Novel set in India (“This is India. This is the country that explodes”)
- Book: The Weightless World
- Location: India
- Author: Anthony Trevelyan
Steven Strauss, assistant to Raymond Ess, is accompanying his boss on a trip to India to purchase an anti-gravity machine (stay with me, it might seem a preposterous concept but it is an amazing story that gently unfolds over a good 250 pages). Is it indeed a ‘fool’s errand”?
I was gripped by the story and if you ask me now, as I reflect upon the storyline, I still cannot tell you quite what it was that kept me hooked. Its ethereal quality mirrors the heat mirages that rise from the Indian plains. It tackles the shift of thinking, when basic precepts upon which life rumbles on though the centuries, are turned on their head. Something that we take for granted in our generation will shift incontrovertibly in the next generation. We know that gravity is at the heart of science now but how might our whole world view change if something – that feels so familiar, reliable and unquestioned – suddenly shifts and undermines everything we know and goes on to make the world around us feel unfamiliar?
Ess is the cofounder of Resolute, a company on the edge of bankruptcy, having invested heavily in preparations for the European Skycoach plane contract. Despite promises, they didn’t win it. But his hopes are pinned to buying the rights for the anti-gravity machine that he has actually seen in action, and he and Steven arrive in India to locate its inventor, Tarik Kundra. And thus they set off into the blue yonder in a four wheel drive accompanied by Harry and their driver Asha.
Steven is in thrall to Ess, but retains his wariness that this is actually a delusional quest, affirmed by Cantor at Head Office who isn’t going to be releasing the purchasing funds anytime soon. Yet Steven gets carried along by the utter conviction of the project – is it real or is it all an illusion in the mind of someone on the edge? Is he indeed “a fantasist, a crackpot?”….. or has he stumbled across something that will change the world?
“He works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform”
And what of setting? India is vibrant and arid, and certainly in Mumbai the characters immerse themselves in the local culture, whether it is choosing mementoes, eating or taking a walk along The Queen’s Necklace – otherwise known as Marine Drive.
The storyline is a fantastical premise that really does work, and that kept me wanting to find out what happens. It has a magical quality reminiscent of Mr Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookshop by Robin Sloan which was a sizeable hit a couple of Summers ago.
Oh, and the cover! The book is a pleasure to hold, the print is on light cream paper (just think of some books that scream whiter than white at you), it is classy with a grey cover and a rich cerise lining. The spine bends effortlessly in the palm. It’s a physical pleasure to read.This is a book that deserves a good audience.
This review originally appeared on our blog with author QA
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