The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets
A Novel
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
An extraordinary debut novel that challenges the definition of family and explores the intricate ties that bind us together
Ida grew up with Jackson and James—where there was “I” there was a “J.” She can’t recall a time when she didn’t have them around, whether in their early days camping out in the boys’ room decorated with circus scenes or later drinking on rooftops as teenagers. While the world outside saw them as neighbors and friends, to each other the three formed a family unit—two brothers and a sister—not drawn from blood, but drawn from a deep need to fill a void in their single parent households. Theirs was a relationship of communication without speaking, of understanding without judgment, of intimacy without rules and limits.
But as the three of them mature and emotions become more complex, Ida and Jackson find themselves more than just siblings. When Jackson’s somnambulism produces violent outbursts and James is hospitalized, Ida is paralyzed by the events that threaten to shatter her family and put it beyond her reach. Kathleen Alcott’s striking debut, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets, is an emotional, deeply layered love story that explores the dynamics of family when it defies bloodlines and societal conventions.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jackson calls Ida "I"; she is himself, and he her. Their bond is more than love, more than friendship even; it is very nearly a blood link, and the intensity of it seems incestuous at times. In this dreamy, barbed novel, Ida tells the story of this relationship after it has ended. It begins when Jackson and Ida are infants and continues through their mildly rebellious Northern California adolescences and on into young adulthood. Neighbors first, they become lovers as teenagers but their relationship is off-balance in an important way. As a child, Jackson sleep-talks with his brother, and Ida listens and mines the conversations for prophetic information. As an adult, he thrashes with night terrors and, at Ida's prompting, creates beautiful art while sleeping. Ida's role as an observer and manipulator to his helpless actor tilts their connection unevenly, and eventually topples it. The initial sense of beauty and sweetness between the two is tempered by uncomfortable intensity and claustrophobia. Ida's narrative is peppered with horrors as well Ida's mother's death by fire, a classmate's kidnapping, Jackson's brother's growing insanity and what emerges as a whole is an emotional narrative that is not easy or relatable but that sparks with convincing pain and nostalgia.
Customer Reviews
Creative Take on Family
Disenchanted and creative, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets is a surreal and thought-provoking debut.
Ida, Jackson and James. Together since before memory, they make a patchwork family whose lives flow and ebb like a body of water. Ida tells their story of childhood friendship, familial love and adult complications. Jackson suffers from somnambulism which becomes a catalyst for heartbreak.
This was a really unique book. I have never read a novel where a character, in this case Jackson, suffers from sleepwalking. I suffered from sleepwalking as a child and it can be very scary for the ones around you who are not sleeping. This book deals with the effect and aftermath left in the wake of Jackson's adult somnambulism and how Ida deals with it.
Ida isn't afraid to look in the mirror. Through her honest assessment of herself and others we get the true sense of who these people are, what binds them together and what threatens to part them.
There were many good quotes to reflect upon in this book. One of my favorites, which shows Ida's understanding of her attributes that has both hindered and bound her relationship with Jackson, was "Since childhood I've spent my heart and words and a catalog of tiny, insignificant moments trying to merge with a bloodstream not mine."
I do think the flow of the book was held up in some places which tempted me to skim. If you read this, don't give in to temptation. You just might miss some relevant details.
All in all a great debut. I look forward to seeing what Kathleen Alcott has in store for us next.