A review by dukegregory
Living Things by Munir Hachemi

3.0

A novel about what's at stake when we narrativize reality via both fictive and diaristic means. The labyrinthine aspect of Hachemi's work is the slippage between novel and diary, not in the sense that the novel acts as Hachemi's actual diary (though the protagonist does share his name and background) but in the sense that this is a novel in conversation with a fictional diary that is being amended and recreated by the protagonist years after the fictional diary was purportedly written. To call this an eco-thriller or a work of literary horror is a bit of a misnomer, but tension is present both narratively and formally. Hachemi makes it all a bit obvious early on, explicitly naming many of his reference points, including a humorously shady reflection on Hemingway and the iceberg theory of short fiction. Yet, regardless of its overtness, Living Things is rather compulsive and presents a playful rendering of privilege and paranoia in contemporary Europe as corporate interests may or may not be wreaking havoc in ways both expected and otherwise.