3 out of 4 stars
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With a plot setting that begins in the future, then reverts to present-day and then returns to the future, John K Danenbarger’s novel is an experimental type of art – deliberately refusing to be confined into just one genre.
Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise is a novel that follows the lives of various characters; we see them as individuals and as they connect with each other. We are first of all, introduced to Geena, in her twilight years, even though the story returns to when she is younger. She is an important part of the story as without her perspective, the reader’s comprehension to the story is handicapped. Joe Tink is Geena’s mother’s friend and later in the story, a friend to everyone except Davies (because he has not met him). Beth is a sweet soul and Kevin, a disturbed soul with dark secrets; they are a married couple and parents to Geena and Davies. Davies is also a character not easily understood and has a warped mind caused in part by his grief which was triggered as a result of his wife’s death.
I think Danenbarger deliberately wanted to write something outside the box and he achieved this seamlessly. The way the story is told is refreshingly different and although not easily understood, the storyline invokes empathy even to the vilest villain. At some point, the author invites you to see through the warp thinking and evil that sometimes guides the decisions of Kevin and Davies.
Love as a theme in this novel is not simple and easy and inspiring: we see love that inspires murders (Kevin warped love that made him kill his father and his mother’s priest and Davies killing a man he thought was the father that abandoned him and maltreated his mother serves as examples); love that causes pain and the feelings of abandonment and the inability to move on or focus (Davies experienced this when Stella, his wife died in childbirth and Joe experienced this when Martin, his lover died).
Do we have parallel universes? Do animals actually speak; can we hear them and decipher what they are saying? These and other divergent thoughts come from the author in the cause of reading this book – Martin’s research in the entanglement part of quantum physics and Ellen’s research of sea mammals serve as ready examples.
This novel’s negative part is that the storyline from the lenses of the various characters are varied yet related and sometimes, the reader may be unable to adequately understand the novel from the perspective by which Danenbarger wrote it. It is the opinion of this reviewer that some of the subplots are unnecessary and therefore, only made the novel unnecessarily longer.
I rate this novel three out of four stars because it is a well-written piece of bold literature that inspires readers to think beyond the thinking invoked by conventional novels and I will recommend it to any reader that loves reading literature that is outside the box.
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Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise
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