A review by adityamonga
The Affirmation by Christopher Priest

4.0

“I particularly remembered being on the verandah of the villa I had borrowed from Colan the evening I made my most exciting discovery: that recollection was only partial, that the artistic recreation of the past constituted a higher truth than mere memory.”

Despite being aware of the delirious state of mind of the Protagonist, the twenty-nine year old Peter Sinclair, I could not help getting reeled into his fantasies. This book claims to look for Truth in a person's life story and the kind of role memory plays in creating that Truth. However, that claim involves a deluded reassurance that the author gives himself, while getting caught in a deeper fantasy of his own making. Disrespecting the line between Truth versus metaphor wrapper around Truth, the author loses control of reality.

This is a fantastic story about a man dealing with identity issues. At no point of time was I completely sure about whether Peter is understanding himself more or losing himself more. The story is masterfully written. Christopher Priest deals with concepts of Philosophy, Identity, Memory, Truth and most of all - Mortality. There is less originality in the events that happen in the book, but they take nothing away from crafty unfolding of those events.

It is most impressive how articulate Peter is in explaining his state of mind. I found myself empathising with him much more frequently than one should, with such a narrator.
Perhaps what I liked the most in the book was the illusion of being confident and in control. This particular detail felt dangerously close to real life. There were moments when Peter showed gratitude, assertiveness and this feeling of being high on possibilities. This feeling was sometimes a sign of decadence lurking around the corner. I've seen this pattern in my own personal experiences, which is probably why I found it more thrilling.

This book does not deserve a re-read, IMHO. But it does open you up to confusion, exhilaration, fantasy and deep acknowledgement of one's own complexity. So that makes it a good read.
I was impressed with The Prestige, which is why I gave Christopher Priest another shot. My respect for him has only grown.