I selected this novel to review, but something called me to it. I’m very thankful it did, as the book is a delight.

The novel is a story-within-a-story. Humbert Botekin, a professor of literature, has written a biography of his hero, (fictional) literary giant Ezra Slef. Yet rather than chronicle Ezra’slife, it’s an autobiography of Botekin.

It’s funny from the first page. Granted, it’s a particular kind of humour – a mishmash between satire and absurdity and irony. I was bemused throughout.

The best thing about this novel is how Komarnyckyj manages to make you enthralled in the journey of an extremely unlikable character. Botekin has an egoism that’s through the roof, as well as being a complete pompous snob and a bit dense, but we’re invited to relish in schadenfreude when he gets his comeuppance.

Another compelling aspect of the story is a minor character who is clearly the devil masquerading as a man, yet we’re unsure what his end-game is, as he seems only to assist people. Tied to his presence is the overarching threat of revenge from a man Botekin wrongs at the start of the novel, so we’re unsure while reading whether the two are connected.

As someone who has an English degree and has read Beckett, Joyce, and most of the other postmodernist writers referenced, I could tell what this novel was “doing”, but I’m not sure how approachable it is for the average reader. The novel does poke fun at itself, but a lot of the humour comes from a rather esoteric realm. Personally, while I have no idea who I would recommend it to, but I very much enjoyed it and consider it rather brilliant.