The Man Who Saw Everything is a complicated, splintered book that I first found difficult to follow, but that in the end provided a wonderful reading experience. Saul Adler experiences identical car accidents in 1988 and then again in 2016. Same location, same driver, but with very different consequences. In 1988 the accident is minor and he travels the next day to the GDR where he meets lovers Walter and Luna, and possibly inadvertently betrays them both. In 2016 his accident is more serious and leaves him recovering in hospital with a fractured mind that confuses the past and present, realities and fantasies. The reader is also confused, until we realize that Saul's broken mind reflects the broken glass at his accident site, and his broken life. At the end of the novel, a revelation leaves the reader with a heartfelt understanding of how life can become a series of accidents, seen only in shards.
I highly recommend this book for readers who like literary, complicated and somewhat experimental books.
the author was a recent guest on Writers and Co. Enjoyed hearing that conversation. So many exciting new books! Only, I'm reading such OLD stuff lately. (Will i ever get back to the 21st c?? only time will tell)
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