Book Review: “The Dimensions of a Cave” by Greg Jackson
Mind of Darkness
I have read Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness twice — once in high school and once in university — both in English classes. I wouldn’t say I liked the book the first time I read it. I cannot say why — I suppose, in my 17-year-old imagination, the book was dry and dull. However, the following year, I had to reread the book; this time, I immensely enjoyed it. I suppose that because I knew the plot and how it would end, I could lose myself in the poetic ambiance of the book’s prose. Or maybe the extra year of maturity had something to do with it. Anyhow, I suppose it helped that the book is only 100 pages long. Greg Jackson’s The Dimensions of a Cave — billed as a modern version of Heart of Darkness — is nearly 500 pages long. But it begs you to read the book twice. I don’t think I’ll take up the challenge of rereading this dense, uneven book; however, I suspect that one’s enjoyment of this lyrical work will be enhanced once one knows what to look for and skip over. (Like most epics, this book doesn’t need to be as lengthy as it is. I had a conversation with a friend some time ago over Haruki Murakami’s 1,000-page doorstop, 1Q84, and we both agreed that the novel would be better cut in half.)
I’m not trying to be churlish in my appraisal of this work. After all, Jackson reveals himself to be a genius. He is very, incredibly smart — way above my pay grade. And so, we are peppered with $100 words throughout the text of this novel: “perigean,” “littoral,” and “sedge” appear on the very first page. It may help to read the book with a dictionary by your side, though I suppose one might get more of the gist of the work and some of these words after reading through it once. However, as I said, Jackson is a revered writer who deserves much literary fame, even if I feel his best work may still be in front of him. The Dimensions of a Cave is a twisty, turny descent into the hell of virtual reality. It is more about the human mind’s darkness than the heart’s. Let me explain: the latter parts of the book feature dozens upon dozens of pages of the unspeakable horrors humans have laid upon one another through countless millennia of war. Honestly, and not wanting to be critical, sections of this work made me almost want to barf. If I can be critical of this work for a moment, it’s that The Dimensions of a Cave drives its point home and then bludgeons it to death. It goes on and on and on and on and on, seemingly nonstop, with passages about how sick and terrible people have been to one another, historically speaking.
So what’s the book about? Well, there’s this reporter named Quentin, who is on the trail of a hot story. However, one of his recent stories had either been spiked or shown up in the back pages of the A section of the newspaper. (It’s unclear what happened after I read this so that a second readthrough might assist with my understanding of the work.) The story Quentin is after is about a government program that creates a virtual reality for someone being interrogated about matters related to the war. (Which war? Well, the book seems to be set in a world like our own but is vague on the precision of its details — leading me to speculate that this novel itself is “virtual.”) The more Quentin unravels, the more it seems his journalistic protégé, Bruce, is somehow involved. Thus, the book begins to feel like a journey into another reality to find Bruce and bring him back after his disappearance many years ago, covering the war.
As you can tell, The Dimensions of a Cave is a cerebral and philosophical work. It’s a little like listening in on a conversation between several academics. I probably gained a few IQ points by reading it, which is an excellent reason to eyeball it. However, it is mediocre and problematic — and the least of the problems is the repetitive nature of the book’s central conceit. Quentin comes across as more of a hard-boiled detective and less of a journalist, making him seem a little unbelievable. Plot threads are dropped, only to be picked up hundreds of pages later, meaning one must have a keen memory when reading this book. And it has dozens of characters who exist on the periphery of this novel, making it challenging to relate to. But should you read this book? The answer is … maybe. This is far from a masterpiece in my mind (and I do not mean to sound critical here), but it does have its moments. It is intelligent and bracingly honest. It sustains itself for almost 500 pages. And it will sometimes revolt you — disgust is not usually something you see in a book that Stephen King didn’t write. All in all, The Dimensions of a Cave is a book that wants you to read it twice. Perhaps I may change my appraisal if I do so, but I might wait for the cut-down version to be released. This is one overlong book, and much of it is hubris. Still, Heart of Darkness taught me something, so … who knows? Who knows? The horror of humanity. The horror.
Greg Jackson’s The Dimensions of a Cave was published by Picador on October 22, 2024.
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